Someone asked Mike Brown after the game if he worries that the Cavs' in-game, on-the-bench celebrations are becoming too much, whether other teams might resent them. The same person asked LeBron James if he worried that dancing and celebrating on the bench "disrespected" another team. No problem with the question. The guy who asked — Tom Withers of the Associated Press — is one of the best and most professional journalists in the area, and he was seated courtside near the Celtics bench so he had an idea how the Celtics were reacting.
A little background: The Cavs blew out the Celtics Sunday, though it was predictable. The Cavs were continuing their home-court celebration that has been going on all season. The Celtics knew their playoff seeding before the game started, and Kevin Garnett didn't play. It was understandable that they weren't mentally there.
So the Cavs blew them out, and LeBron James again sat out the fourth quarter and he did Sunday what he did last Wednesday and that was to enjoy himself. He celebrated good plays from his teammates, and he danced, and he really celebrated a Wally Szcerbiak blocked shot.
And when the folks at the Q played "Never Gonna Give You Up" — Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down … — James, Mo Williams and Delonte West danced on the bench, as this AP photo shows. (James, incidentally, has the song on his iPod).
Some Celtics took umbrage. Ray Allen addressed it, telling The AP: "I'm always going to remember that. If I beat a team, as happy as I may be in victory, I'm always going to stay humble and always remember that there's another day."
This is pretty silly, really. I mean, the Cavs were not showing lack of humility. And the Celtics are the same team that patented "Gino" last season; he's the bearded guy who danced when Boston folks knew a win was in hand and blared his song and image on their big screen. Fans danced with him to the BeeGees, and so did some of the Celtics. They're also the team that let Paul Pierce give a rambling monologue about himself and his championship prior to the season opener, a rambling monologue that went on far too long.
Boston's players liked that. The Cavs didn't begrudge them any of it. Now that the Cavs are 39-1 and celebrating with their fans at home it's a problem?
Please.
It's all in fun. The Cavs don't disrespect anyone. James is mature beyond his years. And when playoff time comes, a lot of these shenanigans will go away and it will be about basketball.
Mike Brown is aware what happens can rankle folks, and he added if players do that stuff they best back it up. He also is well aware that if the team loses, that kind of stuff will be brought up and used against it (in a court of law).
I'm not a guy big on celebrating when a team is getting its patootie kicked, or in taunting when it's ahead. But when a team is ahead and is just having fun without mocking or taunting the other team, what's the problem? When the game ended, all the Cavs players waved to Boston's — which (again) is the NBA style of sportsmanship. There isn't a problem, and making any issue of it now is just frustration. It will all mean nothing come playoff time.
The Cavs have done things at home only one team in NBA history has done. They are within one game of matching Boston's all-time home record. They could win 40 of 41 home games, for crying out loud, and they have a chance to win 67 games this season. In a game that meant so little to Boston it got blown out by the end of the first quarter, there's nothing wrong with a little celebrating on the bench. It involves the crowd, lets the fans share the joy, and shows the exuberance and togetherness of this team and its leader.
Besides, as James said, if the other team feels disrespected by things, it can do something about it. If it does, James won't be sitting on the bench in the fourth quarter.
Sunday was a celebration, from start to finish, for the Cavs and their fans. It has zero effect on the playoffs, or any playoff series between Cleveland and Boston, two of the NBA's best teams. That series will be hard fought, fiercely contested and well-played. It might get tense, and it will be intense.
But Sunday was a celebration earned and deserved for a team that has lost once in 40 games at home. Taking it any other way is just flat wrong.
Random items from the game:
—The Cavs shot 10-for-16 from three-point range, the second-best percentage of the season.
—Cleveland is 37-1 when it scores 100 points.
—The Cavs had 24 assists on 38 baskets.
—Boston scored nine points in the first quarter.
—The last five games, James is shooting 93.2 percent (41-for-44) from the free-throw line.
—What can anyone take from this game as it affects the playoffs? Nothing.
—Though Ray Allen wasn't thrilled with Anderson Varejao for flinging him to the ground after a free throw. Both were assessed technical fouls after Allen elbowed Varejao in the … thigh.
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Pat, those rehearsed celebrations are complete BS, and you know it. You'd be writing the exactly the opposite if James was now hurt and out for the post-season, and Glen Davis was dancing around like an idiot and doing the jitterbug while 14 guys held their arms together and kicking their legs up like the Rockettes while lip-synching ABBA's "Dancing Queen." It's gotten so bad, that even Jack Ramsay felt the need to openly criticize it during the radio broadcast. Act like freakin' professionals, dammit.
