What was supposed to be a big divisional game turned into an absolute fiasco. On Wednesday night, the WWE took over the TD Garden, and that took all the attention away from the game.
The Celtics had won two in a row and were looking to make headway in the Atlantic Division race against the first-place Brooklyn Nets. Things weren't going the Celtics way during the first half, and they were continuously getting pushed around. Finally, Rajon Rondo decided that enough was enough. We all know what happened next.
Rondo shoved Kris Humphries, Humphries got a big scratch that he complained about after the game, and a bunch of pushing and shoving ensued. Coach Doc Rivers didn't like it, as he said after the game, "We’re a soft team right now; we have no toughness. And that stuff’s not toughness. All that stuff, that’s not toughness.”
While Rondo was suspended for two games, Humphries did not receive a suspension. Also, Kevin Garnett was fined $25,000 and Gerald Wallace was fined $35,000 for their involvement in the shoving match.
The effect of this "brawl" is twofold. It does not help the immediate success of the team, but in the long run, this could be looked at as a potential turning point.
The first thing I thought of when the mayhem broke out was the Alex Rodriguez-Jason Varitek fight from the Red Sox-Yankees game on July 24, 2004. While the outcome of that game was drastically different, the circumstances are eerily similar. The Red Sox were seemingly a .500 team for the first half of the season, and the brawl lit a fire under them and got them going on their way to a World Series. The Celtics were 8-6 going into last night's game, and maybe this was the wake up call they needed.
Whether you like it or not, Rajon Rondo was just doing what he felt was right. He may have crossed the line in some people's minds, but Rondo was sticking up for his teammate and brother, Kevin Garnett, and sometimes you have to cross the line in order to protect your loved ones.
Rondo and Garnett have formed a close relationship in Garnett's tenure in Boston, and he has essentially taken Kendrick Perkins' place as his best friend on the team. "Rajon doesn't like anybody messing with teammates or messing with brothers or family," said Garnett. "It's been how it is since I've been here. We have each other's backs out there."
"I know I have to be out there for my teammates," said Rondo today after practice. "That's the only thing about it. But I was sticking up for my teammates. I didn't try to start a fight. I'm not trying to be a bully. I just didn't think the play was fair that he made on Kevin, that's all."
The good news is the two games Rondo are missing are back-to-back, and the Celtics are playing beatable teams in Portland and Milwaukee. The bad news is they have to go up against two dynamic point guards in Damian Lillard and Brandon Jennings. We'll see how the Celtics utilize the point guard spot this weekend, but Doc Rivers hinted today that the point guard duties will be split between Leandro Barbosa, Courtney Lee, and Jason Terry.
In other news...
* Chris Wilcox (sick) and Jeff Green (left knee) both sat out of today's practice. Rivers doesn't know if they will be able to play tomorrow night. "There's a chance there's no Wilcox tomorrow, there's a chance there's no Jeff Green tomorrow," said Rivers. "So, they're checking a lot of things. But, I don't care who doesn't play. The guys that play, we have to be ready to play and ready to win."
* According to ESPNBOSTON.com, Avery Bradley may be only days away from full participation in practice. Said Bradley, "Right now, I'm just taking it one day at a time," Bradley said. "Once [team trainer] Ed [Lacerte] says I'm able to practice, I'll be able to participate in practice. I'm still working out and I'm doing noncontact drills in practice. As of right now, I'm not doing any contact."
No comments:
Post a Comment