Here’s the video footage. Melo looks like an absolute idiot.
A schoolyard bully. Apparently MSG security and the police intervened,
according to a source. Good to know New York’s finest are being used to for the
highest priority incidents only!
How did this all come to pass? During the feisty encounter, Anthony and Garnett were tagged with double technicals in the fourth quarter. When asked about the severity of the incident after the game Garnett played it down saying "No, no, man. Just basketball. Just basketball."
The Knick’s Amar'e Stoudemire kind of echoed Garnett’s
attempt to play down the situation with his own comments; "It was more just talk. More talk more than anything.
Words are pretty sharp, so when you say certain things, it gets under your skin
and it gets you a little angry. And that happens to the best of us. We've got
to make sure that we keep our composure and see if we can beat a team like
Boston." So Garnett played it all down, as did Stoudemire.
Melo?
Melo felt compelled to take it further, and ran after the
Celtics team bus, which more than anything shows he just isn’t used, to or prepared for, big
game, playoff type atmospheres and occasions. Not having won anything in the
NBA means he is basically still a naïve puppy. No doubt there is more of this
brooding, sulky behaviour ahead for us to enjoy, until he finally puts his big boy shoes on.
Some sources are reporting that NBA fines are on the way for
both players, however it is hard to imagine why KG would be fined, all he was
doing was getting his bus, Melo was the punk like kid waiting for him by said
mode of transport.
Some side notes on the ‘Maul At The Madison’. In the win,the Celtics perhaps offered other teams a blue print of sorts on beating the Knicks. After a terrible 3rd
quarter, coach Doc Rivers demanded his troops guard the 3 point line better,
and force the Knicks into the paint. The tactic worked beautifully, as the
Knicks were kept to 16 points only in the crucial quarter. It would appear that
if you stop the Knicks hocking up lazy 3s, they are relatively powerless to
beat you.
One final note to those who would write off the Celtics this
season. Last night’s win came without Rajon Rondo, who was suspended for the
game by the NBA. Next time these two meet, Rondo will be on the court.
One can only imagine the painful, schoolyard fit Carmello
will throw should the Celtics prevail again in just two weeks’ time, when the
two protagonists meet again.
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