Its not KG's fault, its ours...

by lethaldose on Dec 6, 2008 4:36 PM PST

I mean really. We didn't have to listen to KG, or Pierce, or any of those guys.

Know what, we wouldn't have heard a peep from them if we had kept the game close. Played better transition D. Played hard, and basically put the fear in the opposing team as we have so many times this year already. If we were up by a few in the last five minutes KG would have been too scared to taunt us. If he had, he would have really looked stupid now wouldn't he...

No, no, no, we were the Blazers of last couple of years last night. We regressed, our lack of experience was exposed, and we gave the game away by the third quarter.

You know what, I am glad it happened. We needed a smack on the mouth. We need to learn to play with fire, intensity, and toughness to get through games like this or we can just forget about making it out of even the first round of the playoffs.

It wasn't just Boston, or KG, really. Their crowd was loud, the stadium was rocking, just like it is in the Rose garden (where we haven't lost yet). This was the first away game that I remember watching this season that a crowd was as animated. We need to get used to that cause we'll be seeing it more and more, especially when we get in the playoffs, and that is more than just a possibility.

Tweet Comment 13 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

We needed it but will we EVER learn....

I am tired of the Blazers talk of toughness – lets see it. I love the team and I am impressed as hell as they win games that no one thought they would but the toughness level has to increase. They need to realize the other team is the enemy – only Joel steps it up – all the others do is talk about it. I am not saying play dirty but play tough – take offense to the smack and react during the game not just during the post game comments.

by BigDaddy72 on Dec 6, 2008 4:51 PM PST reply actions

I dont think that they have been "talking" about toughness..

not yet at least.. But they will be now. They just let the Celtics take them out of their game. We’ve done this before against the Suns and before that LA. We need to return talk with, aggresiveness and play our game. We just let Boston have too many fast break points that should have only happened one or two times only.

I think that the Blazers sometimes have too many collapsing for rebounds, and it lets the other team sprint down the court a few steps ahead. We should have been more aware and quickly adjusted to that.

by lethaldose on Dec 6, 2008 5:17 PM PST up reply actions

I don't

want to buy toughness by trading for another player. I want to see the guys that we have get it on their own.

by lethaldose on Dec 6, 2008 5:49 PM PST reply actions

I'm pretty sure KP yapps in his sleep

a 5 point lead wouldn’t stop him

Woof

by Charles Barkley McLovin on Dec 6, 2008 6:38 PM PST reply actions

Nothing to do with the Blazers Play.

KG’s actions have nothing to do with the Blazers play. They have only to do with
KG. Teams lose in the NBA everynight – and sometimes by larger margins than the Blazers lost by – but you don’t see any of the players on the winning team acting like KG did. Right now, the league, and a lot of fans – some here – keep making up excuses for KG. 99% of the players in the NBA would never act like he does. It’s called class. professionalism, and perspective. Every team loses games at some point. No body needs it flaunted at them – so they don’t do it. It’s immature, childish, and has nothing to do with being “intense”. NBA players come to win – but they respect each other. Win or lose. KG is the exception – and the league ingores the exception. But other players don’t – and it’s not just the Blazers. He’s done this to other teams – and they don’t like it either.

by Eben Calder on Dec 7, 2008 8:38 AM PST reply actions

+1

This is a guy representing one of the top 5 players in the NBA…..A good model for young kids?….there is something wrong with this guy…..and if he was mentally evaluated, he wouldn’t make it out of the parking lot without a strait jacket……He is a sick individual…..
last year, when they won the championship, him and Pierce used some of the most offensive language they could muster…The guy just stood there swearing at a national audience with his head down and covered with a towel…Totally disgusting ….and the NBA should hang their head in shame for allowing this kind of conduct…..It’s time for Stern to go…he’s making a mockery of the game and for sportsmanship in general……If hockey can clean up up their act, in a sport that demanded brutality and supported thugs, then why doesn’t the NBA realize the importance of getting the jerks in line….The game would certainly be better overall….especially for people who appreciate the walk without the talk……

'Liability on defense, is an asset on the bench" a quote from my basketball coach, who believed good defense won games and made the offense a product of it

by 67 on Dec 7, 2008 9:59 AM PST up reply actions

My own theory about KG

Is that all the years of losing in Minnesota truly warped his personality. He went beyond obsession with winning a ring to something actually sick. You’ll notice he didn’t play at all well in last season’s playoffs. He couldn’t hit a shot. The guy wanted it so bad he really was a basket case—particularly in those early series when the Celtics lost every road game. Fortunately for KG, his teammates (Pierce especially) didn’t choke like he did.

But anyway, I suspect KG got bullied and taunted a lot as a young, straight from highschool franchise player on a bad team. Now we’re seeing the result: a truly sick individual who relishes dishing out the same type of abuse. I fervently hope that the Celtics juggernaut gets derailed somehow so that KG ends up a one-ring wonder.

