Re: Infobeat's report C's loss to Pacers

[Kestutis.Kveraga@Dartmouth.EDU (Kestutis Kveraga)]

--- You wrote:

> "They commit the most fouls in the league,"
> Indiana coach Larry Bird said. "We knew if we drove it at them, kept
> taking it inside, we'd get to the line. We were planning to
> get to the line 25-to-30 times."

Yeah, no kidding. And with officials like the ones last night you can take it to the bank. If it's the officiating norm in the Conseco Fieldhouse, no wonder the Pacers are so "unbeatable" at home. 

It was an old-fashioned  mafia hit job. Whoever showed any spunk for the Celtics was quickly saddled with fouls, because they knew Pitino will yank the player quickly. If Pitino didn't cooperate, they just fouled you out of the game (Potapenko), basically for breathing. In the first few minutes of the game, we got whistled for an avalanche of fouls, while the Pacers, who must be the cleanest, best defensive team in the NBA did not have a foul until 8 minutes into the game. 

> Smits was 11-for-15 from the field and made all four of his free
> throws.

Small wonder, when the refs enforce a 5-foot protective zone around you, you might as well be shooting in an empty gym. 


> "They go to the line quite a bit," Boston coach Rick Pitino said.
> "I don't usually comment too much about the officiating. Let me
> just drop it there, I'll stay with my policy."

I guess he commented on it by not commenting. 

> Antoine Walker led the Celtics with 27 points, but
> was only 11-of-27 from the field.

It's not easy to make shots when 2 people hit you when you shoot and get away with it. 

> "We put ourselves in position to win, but unfortunately came up
> short," Pitino said. "They got to the foul line.
> We didn't. Give them credit."

By "them", he must mean the refs. 

Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, we won the game. If it hadn't been for Barros's brilliant performance, even the officials may have not saved those flop artists. Why is this guy playing - at all? He might be a nice guy and the co-captain, but as a basketball player, he's not only completely useless - he's actively harmful to the team. In the fourth quarter alone, he drop-kicked the ball (which Cheaney miraculously caught), passed it to the Pacers, was stuffed on a drive, and, on the last possession, dribbled out most of the clock and then took a wild shot while being guarded by 2 Pacers - all the while Walker and Pierce were both completely open at the 3-point line. While Overton may not be much of a PG, he must be an upgrade over a 5-9 shooting guard who can't shoot, pass, dribble, or guard anyone. 

Other random thoughts:

* I think one reason for Kenny's excellent assist-to-turnover ratio (and his lowish assist average) is that unless it's a completely safe pass, he doesn't pass the ball  and prefers to take the shot himself. While it may not a bad thing sometimes, given Kenny's offensive talent and efficient scoring this year, it kind of kills the fastbreak more often than not. 

* Potapenko's been playing excellent basketball lately - offensively, defensively, rebounding, even shotblocking. Is it just me, or is he jumping higher these days? He's been a tiger on the offensive boards and even dunked last night. 

* Did Fortson ever slug an official or something? (I wouldn't blame him if he did.) There seems to be a contract out on him - they just won't allow him to play. 

Frustrated,
Kestas