Every
morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here...
highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as
satisfying a good morning dump.
Wallace was whistled for a foul after clashing with Turkoglu, then referee Ed Malloy called the technical.
“I didn’t use no profanity, I just said, ‘He’s a flopper,’ ’’ Wallace said after Boston’s 116-113 victory at TD Garden. “And [Malloy] gave me a tech for that. The league should make that a rule - flopping.
“It’s not like I threw my shoulder into him, or it was a hard push, or real hard contact. Come on, now. Showing on a pick, I’m already there, he touches me - ‘Ohh,’ he acts like I shot him or something. ‘Ohh.’ That’s not basketball, man, that’s not defense, that’s garbage, that’s what it is.’’
Paul Pierce and coach Doc Rivers also were hit with technicals, following a Pierce dunk early in the fourth quarter that sent the Raptors’ Chris Bosh sprawling.
“It’s watered down, with all that flopping [stuff],’’ Wallace said.
“They set rules on us to the point where you’re taunting. When Paul dunked it and then, Paul didn’t say nothing, he just looked at him. Let The Golden Child do that or one of the NBA [Basketball] Without Borders kids do that and it’s all fine and dandy.’’
Asked if he was referring to Cleveland’s LeBron James, Wallace said, “Take a guess,’’ acknowledging that he was.
Globe - Wallace Flips Over Flops
Sheed must finally be comfortable in green, because he unleashed the inner Wallace on the media. I love the dig on LeBron, but I'm not quite sure who/what he means by the "without borders kids" comment. Any thoughts?
On page 2, the Raptors get bashed for not responding to the Pierce taunt.
And what tells you much about what ails Toronto’s NBA squad is that the only people in the gym who didn’t react appropriately were Bosh’s teammates. The refs got it right, assessing Pierce a technical foul. Toronto’s coaches, stomping the sideline in outrage, were suitably fuming. And the Celtics reserves, sensing escalation, bolted from their bench.
But the rank-and-file Raptors, other than those checking on Bosh’s condition, watched the whole thing like couch potatoes. No surprise, then, that they also got beat soundly by a better, tougher team, 116-103.
“There’s no other way to say it – we just got punked,” said Antoine Wright, Toronto’s veteran swingman, a rare voice of outrage on a ho-hum club.
Toronto Star - Raptors Bow Meekly to Celtics
Like I stated in my post game blog, I don't think Pierce knew Bosh was injured when he "flexed." It happened almost immediately after the dunk. But if the Raptors felt disrespected, then they should have done something about it. I'm not advocating a brawl, a few pushes would suffice.
The rest of the links:
Globe - Celtics Wear Down Raptors | No KO Punch | Herald - Inconsistent Cs Get Bad Rap | Defense a Part Time Job in Win | Worc. Telegram - Celtics Add By Division | Toronto Sun - Raptors Defence Disappears | Comcast - Celtics Dominate Raptors... Again | ESPN Boston - Cs Know Defense Wins Games |