"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla

by hurryup09 on Dec 7, 2008 10:55 AM PST up reply actions

Yes

it could have very well went that way for KG as a youth….it might be a plausible answer for the way he is now….using his basketball status as a platform to vent his frustration with life…
    but at some point in his life the guy needs to mature into a man….He needs a wake up call to be reminded that to get respect from people, you need to give it in return…..He needs a humbling experience at the height of his glory to bring him back in touch….he’s not the only person in this world that may have a closet full of the past that’s haunting him…get over it, you’ve got nothing to prove…move on
   right now, the only correction for this guy, could be the public spanking he deserves….if no one close to him is giving him sound advice, then the venue that he plays in, should….this stuff doesn’t belong on the court, on television or anything else in the public eye…The NBA needs to stop this behavior …lots of young people in it’s fan base these days….and they seem to be a lot more tolerant of this type of behavior …maybe no hope for them, but the teens and younger don’t need to know that this stuff is OK…because it’s not…..If you need to be an animal to be good at your game, then your personal satisfaction will never get you to the point that you can look in the mirror and say…… I’m OK…How could KG possible do that…unless he puts all his value in being a man, by looking at his championship ring…
    Why should anyone allow KG to support his physique at the expense of everyone? Some lines need to be drawn……and if the NBA has any semblance of class, they would see to it that their sport is represented with professional conduct by it’s players….So the NBA gets most of the blame, if not all, for allowing antics as such on the court…..the NBA should not be playground to help get troubled youth off the streets…..It can be an out…but it has to have some rules…

'Liability on defense, is an asset on the bench" a quote from my basketball coach, who believed good defense won games and made the offense a product of it

by 67 on Dec 7, 2008 12:41 PM PST up reply actions

He didn't play at all well in last season's playoffs?

That’s flatly unfair. Undoubtedly, there were times when he frustrated Celtics fans with his unwillingness to go inside with a bit more frequency and authority, but frankly, that’s the player he is and long has been – and whether or not you have those criticisms, all the guy did was average 20 and 10 for the playoffs (with a 54.2 percent true shooting mark). He led the Celtics’ stifling defense just as he did all season, and he had his share of huge efforts – the 33 points in the pivotal Game 5 against Detroit and his 26-14 effort in the Finals clincher come to mind in particular. Claiming that he didn’t play “at all” well or that he choked really doesn’t seem accurate.

-sw

Manuel Aristides Ramirez is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.

by Steve Weinman on Dec 7, 2008 3:31 PM PST up reply actions

when he plays

his game he is one of the best….but he has to be a psychotic jerk to get it done…he can not be the player he is without it…..It’s his signature as a player and he can’t make a living without it….He doesn’t play that well when he doesn’t turn into Mr Hyde……Celitc fans don’t care…he is the heart and sole of their team…But he truly is a disgusting person and a black eye to the accepting attitude of the NBA…..Part of their show…..and taking no responsibility for it’s content

A very sad example of exploiting entertainment…..Put it in the rule book and get it stopped….

'Liability on defense, is an asset on the bench" a quote from my basketball coach, who believed good defense won games and made the offense a product of it

by 67 on Dec 8, 2008 10:00 AM PST up reply actions

I'm not sure the "disgusting person" comment is entirely fair either

I’m not saying it’s necessarily unfair but simply that I’m not sure it’s fair to brand the guy as a human being solely for a bit of taunting that went on inside the lines. My understanding of KG is that he’s a relatively private person, but beyond that, I don’t know a ton about him off the court – so I’m not making any judgments either way. But unless you’ve got some more knowledge of him away from the gym, I’d think “disgusting person” goes a bit over the top.

-sw

Manuel Aristides Ramirez is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.

by Steve Weinman on Dec 8, 2008 4:35 PM PST up reply actions

well

I don’t expect his fan base to agree with that comment…I apologize to his fan base for using that choice of words…Up until last season, KG was one of my favorite players. I was happy they won the championship, because he, Ray Allen, and Pierce had never even been close to it before…but right after the Celtics won the Championship, KG and Pierce kept swearing and acting stupid….as if they thought they needed to add something to their accomplishment…then KG got to the mic and just hung his head and kept swearing, half crazed…..and no class at all…my opinion of him dropped like a rock……this totally disgusted me…and he will wear that hat for me forever, because it never left my mind….So when he keeps reinforcing this opinion, I begin to see it as more of a constant other than just a one time emotional deal…..How about if I just call him mentally immature with an obvious chip on his shoulder…..
and the taunting has gone way to far in the NBA…it’s time to do something about it…actually it’s long over due…..lets get some respect back into the game……

It's all about defense......

by 67 on Dec 8, 2008 6:00 PM PST up reply actions

KG has crossed the line

I don’t care who apologizes for him or defends him. Getting down on all fours and barking at a player is one of the dumbest, most disrespectful things I think I’ve seen in the NBA. That’s beyond playground trash talk. You do that on the playground and you’re getting your teeth stomped in, guaranteed.

The fact that people defend it as great intensity is just as disgusting. He’s a punk bitch and someday, it will catch up with him. I’d like to see him do that to Oakley back in the day.

Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game

by iDea on Dec 7, 2008 3:13 PM PST reply actions