Foil in the Oven: The Fix Is In

I decided on the title of today's Foil in the Oven last night in the throes of post-game frustration. I'm feeling more stable this morning, and I'm able to examine the events of Game 2 in a less cataclysmic light. Nevertheless, I have to air my grievances with the officiating. I have dashed off the next section. If you are a Celtics fan, and want to commiserate, please read. If you are not a Celtics fan, and don't feel like hearing the homer thing, go ahead and skip it. Now, I think it's fair criticism. But, the officiating has been awful throughout the entire post-season, so I understand if you don't want to read more about it.


All of this PDA at an NBA playoff game? Come on Tom, you're better than that.

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The officiating, particularly in the first half, was incredibly poor and one-sided. Ray Allen should have gone to the locker room at halftime with one foul instead of three. The first foul on Allen was a particularly weak call, as Rip Hamilton literally jabbed the ball into him to get the whistle. Even Jeff Van Gundy thought it was a bad call and I'm convinced that he hates the Celtics.

I kept replaying this call over and over again in my mind every time Kevin Garnett had the ball in his hands. I kept saying out loud "well, if we're going by the way they've called things on the other end, I find it really hard to believe that Kevin Garnett wasn't fouled on that sequence." If you watched the game, you know that KG was working harder than he's had to work all postseason on the offensive end. There was a lot of contact, and yet he only shot two free throws in the game. I'm all for letting them play, and this was more indicative of how I'd like to see games called, but the problem last night was that the action wasn't being called evenly.

Ray Allen's third foul, which was apparently the result of him moving his arms inward to try and secure the ball after Lindsey Hunter swiped it, was nearly as bad as the first. In my mind, there can only be a foul called there if Ray fouls Hunter in an attempt to stop him from having a transition opportunity. The whistle was too quick. This contrasted sharply with a similar sequence a few possessions later, when the referees waited for Hunter to foul Pierce about 5 times (even one of the announcers said 'wow, he fouled him 3 or 4 times there) and didn't blow the whistle until Hunter and Pierce were literally on the ground.

The goaltending call on KG was close and should have been a no-call, like the charge they didn't call on Rip a couple of possessions later. I have no problem with letting those calls go at the end if they are not blatant, BUT you have to let them go on both sides. In my mind, these two plays down the stretch really embodied the overall officiating trends of the game.

At halftime, I was blaming the officiating for the Celtics being down. However, by the end of the game I could not pin the loss squarely on the referees. The Celtics were outplayed. But, the effects of the poor officiating cannot be discounted. The poor first half officiating directly affected the Celtics in two ways as the game progressed:

1) The Celtics were clearly frustrated with the way the game had been going, and this led to them committing an inordinate amount of second and quarter fouls. Now, that's on them. They're professionals. But, I think a great deal of their frustration stemmed from those calls.

and, more importantly:

2) Ray Allen finally found his shooting touch, but had to sit for an unnecessary portion of the second half because of his foul trouble.


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Now, all that said, give all the credit in the world to the Pistons. They turned in a signature performance in a hostile environment. They made every big shot that they took. They forced the Celtics into bad shots when they had to. And, it wasn't just the usual suspects. Certainly, Rip Chauncey Tayshaun and Sheed all contributed in big ways, but they could not have won without huge contributions from Antonio McDyss and Rodney Stuckey and very efficient minutes from Lindsey Hunter. This team is so steady and fluid, and that's why they have a winning record on the road during these playoffs.

Am I still confident? Absolutely. Here's why:

Although the Celtics defense looked strong at times (mainly at the start of each half), it was bad overall. They allowed the Pistons to shoot over 49 percent from the field. They allowed far too many easy transition baskets, and they put Rip and Chauncey at the line too many times. This, combined with the fact that Detroit seemed like they couldn't miss down the stretch, was the worst case defensive scenario for the Celtics. And yet, they were right there. They were in this game until the final second ticked away.

Perhaps the best part of last night, and the part that got me out of bed with such a positive energy this morning, was the re-emergence of Ray Allen. Allen looked unstoppable towards the end of the game, and I have to wonder how things might have turned out if he didn't have to be sat down with foul trouble. He was hitting outside shots, he was driving and changing up his pace, he even drove baseline and threw down a dunk. Ray is back, and that means trouble for the Pistons. They are certainly a great defensive team, but how do you defend this Celtics team when its three superstars are all on their game?

The gauntlet has finally been thrown down. It was only a matter of time. If these Celtics are indeed a championship caliber team, they eventually need to show us that they have the moxie to win a game outside of the protective confines of the TD Banknorth Garden. Perhaps this is just what they needed. For the first time during these playoffs, the Celtics will take to the road with a sense of urgency. With their backs to the walls, in a hostile environment, this team will have a chance to silence all of their doubters.

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Baseball has lost some of its magic for me over the past few years, and this is something that I find disheartening. Somehow, the combination of seeing Major League Baseball throw these players under the bus for infractions on which they knowingly turned a blind eye for profit and the mutation of some of my childhood heroes into these iniquitous caricatures of their former selves (see the Babcock Report below) has weighed heavily on me and made it more difficult for me to invest myself fully into the game that I once enjoyed so freely. Along with this, I have always been discouraged by the fact that the players and owners can't seem to find any common ground on an issue (a potential salary cap) that would be so good for the sport. While the other professional leagues are thriving in new markets, Major League Baseball continues to be bogged down by inequity. Every year there is a surprise team or two, but they are aberrations. Perhaps it is a more accurate representation of our society, but it makes for poor entertainment. I find the arms race that takes place every off season between the super powers equally as disturbing as the situation mentioned above. But, as a life long Red Sox fan that has already been to Fenway Park three times this season, I guess I'm not part of the solution.

Anyways, apologies for that. What I wanted to say is that there is a handful of players that I will always hold in the highest regard as a symbol of everything that's right about baseball. I have my own reasons for loving these players, and maybe some of them are the result of nothing more than fan bias. But, two of them were in the news yesterday, and I want to touch on them quickly.



1) Pedro Martinez announced yesterday that reports of his retirement after 2008 were inaccurate. I love Pedro's attitude on the mound, I love his approach to the game, and I still consider his 1999 and 2000 seasons among the highest level of performance that I have ever seen as an athlete. He has done a great job of adjusting his repertoire to counteract the aging process, and I look forward to continuing to watch him pitch whenever the Mets are on national TV.


2) Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 598th home run last night. It's hard to not feel completely unfulfilled when looking back on Griffey's career. Between his charismatic personality and his perfect swing, this guy is one of my all-time favorites. Had he stayed healthy, he most certainly would be the home run king. Who in today's game would be more deserving of such a title.
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Here is a hilarious video of Charles Barkley. You have to watch the whole thing, it's great.


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Two final thoughts:

1) Hilarious text message came last night from Ferrante at crunch time when the Pistons were pulling away "Maybe Doc is telling them to punch back instead of actually coaching them."

2) On Sportscenter, Marcellus Wiley just said that Pacman Jones at wideout is a good idea for Dallas because he'll have to spend more time reading the playbook and less time at "those naked ballets". Awesome.