I hate Bill Plaske and his holier than thou attuitude / media reaction to Pierce

[Robb]

Here are the real problems:

1.  Someone actually read what that Plaschke hack wrote.
2.  Someone actually watched Skip "Leatherface" Bayless long enough to hear a word come out of his mouth.

How about you read a good writer:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=CelticsLakersGame1-080605

History says he'll insist on playing hurt, even if a game off would help. Any doubts about Pierce's toughness were forever dispelled when he quickly recovered from that stabbing incident in 2000 that no one even brings up any more.

[CoachCowens]

Here is the email i sent to Plaschke. I encourage everyone to write. I know he will probably read it as a compliment but it made me feel better.

Title
Great analysis of game 1

Body
Either you are the biggest homer in the history of sports writing or you are mentally challenged. No wonder knuckleheads like Woody and Mariotti kill you on Around the horn.

[saibnel]

The media and opposing fans are for the most part out of their mind.  It might not have been Willis Reed, but it wasn't nothing, either.
[/quote]

You are right, it wasnt Willis Reed, Reed had almost no factor on that game you want to talk about a comeback being over blown by the final outcome, if I remember correctly he was so limited he played 20 odd minutes and had like 7 pts.

It is unbelievable what media bias does, if it was Kobe who it had happened to he would have been Baby Jordan fighting through pain to get back out there.

Even minus the injury, the focus should be on the fact in two huge games PP went 8-12 for 27 pts against Det. and when we were down in the second half of game 1 NBA finals he went 6-6 for 19 pts, honestly those are efficiency numbers that I have never seen anyone put up. 3 points per shot, are you kidding me. 2 threes in 20 seconds to give the C's a lead they would not ever relinquish. That is the story injury or not

It sucks for the media when they pregame notions of a Lakers coronation get punched in the mouth by a tough minded team

[Roy Hobbs]

You are right, it wasnt Willis Reed, Reed had almost no factor on that game you want to talk about a comeback being over blown by the final outcome, if I remember correctly he was so limited he played 20 odd minutes and had like 7 pts.

Reed could barely walk.  He was hobbling around like he should be on crutches, and he still came back and hit two big shots to open the game.  Reed's impact was more emotional than anything else; there's no doubt it gave the Knicks a huge lift.  It went well beyond numbers.  The fact is, he shouldn't have been out there at all, and he was doing everything to help his team win. 

Pierce's situation was different.  I have no doubt he has a legitimate injury, but last night -- whether it be due to adrenaline, painkillers, or whatever -- that injury didn't effect Pierce's mobility nearly to the same extent as it did Reed.  By Pierce's own admission, he wasn't feeling a lot of pain once the adrenaline got flowing, and he was moving well.  It was a gutty performance, but it wasn't the same as Reed, by any stretch.

[NoraG1]

I would so love a truthful answer from the media with this question.

Would you say Kobe was faking an injury if this happened to him? I bet it would be the exact opposite reaction. They would be praising Kobe for being a warrior.

[PaulBonner]

Random side tangent:

Does it bother anyone else the way the media specifically, and people in general, seem to have to latch onto some famous past event like Watergate or the Willis Reed game and just automatically slap that label on something like the Patriots taping scandal or Pierce coming back from a knee injury?

Are we THAT lazy that we need to just put these stupid labels on events and situations like that in order to be able to neatly categorize things? This bothers me when any kind of scandal becomes "(Scandal)-Gate" and now Pierce's game last night becomes "Pierce's Willis Reed Moment" or something. Paul Pierce's 3rd quarter last night has ZERO to do with Willis Reed but because of how lazy we all are they will become inextricably linked in NBA lore, forever.

/End rant

[oldmanspeaks]

I wrote this in another forum but it bears repeating. Anyone who accused Pierce of faking just doesn't understand sports injuries. Anyone who has had a sprain knows they can continue to play after the initial pain passes. I once played a double-header at second base after severely spraining my shoulder. You just have a minor restriction on movement.
HOWEVER, the problem is the next day when everything swells up. I couldn't even get out of bed without help. It isn't surprising at all that Pierce came back after a severe sprain. What the issue is how well will the training staff be able to keep the swelling down for future games.
What is disturbing is that anyone who has played sports should know that. How can any "sports writer" not know the effects of a sprain?

[Donoghus]

Plascke has always been a moron and a hack.  He just is looking for attention.

My guess is that Pierce was able to finish up that game on adrenaline and moving all around and that the swelling and pain didn't really hit him until that game was over.  That's what happens with these type of injuries if they're just sprains.  You can play through the initial pain but once things subside and you let the knee sit, you feel like holy hell.  You'd think people in the sports media would have a better idea of how these things work.

[connerhenry43]

Random side tangent:

Does it bother anyone else the way the media specifically, and people in general, seem to have to latch onto some famous past event like Watergate or the Willis Reed game and just automatically slap that label on something like the Patriots taping scandal or Pierce coming back from a knee injury?

Are we THAT lazy that we need to just put these stupid labels on events and situations like that in order to be able to neatly categorize things? This bothers me when any kind of scandal becomes "(Scandal)-Gate" and now Pierce's game last night becomes "Pierce's Willis Reed Moment" or something. Paul Pierce's 3rd quarter last night has ZERO to do with Willis Reed but because of how lazy we all are they will become inextricably linked in NBA lore, forever.

/End rant

paul bonner, i know you are new to this site, but i think i love you. i really do.

throw in the fact that ______gate does not even make sense, and it is even more illogical. Watergate is the complex where the Nioxon scandal started to unfold. The name of the place was not Water, thus prompting the name Watergate.

but yes, people are that lazy.