Alan, we would all like to act "like we've been there before" but we really haven't. Never like this. Never with the best playa eva! Sue me and the team [Pat Too] for gettin a little celebratory.
give me a break alan. what the cavs did is what every team in the nba does in that situation.
act like professionals? tell that to ray allen when he elbows a.v. in the nads. tell that to k.g. when he is playing tough guy on the floor with a guy half his size. tell that to marbury….well maybe you should just record that for him so he can use it as an alarm clock every morning.
"act like a freakin' professional steph!….act like a freakin' professional steph!"
i could give a ghost dump what the cavs do on the bench in a blowout. in the playoffs it's time to bring the pain. that is all that matters. this celtics team is prime for a breakdown. k.g.'s knee isn't going to magically be healed in a week and if ray allen wants to worry about non-basketball antics then good for the cavs.
here's ray allen's quote:
“I’m always going to remember that,” Ray Allen said. “If I beat a team, as happy as I may be in victory, I’m always going to stay humble and always remember that there’s another day. We play each other too much. Those are great motivational thoughts for me.”
that doesn't sound like a defending champion. that sounds like a scared man. you need that for motivation ray??? pathetic. the cavs are in the defending champions heads. good luck with that mentality ray.
i should probably do this all in one post but screw it…
here's lebron's quote:
"If you take it as disrespectful, then you got to do something about it.”
that is a championship mentality. not some crybaby b.s.
Alan. Please say you wrote the SAME stuff about Garnett and company last season. PLEASE say you did. The Celtics were far WORSE and Garnett was the ring leader. Alan there is something teams can do about those celebrations at home…..BEAT THE CAVS. The Lakers, so far, are the only team to stop the "dancing" in the Q….dance on Cavs…dance on.
BTW, I point to the Bulls again…who often played "Another one bites the dust" in the final minute of the game when they had just kicked a teams butt! Teams hated it…but there was NOTHING they could do about it. LOL Go Cavs!
Nice post terje
I've been waiting 45 years for season like this one.
I want everyone involved to enjoy it including the players. Screw the Celtics if they don't like. Allen's frustration just shows that the Celtics they are a notch or two behind the Cavs. Varajao and Allen got tangled up on a play. It was Allen who pulled the dirty move (we all saw the elbow) and then later claimed it was AV who was playing dirty (again – we all saw the video). What a sore loser.
Ben Wallace has "been there before." If he had any guts, he'd tell James and the rest of the ultra-hip photography studio employees/dance squad to stop acting like total jackasses.
It's no different than baseball, when the manager gives the pitcher the sign to nail the batter. It's only a matter of time, even if an opposing team saves it for next season, it's going to happen. Perhaps a facsimile Kevin McHale decapitation of Kurt Rambis will eventually become necessary, because those guys just don't seem to "get it."
Alan, then that means someone on their squad is getting taken out too. Without going into it too much….what you are saying is not happening because these guys REALLY…..REALLY hang out too much off the court. You sound like an older gentlemen Alan (not a dig on you) and I am just telling you the stuff in the 80's ain't happening now because there would be too much bad blood beyond the court.
You seem to not like outward emotion being shown….which is cool. I STILL say if teams don't like it….don't play dirty (that's cowardice) just go out and beat the Cavs like the Lakers did.
And when people begin to play dirty….I take that as a sign of respect…..because they can't beat you on the court, they wanna resort to fighting…hilarious.
Thall, the Celtics were far worse? What in the world are you talking about??? There was never choreography before, during or after a regular season game. There was never choreography before, during or after a playoff game. It was all old school business. As it should be. With the exception of Garnett's stupid chalk thing, all business. Until they won it.
If they want to act like retards, then save it for after the fourth win of a championship playoff series. Otherwise, cut the crap.
I imagine Bill Russell, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan are already planning on finding a nice grassy knoll to teach somebody on that team a lesson on how to behave like a professional. Russell is 75, but in this case, he'll do everything in his power to have steady aim.
Alan, you have league pass? Where you can watch ALL the games? If you do, you'd KNOW Garnett does a LOT more than toss chalk. LOL You just don't like dancing….I get that. Ever salsa? LOL
Garnett trash talks, Thall. There's nothing more old school than trash talking.
