Couldn't disagree with Jackie Mac more

[CelticG1]

I have no issue at all with the article.

Pierce should no better and should be smart enough to not get himself kicked from the game for pretty ridiculous unnecessary retaliatory conduct. 

I was proud of Pierce that was tough to keep his cool after that DWade hit. A lot of other people would have ran right up to him and started something. I was really impressed with his composure there

[kozlodoev]

Best description of the situation:

http://twitter.com/#!/freemaneric/status/64810414252363776

[kozlodoev]

I have no issue at all with the article.

Pierce should no better and should be smart enough to not get himself kicked from the game for pretty ridiculous unnecessary retaliatory conduct. 

I was proud of Pierce that was tough to keep his cool after that DWade hit. A lot of other people would have ran right up to him and started something. I was really impressed with his composure there

Well, that's precisely what Pierce did: he stepped towards Wade and started jawing. Not very smart, and definitely not cool.

[Moranis]

I have no issue at all with the article.

Pierce should no better and should be smart enough to not get himself kicked from the game for pretty ridiculous unnecessary retaliatory conduct. 

I was proud of Pierce that was tough to keep his cool after that DWade hit. A lot of other people would have ran right up to him and started something. I was really impressed with his composure there

Well, that's precisely what Pierce did: he stepped towards Wade and started jawing. Not very smart, and definitely not cool.

and that is why Jackie Mac's article is spot on.  Pierce absolutely should no better.

[CelticG1]

No talking in the NBA!!!!! and certainly no swearing!!!

[FatjohnReturns]

Oh please Jackie. His emotions got the best of him it happens. If Jeff Green and Baby Davis had half of Pierces fire we might actually win this series.

[clover]

I have no issue at all with the article.

Pierce should no better and should be smart enough to not get himself kicked from the game for pretty ridiculous unnecessary retaliatory conduct. 

 

Exactly.  The difference between the 80's and today is that the line of what the refs will accept has moved; that's all.  Pierce seriously let down his team in a way that he's done a number of times in the past, but not too recently.

Yes, Jackie's like any older writer (Ryan, Shaughnessy, etc.) able to refer back to earlier championship teams, as suits a good chunk of their audience.  But she's not in the least like Shaughnessy as far as lazy snark and cheap shots go.  The players respect and trust Jackie, but not Dan.

[Mr October]

Jackie is one of the best NBA writers around. I love her work.

And she is dead on. If Paul wants a title, he needs to keep his cool. And he knows it by the way he left the game.

[GreenEnvy]

I have no issue at all with the article.

Pierce should no better and should be smart enough to not get himself kicked from the game for pretty ridiculous unnecessary retaliatory conduct. 

 

Exactly.  The difference between the 80's and today is that the line of what the refs will accept has moved; that's all.  Pierce seriously let down his team in a way that he's done a number of times in the past, but not too recently.

Yes, Jackie's like any older writer (Ryan, Shaughnessy, etc.) able to refer back to earlier championship teams, as suits a good chunk of their audience.  But she's not in the least like Shaughnessy as far as lazy snark and cheap shots go.  The players respect and trust Jackie, but not Dan.

I would be upset with Pierce if he did something that obviously warranted a technical or two. Granted, his reaction to Jones' hard foul was justifiably a tech. But it was precisely that, a reaction. He reacted out of frustration from the plethora of non-calls he and Rondo both got all game. The foul from Jones was a Flagrant. That wasn't called. He had enough.

If JO had a Flagrant called on him for creating contact, how is Jones not called for one?

We will probably never know what Pierce said to Wade, but that was pathetic. Wade was the instigator (and I assume they have some bad blood going back to the last regular season game when they got tangled up), and Pierce SAYS something to him and gets T'd up. I'd not get too upset over it if it was a different ref with a quick trigger who wasn't sure Pierce had one, but it was the SAME ref.

[kozlodoev]

The foul from Jones was a Flagrant. That wasn't called. He had enough.

He didn't know whether or not a flagrant foul would be called when he reacted.

[vinnie]

Everyone loved her article on Rondo (as did I). She knows more about and is one of the best writers to cover the Celtics ever. Her article was right on. Pierce lost his cool. He should not have been ejected, but he put himself in that spot by losing his cool.

[OsirusCeltics]

No talking in the NBA!!!!! and certainly no swearing!!!

Exactly, we live in a baby-proof PC world
"You should keep you're cool. That's mean thing to do mister!!"

[hangfan]

(This is my first post on Celticsblog).

I do not think that Pierce should have been ejected for a verbal war. That is, in that scenario since he already had one tech, the ref should not have been ejecting him for something that goes on all the time on the court. The ref was just in the area and heard what was said.

Still, I think Pierce shoulders most of the blame here. Pierce knew he already had one technical. His team was trying to get back into the game. He should have held his composure. You think Pierce reacts like that to Wade running through his screen if the Celtics were up in the game? I don't think so. I think he reacted that way because he was frustrated/embarrassed. The same reason why he cheekbumped/nuzzled (ha) James Jones. He should have been channeling that energy into better defensive rotations and points. I love reading Jackie's stuff and I think she's right here. And as the Captain of the team, Pierce should have reacted better.

[celts55]

MY GOD! What has happened to the NBA. What a whimppy league it has become.
I mean come on, verbal taunting. What is Wade going to have to carry this emotional scaring to his death? Did he cry himself to sleep last night? And my goodness Pierce's head touched someone elses after the Jones hard fouled him. I didn't mind the hard foul or Pierce's reaction to it. This are grown men, let them play already.
Also that flagrent foul on JO was awful also.
As for Jackies contention that these great players of the past didn't get thrown out, it's already been said, but they never would have been for this crap. Bird would have been tossed from every game if verbal taunting was a T. McHale would have been suspended for at least one game or more likely multiple games for the Rambus take down, so plese don't make these dumb comparisions.

[Eja117]

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/columns/story?columnist=macmullan_jackie&id=6462944

Not a big fan of Jackie Mac's article on Pierce.

She talks about how Bill Russell, Bird, Cousy, and Havlicek were never thrown out of a playoff game. Really? You're going to compare how the game was called then and now? Did anyone ever get kicked out of games in those era's? I'm pretty sure you had to knife someone to get a tech in those days? Pierce swore at Wade on the second tech. He swore and thats why they gave him a T.

Another thing I have to say about these 2 ridiculous tech's is that if Pierce doesn't do anything, everyone is going to talk about how soft he and the Celtic's were, that the Heat were intimidating us and hitting us with us doing nothing. It's a lose, lose situation. He doesn't retaliate he will be labeled as "soft" and when he does do something he is being immature and not smart

When officials have the freedom to call T's and kick people out for any reason they want it is really hard for me to get upset a guy for something like that. I mean, Tim Duncan got thrown out of a game for laughing. If the refs wanted to they probably could have kicked anyone out of the game for "taunting". Isn't that what goes on for 48 minutes every game?

I completely agree with you. I trust you enough here I'm not reading the article. I'm just going to rush to judgement. Hey Jackie! You're wrong this time!