Suns game

[Ellie Cutler <ellie@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Next to Olympic figure skating, last night's game was the single worst 
officiated sporting event I've ever seen in my life.  OB looked apoplectic 
and Tom Heinsohn *sounded* apoplectic (I love watching games with him) - 
all with good reason. Obvious fouls, even hard fouls, against the Cs went 
uncalled, while they got whistled for things like: going up for a rebound 
with a bunch of Suns (Baker), all-ball blocks (Antoine), and ticky-tack 
handchecks (Shammond). Meanwhile, Pierce was getting absolutely manhandled 
with NO WHISTLES. Antoine was going to the hoop all night long - decent 
drives, not his junk stuff - with no whistles.  Phoenix got away with the 
world's most blatent travel (Jordan would have even been called on that 
one), while Pierce and Baker were treated like rookies.   This was not just 
a few bad calls, but all game long. I hope the Cs make some kind of 
official protest. I didn't see what happened after the game, but  those 
refs need a witness protection program.

We couldn't buy a bucket in the 3rd quarter, and I kept yelling at Lester 
Connor (who took over when OB got ejected) to get Shammond Williams in the 
damn game! With Pierce in the locker room and both EWill and Walter on the 
court, we badly needed an offensive sparkplug and Shammond was on the 
bench!  And he should have stuck Kedrick on Joe Johnson who was tossing in 
lots of sweet floaters in the paint. And Antoine needed a rest. If he's too 
tired to even put a hand up in his man's face, take five!  On the other 
hand, Toine was the only one playing the running game in the 2nd half. He'd 
zoom upcourt with the ball and be the only Celtic surrounded by five Suns.

I thought Baker had a good first half, but was the old/new Vinnie in the 
2nd (dropping passes in the paint, didn't finish any shots). I can't 
believe how slow he is. He never runs. And this is his "in good 
shape"?  Even so, I'm definitely a Baker fan, and I think eventually it 
will work out for us. He did show flashes of all-star Vinnie in the 1st 
half, which we hadn't seen any of to date.

If Kedrick had his best practice ever the other day (OB), then I want to 
see him on the court!  When Pierce went down, they should have given 
Kedrick the ball and said 'go get 20 points in 8 minutes' and seen what he 
could do.

Pierce shouldn't have come back in the game. It was a nice gesture (and 
faintly reminiscent of Bird against Cleveland), but he was dazed and 
confused and didn't help either the team or himself. Poor kid - he really 
clocked himself on the floor and loosened up his front teeth.

I enjoyed seeing the Suns. Frank Johnson has a perpetual horrified 
expression that was very funny.  Amare Stoudamire is a stud. He's the best 
instant player coming out of HS since Garnett.  Can you imagine him in 3-4 
years? Whoa!  Marbury is a pouty princess - I still can't believe they 
traded Kidd for him.

I heard a few box scores the other day that turned my head (I need to 
investigate further): Golden State beat the Lakers! How did that happen? 
And Houston beat Dallas. Yao Ming - wow.  He seemed such a roll of the dice 
(Shawn Bradley redux), but it only took a few weeks to see that he came up 
sevens.  I can't wait to see Houston play. If Francis can keep a lid on his 
migraines, they could make the west very interesting.

 --Ellie