Just because this is 2009 doesn't give these guys a license to act like juveniles with the IQ of a schnauzer. The only reason the Spurs ever sent Danny Ferry on the court was, on coach's orders, to (a) shoot a three-pointer or (b) to elbow a guy in the face during a loose ball scrum. Those elbows are going to be entirely deserved.
Garnett should shut up and play….according your "philosophy" Good night, man. Go Cavs! Next time Garnett says something other than asking the ref for an explanation for a foul….someone should take him out. LOL RIght Alan? Technical Fouls for anything other than shaking hands or asking the ref for an explanation.
Ban EVERYTHING or nothing.
alan, your argument is weak.
watch this video and talk to me about being a professional.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkwEy9Zui7Y
it's the nba. not wwe.
You just don't "get it," Thall. Pretending to have a JC Penney photography studio and acting like karaoke drunks in a Japanese restaurant is above and beyond simple "celebratory." It's showing up other teams, total disrespect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxmV1kKa63Q
Alan… You link to TO… a football player. How does that make your point? If the Cavs were going out on the celtics floor and dancing on their logo… with intent… that's disrepect… that would be the comparison you seem to be reaching for.
But what actually happened?
They were dancing to Never Gonna Give You Up on the bench during a timeout… how does that disrespect anybody? Sigh. The illogic of it all.
Now.. Pat had a good point… if the team was losing and doing that… bad sign. But what else should they do when they are winning big? Sit quietly? Read a book? Meditate? Spend time in prayer, perhaps on their knees? It was a timeout on the floor and there was a dance tune playing. How is this an issue?
Pat… if you waded through all of the above… I only have one question… why do you keep saying the elbow was to the thigh? I watched the video on both espn and nba.com both clearly show it was aimed at, and connected with, a family-sensitive area. Why did you choose to call it the thigh?
And for the rest of you… if we are going to rant on unprofessionalism… doesn't an elbow to the groin top dancing on the bench? If I get thrown down, I might get up and bump chests… maybe shove even… but an elbow to the groin?? Most classless thing I have seen in a long time.
How does that disrespect anybody, John? Please. Just like Coach said on the video I linked, you didn't see Willie Mays wiggle and show up the other team while rounding the bases.
Wrong time, wrong place. Keep the idiotic rehearsed over-the-top shenanigans in the locker room. It's like walking into an Irish bar at midnight on St. Patrick's Day. There's everything out there but the vomit. It's been going on for months now, I wouldn't be surprised if David Stern, during the off-season, eventually puts a mandated kibosh on it.
I hate it. Evidently, so do opposing players, and for good reason. I would have no difficulty if Danny Fortson comes out of retirement next season to put the Dick Butkus into one of those guys as payback.
And again… Willie Mays may not have wiggled while rounding the bases… but he damn sure had fun with his teammates on the bench between innings when his team enjoyed a big lead. You think he got his nickname because he was so damn serious all the time. Stop being a fool.
Enjoying a time out and showing up the other team are NOT the same.
And if the photo op so bothers other teams by the way, why did Shaq organize his own for the Suns to do to try and top the Cavs? Because he was having fun, as he often does.
Learn the difference between a taunt and bench celebration for cripes sake.
And your so do opposing players throw away… what elbow to the groin Allen?
Plus… your earlier argument said Garnett's trash-talking is old school… Garnett is greatly disliked for his trash-talking, dude. There have been articles on that many times. And Willie Mays never trash-talked. No way.
You can't have it both ways.
You are being illogical and contrary.
There is NO way that you can hold up Willie Mays and K.G. as equally respect-worthy, while complaining about dancing during a timeout. Give us all a break.
Your own words have betrayed you. Sorry. Game over.
from windhorst:
"If only Allen understood it was yet another tip of the cap to the Celtics, who enjoy playing the BeeGees "You Should Be Dancing" at the end of blowouts at home, complete with a hugely popular American Bandstand clip that they just love to dance to while the losers endure it. Garnett especially."
old school huh?
Who's comparing Willie Mays to Kevin Garnett, other than you, John? All I'm saying is it's unprofessional to show up the other team with idiotic photo sessions and stupid singing and dancing, and doing it each and every game, not just on the spur of the moment. It's especially bad form before you've even won a damn thing.
