Celtics Ready For A Physical Game, Wizards Preparing For A Funeral
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics and Wizards are forming a nice little rivalry this season, with Round 3 scheduled for Tuesday night in the nation's capital.
The teams have split their previous two matchups, with each coming out victorious on their home court. There has been a lot of chippiness from both sides, with Washington guard John Wall being ejected from the first matchup back in November following a flagrant 2 foul on C's guard Marcus Smart. Smart was at the center of more extracurricular antics two weeks ago in Boston, when he and Bradley Beal got tangled and hit the floor in the third quarter. Beal was hit with a technical, and that set up an extremely physical and testy end to the contest.
Tempers flared following Boston's 117-108 win, when C's forward Jae Crowder and Wall exchanged some words that escalated rather quickly. Crowder poked Wall in the nose. Wall fired back by trying to slap Crowder in the face. The two were separated, but the dust up got so heated that Boston police officers had to stand between the two locker rooms. The league eventually fined Crowder $25,000 and Wall $15,000 for their roles in the exchange.
After that game, Wizards forward Otto Porter accused the Celtics of being a "dirty" team, accusations that Boston couldn't disagree with more.
"It went through this ear and out the other, because we don't play dirty," Isaiah Thomas said of the comments following Boston's practice on Monday, adding they offend him because they're not the truth. "We know that. I think a lot of teams around this league know that we don't play dirty. We just play very hard."
Boston will continue playing hard Tuesday night, as they look to snap a two-game skid. Crowder, still feeling that hit to his wallet, isn't expecting any funny business this time around, at least on Boston's end.
"It's going to be a physical game. Those guys are probably going to be geared up for it. We've got to answer the bell," said Crowder, who said Washington likes to talk more than other teams around the league. "I lost $25,000, so you won't see too much out of me. For real."
The Wizards have a little something planned ahead of the game, as they'll wear all black as they enter the Verizon Center.
"We're wearing all black to the game. You know where we're going with that," said Wizards forward Kelly Oubre Jr.. "It's a memo that the team is giving away. We're ready for whatever, man. Round 3, let's get it."
Jae Crowder was asked of his reaction to the Wizards wearing all black tonight. He laughed and said with a shoulder shrug, "OK."
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) January 24, 2017
The last time a team tried this with the Celtics was the New York Knicks in the 2012-13 postseason, the final hurrah for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in Boston. New York's planned attire, led by J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin, didn't work out very well for the Knickerbockers. Hoping for a funeral that would end the C's season, the cocky Knicks instead dropped Game 5 of the first round series, forcing a Game 6 in Boston. Unfortunately those funeral arrangements were just a few nights early, as the Knicks won Game 6 to take the series.
Now it's the Wizards, looking to hold a funeral for the Celtics. A funeral for what is anyone's guess. We're only at the halfway point of the season, and nothing will come to an end this evening. The Celtics are 2.5 games ahead of the Wizards in the Eastern Conference, so there will be no leapfrogging in the standings. And the Celtics aren't going to stop playing with that physicality and grit, just because the Wizards wear all black before a game.
Maybe it will put an end to all the silliness on the floor between these two teams, but don't count on it. The bitterness will remain, with Washington still a little sore about losing out on free agent Al Horford in the offseason, and that just adds a little bit of gusto to a budding regular season rival. We'll probably see a number of hard screens, a few plays that extend well past the whistle, and a whole lot of finger wagging.
The C's are in for a fight on Tuesday night, and they'll be ready. They'd love to get back in the win column by snapping Washington's 13-game win streak on their home floor. Maybe a rock fight with a team chasing them in the standings is just what they need to get out of their mini-funk and back on track.
Tune in to Tuesday's Celtics-Wizards clash on 100.7FM WZLX! Pregame coverage begins at 6:30pm.