Not to condone Garnett’s style of play, but at the end of the day, he was playing basketball. Despite the extra curricular activities, the center played under control and executed down the stretch of the game.
Anthony, on the other hand, lost all composure and continued to jaw at and go after Garnett at every chance he had. His behavior warranted more technicals given the circumstances, but the referees held their whistle. He also went berserk mode on offense and launched a 3-pointer every time he had the ball in his hands on a night where the shots were clearly not falling – missing all but six of his 26 shot attempts.
Essentially, Anthony cost his team the game with the unnecessary bully antics. To make matters worse, the league will surely investigate his instigating behavior after the game. Already playing without point guard Raymond Felton, it would be costly for the Knicks if a suspension is handed out.
The forward has renewed his image this season as a leader and an MVP candidate, but his actions on Monday will certainly have plenty scratching their heads about his maturity level at this stage of his career.
[Update] – Although nothing is confirmed, there is word that Anthony may have been upset over Garnett’s trash talk about his wife Lala Anthony. If that is the case – and this situation reeks of when Garnett called Charlie Villanueva a cancer patient a few seasons ago – it’s tough to argue against Anthony for standing up for his loved one.
Tweet of the Day: Brandon Knight
Tweet of the Night: Mark Cuban
ahhh KG….what happend to this guy when he won a ring? Melo lost his cool which usually never happens. Apparently KG crossed the line by his talk..Lala, maybe his son was involved. KG is a punk…Melo was right to approach him after the game if he felt he needed to speak. We just overly assumed that Melo was there to knock KG out…which probably wouldnt happen. Melo apparently cleared the air today like a man should do and he’s moved on. I like the show of emotion and tenacity on his end…reminds me of a real Knickerbocker..real story here should be Melo having his 8th technical..7 from being suspended..and were not even at the break yet!
I’m far from an advocate of violence, but someone had to approach the coward. Garnett is known as an individual who will antagonize players(usually smaller than he is) then run behind the refs for cover. It’s one thing to say “keep it on the court”, but Garnett engages in dirty play, makes comments above and beyond the sphere of acceptable trash talk, then runs behind the refs and the guise of “it’s just basketball”. Cowardly actions that he knows will be protected by the letter of the law. His pseudo-intensity is mindless and quite sad. The following clip shows what KG’s really about. Nothing. Great player, but his “toughness” has always been, and will always be suspect at best.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT-4Lyx-_mM
In all likelihood, KG went over the top to upset Melo as badly as he did. He needs to chill out, especially at his age. Thanks for reading, JB.