Horford A Class-LESS Act

[jay_jay54]

I keep saying, this guy(Horford) is as dirty as they come.  He is only a rookie and has taken some dirty shots at players around the league. I saw that play he did on TJFord, a while ago, and the "sandwich" play on PP the other day. 

1) On the T.J. Ford thing, everyone (the Raptors, Ford himself, etc.) agreed that the intent wasn't dirty.  Horford went and visited Ford in the hospital and sat with him for hours because of how bad he felt about it.  (Link.  "It wasn't a dirty play at all," Ford said. "I think I just kind of tricked him with the move and he got caught in a bad spot. He's a good kid. I told him I'm not holding anything against him.")

2) As for the sandwich play, I'm not sure what one you're talking about.  Do you mean the one where he was hit, knocked down, and then fallen on top of?  If so, that play involved Joe Johnson and Josh Smith, not Horford.

I don't think Horford is a bad kid.  He just seems like a competitor, but one with a good heart off the court.  I'm not going to condemn him for getting caught up in the moment and talking trash.

(For what it's worth -- and I would say very little -- a poster on the Hawks RealGM board reported that Horford was responding to a Pierce taunt from the end of Game 2, when Pierce was jawing with Horford, betting him $10k that the Celts would sweep).

Something told me before i condemn Horford,see where it started...something also told me,maybe PP taunted him in Boston,wouldn't be the first time.KG was taunting him in the regular season also.When its over,Paul probably will be shaking this kid hand.Horford's got skills,and PP recognizes them,and probably see some things in him,that he had as a young man.Its like playing the dozens. 

[Who]

Kevin Garnett is like a 50 times worse for this type of stuff.

Can we stop the Al Horford threads? It's wrong to complain about him and say nothing when the Celtics do it night after night.

[Scott]

Well put Who.

We cannot convenietly call out other players as being classless for talking / taunting / celebrating when we have watched the Celtics do it throughout the season.  There have already been several posts where this has been acknowledged. 

I am sure it is a safe bet that the Atlanta fans are loving Horford right now and calling Pierce the classless one.  You have to look at it impartially.

Here is another quote from Doc discussing it after a win over the Knicks:

Rivers said five Celtics - including Pierce, House, and Perkins - were talking too much, and added that his team has gotten away with trash-talking in previous games. He said such actions in a playoff game could cause them to lose.

"I told them to be quiet and play the game. So I was disappointed in us in that. It wasn't just Paul. It was five of us.

"All of us were running our mouths instead of just playing basketball. The scoreboard will talk all right. You don't have to run your mouths. I wasn't happy with that."

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/01/22/celtics_trash_knicks/

[Edgar]

Rivers said five Celtics - including Pierce, House, and Perkins - were talking too much, and added that his team has gotten away with trash-talking in previous games. He said such actions in a playoff game could cause them to lose.

"I told them to be quiet and play the game. So I was disappointed in us in that. It wasn't just Paul. It was five of us.

"All of us were running our mouths instead of just playing basketball. The scoreboard will talk all right. You don't have to run your mouths. I wasn't happy with that."

got to love when Doc acts like a real coach
I agree with u two

[casCELTIC]

I agree with the couple of posts above, starting with Who.

Can anyone explain what Horford did that was so inflammatory?

It's really sad to see the Truth - Paul Pierce still flashing gang signs...

[lobstermobster]

I would LOVE to have Horford in a Celtics uniform.

I guess it's only classy to some of us if Garnett is yapping incessantly.

[NoraG1]

I would LOVE to have Horford in a Celtics uniform.

I guess it's only classy to some of us if Garnett is yapping incessantly.

Garnett yaps at everyone and everything. He has always been that way considering his intense nature I am not surprised.

[Bahku]

Big difference between trash-talking and obvious taunts ... whatever the justification, it's kicking a guy when he's down, and that's a lack of class in my book, (but who cares about my book, right?) If anyone else had done this, especially so blatantly, it would have been a technical. Whether you support Horford or not, that's a double-standard that the league says they don't stand for. The move lacked class, bottom line, and there should have been a "T".

[jackson_34]

Could you imagine if Horford had done the same thing to a player like Kobe? The media, stern and others would be up in arms and Horford would probably be facing a league wide image problem right now, like Deshawn Stevenson.

[oldschoolceltic00]

I agree with alot of you about all the yapping the Celtics do but i think Horford went a little over the line with pointing and yelling at PP when he was on the floor. I don't agree with PP going towards their bench i would him rather file that for the next game at take it to the hawks on the floor. I hope this will wake the Celtics up as they seemed a little flat last night. I hope this incident will turn up their defensive intensity to another level. I also wish KG would stop settling for the fall away jumper. He needs to take it to the Hawks bigs.

[Bahku]

I agree with alot of you about all the yapping the Celtics do but i think Horford went a little over the line with pointing and yelling at PP when he was on the floor. I don't agree with PP going towards their bench i would him rather file that for the next game at take it to the hawks on the floor. I hope this will wake the Celtics up as they seemed a little flat last night. I hope this incident will turn up their defensive intensity to another level. I also wish KG would stop settling for the fall away jumper. He needs to take it to the Hawks bigs.

Thanks for that point, OSC ... TP! This whole thing could actually be the best thing that could have happened! I'm sure the Celts are going to use this to generate energy and intensity, and that emotion, no matter where it comes from, is exactly what was lacking last night, and the very thing needed to turn this around. I have a feeling, like you say, that the boyz will let their play speak for itself, and the Hawks will be tasting the true wrath of the Celtic Green Monster!

[jr_3421]

I agree with the recent posts. It's not the fact that Horford was talking trash to Paul. I don't expect him to just take the verbal abuse and not respond, but to run back and point in Paul's face was too much. You never see superstar do that. Imagine is Kobe or Lebron did that? Player's talk within the game which Horford clearly wasn't doing.

[NoraG1]

I agree with alot of you about all the yapping the Celtics do but i think Horford went a little over the line with pointing and yelling at PP when he was on the floor. I don't agree with PP going towards their bench i would him rather file that for the next game at take it to the hawks on the floor. I hope this will wake the Celtics up as they seemed a little flat last night. I hope this incident will turn up their defensive intensity to another level. I also wish KG would stop settling for the fall away jumper. He needs to take it to the Hawks bigs.

He did have 10-11 FT last game. I would like to see some of the gaurds (Ray and Sam mostly) take better shots and not just throw the ball up without finding the open man, that was a horrible display in the 2nd half last night. They did not pass it even once in some stretches.

[dirtyeggs]

I just want to say, personally, I love it.  Too often you see players show no emotion on the court.  Horford seems to at least care.  Can you say that about any of the other Hawks?  Sure they whoop it up when they are winning but Horford plays hard every play - winning or losing.  It is good to see someone take it personally - both Horford and Paul.  Now just go play the Celts game and crush em.

I love that there is emotion back in the game.  Playing the same team night after night has to be tough and it is going to get chippy.

And oh yeah, the refs were still awful.

[nickagneta]

As I said in other threads I think the whole incident is being made into a mountain by all of us molehill dwellers.

That said, looking at it from the Atlanta perspective, I think I would be very encouraged by what happened if I was a Hawk's fan. Horford is a two-time NCAA champion and is used to winning the last game he plays every year. If he needs to have a game like yesterday's and jaw back at Pierce to motivate his teammates and establish himself as the leader of a very talented core of young players, so be it. This team could use some of the heart, moxie, attitude and leadership that Horford brings to the court. It was the right move. With a quality PG, a better coach, and the maturation of a leader like Horford, very good things could be in store for this franchise.