That's what Tom Ziller is saying on FanHouse today.
That flagrant foul on Anderson Varejao might be the dirtiest NBA play since … Perkins violently threw Jason Maxiell to the floor in January. Is it a pattern yet?
Doc Rivers and Tom Thibodeau haven't told their players to decapitate the opponent, I'm sure. But the style the Celtics play with Garnett as leader (even from the bench) is wild, fast and violent. The forwards and guards have to fly around to deny shots. Sometimes, when caught out of position, they flail … and rope the opponent around the neck.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion… but I wonder how many Celtics game Tom Ziller has watched this year. Leveling the "dirty" accusation is pretty heavy. This piece makes it sound like the Celtics are pulling Laimbeer-esque dirty plays on a daily basis.
Don't confuse a hard foul with dirty play. Maybe, like Doc said last night, I'm from a different generation. Maybe I understand the difference between Glen Davis' hard foul and a dirty play.
But just in case people want an explanation: Baby went for the ball, and his goal was to make Varejao earn his points from the line. Dammit, it's what you're taught to do as a player. He didn't undercut him. He didn't just swipe at his head. He didn't just lay into him with the body. He went for the ball.
It was intended to be a hard foul. He was out of position and it was a harder foul than intended. I don't want to see players go to the floor awkwardly like that. Davis was punished for it, and by the way the rules are written, he was punished accordingly (despite my disagreement with the spirit of the rule). But please, don't confuse that with a dirty play. A dirty play is different… and if you're going to level that kind of accusation, you have to know the difference.
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