If it happened in baseball, the next pitch would be a fastball right between the eyes. No doubt about it. Unfortunately, there's no more Danny Fortsons, Karl Malones, Maurice Lucases, Xavier McDaniels, Charles Oakleys, Rick Mahorns, Anthony Masons, Alonzo Mournings, or even Jim Loscutoffs to set misbehaving folks straight.
It's easy to understand the source of the anger, a general collection of role players, plus a good player, plus a superduperstar that fits in well with those role players, shouldn't be showing up anybody, no matter who they're playing. Many of them would be riding the pine on a losing team just about anywhere else. Stay professional, stay humble. If they even know the meaning of the words. If Xavier McDaniels was still playing and saw that crap, he would eat Gibson for lunch. Literally, just like Hannibal.
And terje, Windhorst's homeresque excuse is retarded. They don't play the Celtics every game. A tip of the cap. Uhh … right. The Celtics stuff is from their marketing department, and they play a now-dead guy who went to high school and lived in the Boston area who got on American Bandstand. They put his old clips on the scoreboard with the game is in hand, like Red Auerbach lighting up his cigar. They've been playing the clips for years. The fans look forward to it, the players are cool about it. But the players don't act like complete idiots and break out into a dance routine they've practiced on their practice court beforehead. Personally, I think Windhorst may be sniffing one too many of Terry Pluto's scented devotional candles. Maybe that's a chapter in their upcoming latest fawning tome, "The Pope Franchise."
I just noticed I added an 's' to the X-Man's last name. Sorry, X. I always do that. Would have loved to see you come to the Cavs along with Nate McMillan for John Williams in that trade that Williams voided.
Nobody did more celebrating than Boston last year with loud mouth Kevin Garnett at the center of it all. Who can forget the "touching" extended hugs between Garnett and James Posey prior to each game. And how about Paul Pierce's frequent displays during the game (oh, and lets not forget the death gang sign he flashed last year). So, please, cry me a river for the spoiled celtics who acted like the league owed them a championship.
I don't see how it's 'understandable' that the Celtics were flat going against the team that took them to seven games last year then beat them out for homecourt this year. They should have also been hoping to keep the Cavs from tying their record for homecourt record if they needed extra motivation.
I wouldn't be surprised if they lose to Orlando or maybe even sooner.
Bottom line: The Celtics ceased being a "class" organization when the current group of whiney babies filled the roster. Allen "won't forget" getting whipped? Well, idiot, don't think ANY of the Cavs will ever forget that flagrant elbow you threw at Andy. EVER. And if you think there aren't HARD, HARD fouls coming your way soon…all I can say is, better wear your cup. What a freaking 'tard.
I don't feel the least bit bad about the Cavs enjoying their success this season: we've had to sit and take it from every other team for all these years. Maybe if Ray Allen wants to be mad at someone, he should look at his teammate Garnett who sits in hotel room instead of coming to support his teammates at the arena.
I wrote it before…but I am writing it again.
It's sports, for pete's sake. Not a WTO meeting, or a meeting of NATO, or an emergency meeting of the UN. Sports. Did I say that it is JUST SPORTS???????
Talking about Pierce's monologue in the season's opener brought two things to mind. The C's, not the Cavs were raising a banner and don't forget the fact that Lebron said he would stay in the back, which he did because he did not want to see the C's celebrate. So get the facts straight! But as a C's fans I was a little disappointed that they mailed it in the way they did, but just desserts will come when Cleveland for the 3rd year in a row are eliminated by the eventual NBA champs.
Celtic fans should excuse the Cavs since they have rarely had anything to celebrate so we should allow them to be happy. With that being said, you have no rings that's first off. Second, judging by the way the Lakers spanked you guys twice this year you guys still wont win the title. Now for TV ratings it should be lakers-cavs, but real NBA fans know that the more competitive matchup will be a repeat of the finals last year. Ask anyone on the Lakers who they would prefer to play. They know they can whip the Cavs and the lingering question would be "would the Lakers have beaten Boston". Trust me Kobe wants Boston, oh I forgot the Lakers have stated that already.
Nelson … thanks for posting … FYI, I was there for Pierce's monologue. Yes, LeBron said he'd stay in the back, and he did … for the banner and the delivery of the trophy. But just prior to the game, with both teams on the floor waiting to play, Pierce gave his lengthy monologue when he thanked everyone he ever crossed paths with in his life. It was a bit much. Bob Ryan even agreed.