Bulpett: Miami despises gift of gab

[opi@unesco.org]

Any game against the Greasy One always feels like Superbowl Week to me
these days. Go you Celtics!

Cal Cheaney is back to try to replace some of Griffin's defense and
clutch productivity, but Pierce and Williams are definitely out so we'll
have to try to get our 20th win on the strength of our bigger lineup.

Joe

p.s. For the life of me I can't understand why certain newspapers give
away articles on the Web. It saves me a fortune on import newstand
prices which I'm actually more than desperate enough to pay for. I guess
it also saves the planet a fortune in cutting down trees. The thing
about the Boston newspapers is that I'd generally buy both the Herald
and the Globe and then throw away every section but the sports.

Anyway, another great, free Celts article below, copyright the Boston
Herald.

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Heat ticked at Celts' talk: Miami despises gift of gab
by Steve Bulpett
Tuesday, January 25, 2000

MIAMI - Sticks and stones may break their bones, but words get the Miami
Heat pretty cheesed off, as well.

Tonight's Celtics opponent is none too pleased with the way the
Bostonians talk - and it has nothing to do with not pronouncing the
letter "R". With losses to the Celts in four of the last five meetings,
the Heat are ticked about talk.

``They trash talk too much,'' said Miami point guard Tim Hardaway, who
would qualify as an expert on the subject (``Go home, punk ass,'' he
yelled to Antoine Walker near the end of a Nov. 20 Heat win  in Miami).
``That's why a lot of teams don't like them. They think they're better
than other teams. If they were better than other teams, they would have
a better record.

``When I was in Golden State, under .500, I never trash talked. I kept
my mouth closed and tried to get a win. It's not just Antoine that trash
talks, it's Paul Pierce and a couple of other guys.''

According to Pierce, however, the Celtics are simply replying. It's just
about certain Pierce won't play tonight after straining his left
hamstring in Charlotte Saturday, but he doesn't expect things to be
quiet on the court as he watches and listens from the sideline in
Boston's first visit to the new American Airlines Arena.

``I don't think it started with us,'' said Pierce after yesterday's
practice at the University of Miami. ``You've got guys out there who try
to be intimidators - Alonzo (Mourning) and Tim Hardaway - and we just
try to let them know that they're not going to be able to push us around
like that. So, I mean, if we're talking back to them or not, there's two
teams going at it. It just gets heated.''

The Floridians were clearly bothered by the fact the Celtics won three
times in as many affairs with them last season - three of the Celts'
mere 19 victories. The Heat talked it up heavily here in November,  and
the Celtics were more than happy to bark back when they won in Boston 13
days later.

Actually, the Celts began talking before the teams' first meeting this
season.

``As we went through the tunnel, we heard a lot of things,'' said P.J.
Brown. ``I heard Antoine's mouth the most. That's not good. I'm  looking
forward to beating them. I don't like to trash talk anybody. I  just
play the game.

 ``It's a little extreme when you start going through the tunnel and
talking loud. That's high school stuff.''

That, said Rick Pitino, is the way of the world. The Celts coach has
chastised his players for trash talk already this season, and he is
bothered to no end by the fact they take a similar attitude to
conversations with the refs. But he knows this comes with today's
territory.

``It's the culture that we're in,'' Pitino said. ``This whole league
does it. It's not just Miami and it's not just Boston, it's every single
team. It's the new culture. You put as many people down as possible in a
given day.''

And that's not expected to subside tonight.

``When we beat them up in Boston, there was a lot of trash talking going
on, so it's going to be a tough game,'' said Walker. ``But both teams
talk. Obviously they're the better team as far as record and being
consistent, but we feel we match up well with them and we play them
tough. We think we can beat them.''

As for the shot from Hardaway about bad teams keeping quiet, Walker
said, ``We're just two or three games from probably being in the fifth
or sixth spot in the playoffs. We're right where we want to be. And as
for me talking, I'm grown. I'm always going to have confidence in myself
and my team.''

And in his ability for knowing just what to say when the situation
calls.