artest has always been a thug. now he is on a team to who refs have always been given the benefit of the doubt (to put it mildly). what do you expect to happen?
pierce got a technical last nite (part of a double) because ron artest is a lunatic. pierce did nothing, while artest tossed him to the ground thirty seconds into the game. it is a shame that a complete and total class act like PP gets equal treatment as one of the guys partially responsible for one of the biggest embarrassments in nba history at palace hills. only in a joey crawford/david stern world does that make sense.
if i was the ref, i would have set a tone. artest would have gotten a tech and a stern (no pun) warning that his crap would not be tolerated the rest of the series. the refs in no way cost the celts game one, but they did allow one team to be aggressive and one team was forced to play passively. i am not sure if bynum sleeps in the paint too or they actually make him go home, but i am still waiting for him to leave. gasol was awesome in game one, but i am amazed at bynum being in the paint and being allowed to go over the back all the time with no whistles.
and as far as the KB slap play, that is a nothing play and it is sad that phil jackson had to resort to that to point out an example of dirty play. not to mention it was called a foul, which was the correct call, especially since the ref warned kg on the first slap. it is even more sad that laker fans apparently look to phil, who is doing his typical politicking through the media, as a source of the truth.
if bynum pulls his act again in game two, i would have no problem if the celts "rambissed" him real early. and bynum is either exaggerating his knee injury, or healthy, he is a combination of shaq and david robinson.