BTW, willis reed had 4 points in that game.

[lon3lytoaster]

"Wow, Billy boy... Just out of curiosity, do you even know a [dang] thing about the Celtics, Paul Pierce, or NBA basketball in general? No, wait. Nevermind, you're completely right. The same Paul Pierce who was practically body slammed by Amare Stoudemire in a game a few years ago where he had several teeth knocked out and then still came back to play the rest of the game. Or were you referring to the Paul Pierce who was stabbed in the face, neck, and chest and then came back to play that entire season and had a career year. Oh well, either way. you're completely right. Paul Pierce completely faked a knee injury in the NBA Finals just so he could "distract" the Lakers. Did you forget that Pierce had already erased their slim halftime lead when he went down? Sure, Plaschke... That makes all the sense in the world.

By the way, Bill... Get off your knees and zip up Kobe's pants because Kobe didn't fake Paul Pierce out of anything, maybe you should actually watch a [dang] game for once."

There was my rushed e-mail to Billy boy.

[saibnel]

You are right, it wasnt Willis Reed, Reed had almost no factor on that game you want to talk about a comeback being over blown by the final outcome, if I remember correctly he was so limited he played 20 odd minutes and had like 7 pts.

Reed could barely walk.  He was hobbling around like he should be on crutches, and he still came back and hit two big shots to open the game.  Reed's impact was more emotional than anything else; there's no doubt it gave the Knicks a huge lift.  It went well beyond numbers.  The fact is, he shouldn't have been out there at all, and he was doing everything to help his team win. 

Pierce's situation was different.  I have no doubt he has a legitimate injury, but last night -- whether it be due to adrenaline, painkillers, or whatever -- that injury didn't effect Pierce's mobility nearly to the same extent as it did Reed.  By Pierce's own admission, he wasn't feeling a lot of pain once the adrenaline got flowing, and he was moving well.  It was a gutty performance, but it wasn't the same as Reed, by any stretch.

Roy - I think you took my post as disagreeing with you. I was not, basically I was saying what you are saying (i am just so frustrated with the national media coverage) Reed was a more serious injury and was an emotional lift. Paul was an instant scare type of injury and his affect was more directly through his play. It is frustrating to me that PP would be called out for being a huge factor in winning a game

[Nerf MVP]

Random side tangent:

Does it bother anyone else the way the media specifically, and people in general, seem to have to latch onto some famous past event like Watergate or the Willis Reed game and just automatically slap that label on something like the Patriots taping scandal or Pierce coming back from a knee injury?

Are we THAT lazy that we need to just put these stupid labels on events and situations like that in order to be able to neatly categorize things? This bothers me when any kind of scandal becomes "(Scandal)-Gate" and now Pierce's game last night becomes "Pierce's Willis Reed Moment" or something. Paul Pierce's 3rd quarter last night has ZERO to do with Willis Reed but because of how lazy we all are they will become inextricably linked in NBA lore, forever.

/End rant

I hear that.

If and when Pierce suits up for game 2, it'll be his "Bloody Sock" game.......gate.

[goz421]

I want to know why homerism is allowed today.  I remember Tommy Heinshon being fired for his bias awhile back.  Also why is it Pierce get no love when he does well on a national level.  Is he not glamorous enough.  Remember the national team he was on and how Miller froze him out and Karl laid the plate on Peirce fro daring to watch Venus Williams like an red blooded american.  No one knows how as a rookie he cried in frustration. How he gets criticized for tearing his shirt off.  Something Dennis Rodman do every other game.  How his supposed gang symbol became national sensation.

Pierce deserves to win because we in Boston know he has been misjudged his whole carrer.

If he were kobe being carried off the court, or Lebron we wouldn't be mentioning the word faker but instead would be seething with the possibilities he might be done.

[PaulBonner]

Random side tangent:

Does it bother anyone else the way the media specifically, and people in general, seem to have to latch onto some famous past event like Watergate or the Willis Reed game and just automatically slap that label on something like the Patriots taping scandal or Pierce coming back from a knee injury?

Are we THAT lazy that we need to just put these stupid labels on events and situations like that in order to be able to neatly categorize things? This bothers me when any kind of scandal becomes "(Scandal)-Gate" and now Pierce's game last night becomes "Pierce's Willis Reed Moment" or something. Paul Pierce's 3rd quarter last night has ZERO to do with Willis Reed but because of how lazy we all are they will become inextricably linked in NBA lore, forever.

/End rant

paul bonner, i know you are new to this site, but i think i love you. i really do.

throw in the fact that ______gate does not even make sense, and it is even more illogical. Watergate is the complex where the Nioxon scandal started to unfold. The name of the place was not Water, thus prompting the name Watergate.

but yes, people are that lazy.

BTW, willis reed had 4 points in that game.

Hahahaha, thanks for the props, I'm a longtime celticsblog reader, infrequent board commenter. I'm just fired up about this whole thing, had to say my piece.

1 down, 3 to go!

[ma11l]

"Paul Pierce, the Boston Celtics captain, was carried from the opening game of the NBA Finals in the third quarter Thursday with an apparent serious knee injury that momentarily deadened and distracted the Lakers."


Oh really Bill, it distracted the Lakers??  How do you think the Celtics felt.  Their leader who had gotten through the closeout games of the last two series was in immense pain on the floor.  I think that might've distracted them just a bit as well.  You've proven that you know nothing about knees, basketball, and apparently just human emotions in general.


I feel really bad for the Lakers that they were so distracted because the other team's captain was hurt, get a life you moron.