Celtics add trash talking to their playbook
Going into the 2012-2013 season many thought that the Miami Heat would be the Celtic’s biggest rival in the playoffs, after a tough loss in the first round in the playoffs and a series of trash talking that never seemed to end the Celtics have found a new rival: the New York Knicks.
Friday’s loss to the Knicks was a heart breaker for the Celtics as they watched New York steam roll on to a series victory in the late minutes of the fourth quarter. Despite a small comeback the Celtics could not defeat the Knicks as they accepted their defeat. They did not take the loss with silent dignity though, rather the bad blood between the teams escalated when certain members of the Celtics team lashed out against their competitors.
Much of the bad blood relates to derogatory comments made towards Carmelo Anthony’s wife, La La Anthony, escalating in a confrontation between Anthony and Jordan Crawford in Game 5. This incident was possibly sparked by comments Kevin Garnett made back in January which created much controversy between the two teams. La La lashed out against Crawford calling him a “benchwarmer” only making things worse between the two teams.
Anthony was understandably upset, and he has a right to be as his wife should be left off the court and not brought up in scuffles between opposing teams. Anthony also defended his wife’s comments, saying she has a right to be upset and can say whatever she wants.
“I would be upset too if I were her,” Anthony said. “She always gets thrown into the mix of the Boston Celtics series. So I would be upset. She’s her own person and at the end of the day so she has the right to say what she wants to say.”
Whether La La should get involved is up to you to decide, there are pros and cons to both sides. Either way it certainly adds a newfound spark in the Celtics when they badly need one. With Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce facing the end of their careers and a series of sloppy moments throughout the playoffs the Celtics need all the motivation and energy that they can get. They’ll be watching basketball from now on, but the new rivalry will continue on to next season.
