I wonder how Dwight Howard will feel?

[ScoobyDoo]

I don't think the Celtics should ever be a strike first team in the mode of the Bad Boys of Detroit or the Knicks teams under Riley where you are dishing unsolicited dirty shots, etc.

But when you are taking elbows and getting roughed up over and beyond good, hard physical basketball, I think you should absolutely and almost immediately hammer the guys who dished it out to you. And what you give them should be equal to or greater than what you got.

With Howard, for example I would have either given him a shot to the face:

1. maybe a hard elbow to the face as your looking the other way.

2. Or you can also swing up at the balls very hard and just make sure your open hand catches him udner the jaw as you follow through. The next play down your elbow accidentally catches him in the nose as you're coming down with the board.

3. The you run him into double, consecutive screens ( Perk and Baby, etc.

It's very easy to retliate. Posey was a master at giving a hard "here's a warning" foul without getting T'd up for it. 

[LooseCannon]

I think that the iconic example of the hard, physical play that people like me want to see is that of Kevin McHale clotheslining Kurt Rambis.  I would love to see Lebron James roughed up like that.

[guava_wrench]

I think that the iconic example of the hard, physical play that people like me want to see is that of Kevin McHale clotheslining Kurt Rambis.  I would love to see Lebron James roughed up like that.

I view that more as an iconic dirty play. You need to hammer someone while actually making a play on the ball for it to be a good example of hard, physical play.

I don't want teams taking turns taking out star players.

[Dybdal]

I freaking loved that we pulled out Dwight Howards ugly side in our last series.. makes Dwight much more interresting as a player to watch.

Hope we get some kind of series vs both the magic and heat next year.

[FLCeltsFan]

The saddest part is that Howard gets away with his elbows.  He knocked Big Baby out without so much as a personal foul called.   If Perk so much as looks at someone he gets a T.  But Howard can throw his elbows, knock people out, and that's ok.  I'd be afraid that the way the league is officiated these days, Jungle Jim would be kicked out of the league.

Shaq definitely has the ability to give some hard hits.  Remember in the Cleveland series he caught Perk with one of those elbows and drew first blood.   

[ScoobyDoo]

Yeah, you never want to really hurt a guy, but making him feel some pain is perfectly fine. While I thought the Lakers deserved a shot like that ( mainly because they were giving unsolicited shots at McHale the entire series ) you could hurt someone on that type of play.

However, I cannot remember ever seeing anyone knocked out inan NBA game before. If you look at the replay Howard knows where his elbow is going and ne looks the other way as his left elbow comes down much faster than his right elbow does.

Howard was very deserving of having a little blood drawn with a Celtic elbow, or being hammered on an up move.

It wasn't just the play on Baby. KG took an elbow to the head, Pierce was just hammered without even a play on the ball, Rondo took a few elbows to the head / face, Perk had a shot and of course Baby was knocked out.

No way you call all of those fouls "incidental". Not possible.

Howard should've taken some very hard hits in that series but we never did it. I am hoping Shaq and also J. O'Neal who has never been shy about the occaisonal elbow or hard foul, play that role for us this year "only when necessary and after we've taken an unsolicited cheap shot" from someone.