This one is a rejoinder from my column in ph.nba.com:
Every one says that in the NBA playoffs, emotions run high. But
all this talk, it really is what every team thinks of the Miami Heat.
There was Boston’s Rajon Rondo talking about putting the Heat on
the floor following Game One’s loss where Miami charged the Celtics’ lane like
it was a layup line.
After Dwyane Wade sounded off about retaliation, Rondo
backtracked and said that it was meant figuratively. Of course. Hahaha.
However, beginning the Eastern semis, the Heat had been jawing
with their opponent. Their first round opponent, the New York Knicks, had
internal issues and were in no shape to revisit their heated rivalry with
Miami. They were bounced in five.
Come the
Eastern semis with Indiana, Pacers head coach Frank Vogel set the tone for the
series when he pronounced Miami as “ the biggest
flopping team in the NBA. Added Vogel: "It’ll be very interesting to see how the
referees officiate the series and how much flopping they reward. Every drive to
the basket they have guys not making a play on the ball. But sliding in front
of drivers. Often times they’re falling down even before contact is even being
made. It’ll be interesting to see how the series is officiated.”
Aside from
Tyler Hansbrough, Lance Stephenson (who made a choking gesture at the Heat),
and Danny Granger, Indiana’s Roy Hibbert got into it as well: “We didn't do it
the easy way. It took time. We didn't do this by signing a couple of
superstars.”
A fuming Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, just hours before tip-off of Game
Six said, “In nine games now there's been over a dozen hard
fouls to the face, some of the tomahawk variety, some have drawn blood …"
"It's
been altercations that you can look at and say probably won't happen during the
regular season and probably wouldn't happen if you were playing outside
basketball," Wade said. "It's the playoffs and emotions get high and
things happen."
Luckily,
this is the NBA and not the NHL. In the NBA it’s all macho posturing. But that’s
good, right? The sport does not need another Malice at the Palace or Kermit
Washington nearly killing Rudy Tomjanovich.
How heated are these playoffs? Well,
it has spilled over to the ESPN studios where Stephen A. Smith once more
belittled Skip Bayless on First Take: “You picked the Heat to win the Finals. You
didn’t want them to lose Game One but you picked the Celtics to win Game
One. So no matter what you were
slicing no matter what outcome happens you’re right. Even when you’re wrong
you’re right. Because even when you were right, even when you’re wrong, you’re
meant to be right. But you were really wrong. It doesn’t make any sense to me.
It’s all over the place it’s hedging your bets and not having the courage to
stand up and go like this, ‘You know I was wrong. I called it. I own it.’
At least it’s better to jaw with
another person. The Knicks’ Amare Stoudemire knows that one cannot punch the
crap out of a fire extinguisher.
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