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It was one of the most peculiar things I’ve seen in a while at the Garden. I was sitting in the section directly behind the basket near the Blazers’ bench. So when they were introduced… Greg Oden was right there.
And when Oden was introduced… he was booed. Then we he sat after fouling out… he got razzed with the “OOOO- DEN… OOOOO – DEN” chants.
But… why? I know he’s on the other team so it’s not like we’re gonna cheer the guy. But I am thoroughly confused by the booing.
What did he ever do? Did he fix the lottery? Secretly remove the Celtics ping pong balls? And wasn’t losing the lottery ultimately the BEST thing that happened to this team? If we had won, there’d be no KG or Ray (presumably). And Oden was always gracious about possibly joining the C’s.
I’m at a loss. Can anyone explain why he’d be such a target?
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I certainly can’t explain it. But what bothers me more is that the Scal chants are getting louder.
Oden has done nothing wrong to the city of Boston, but he certainly represents one of the worst times in Celtics history. Even though I think of Oden as a potential dominant big man in this league, some probably still see him as the model for the 2006-2007 Celtics that promoted losing which deserves to be booed.
RedsArmy should do a story on Rodney Rogers.
I’m going to agree with Ryan. I think it was a symbolic thing. Also? That crowd was getting riled up for EVERYTHING last night… the beer flowed freely.
As for Scalabrine–
I used to feel bad for him. Doc told the press the chants made him timid at shooting.
But last night (and other nights), there was not a chant to be heard in the place, and he still set up for a shot and FROZE completely. Totally lost his nerve. It was sickening to watch. And after that, people did start chanting, quite loudly.
If it really is affecting his play, he should be playing differently when it isn’t there. I wish I understood what goes on in his head out there, because it isn’t fun to watch. You’d think he was being forced to play.
Any high profile pick who plays poorly most likely will get booed, not always deserved.
To wear the No. 44 on your back is a heavy burden indeed to carry.
Death to the “Scaaaaal” chant
Why razz a player on your own team?
Whats the reason? is it the being vastly overpaid or is it being a vastly overpaid white guy and the fact that it’s much easier to tell when he comes on the court? fair question
Case in point … Mark Blount … is making 17 mil over the next two seasons in Miami ..yet i can’t confirm anything, but i haven’t heard of him getting razzed with boos.. there a ton of guys making money who don’t deserve it, but why Scal gets singled out is beyond me… well not really …i think its whats under the jersey ..and not whats on the paycheck that counts here
I guess i recommend he hit the tanning bed
I think he’s a target because he’s just so unbelievably AVERAGE. He pulls his shorts way too far up, he doesn’t run well, he doesn’t shoot well, he always gets a foul no matter how short a time he plays, and he just kinda looks like a dork.
I really think people want him to do well, but he just never quite gets there.
He reminds all of us what the average person looks like in the context of the NBA.
It isn’t fair to boo him. I know I don’t. And I don’t like that people do. But he’s just so awkward out there that he stands out.
I maintain, by the way, that Vitaly Potapenko was a worse player.
Scal didn’t shoot those times because the smarter play was to pull the ball out and milk more time off the clock.
One play in particular illustrates this. C’s up by 20. 14 on the shot clock. I think 10 minutes left in the game. Scal has the ball and a wide open 3. He passed it to House to keep milking the clock. It was a good play
This is what gets me about the Scal criticism. I thought he played great last night. He played very good defense… and he tipped a couple of rebounds to keep possession… He made some good decisions. That’s exactly what we should expect from Scal.
Okay, I’ll concede that point.
But maybe that’s the problem– he LOOKS like he’s not confident out there.
Or maybe that’s just my perception.
but seriously its not like he’s that good yet to be boo’ed
The guy doesn’t deserve to be booed or cheered right now. You have to do “something” before you can warrant either.
Scal is just awkward out there. I don’t think most people chant “SCAL-A-BRIN-E” because they don’t like him. I would say it’s the opposite in a lot of cases.
I like having Scal on this team. He’s a decent player (being that he’s usually the last guy off the bench). By all accounts he is a nice guy and generally well liked.
I agree with what somehow said above, I think fans identify with him more. Scal is sort of an everyman. Or as close to an everyman as there can be within the context of professional basketball. He moves awkwardly, he doesn’t always seem to have a ton of confidence and he’s clearly not the best player out there, ever.
As exciting as it is to see Ray Allen nail a 3, you and I are nothing like Ray Allen. We can’t even fathom what it is like to be Ray Allen. To be the best. I’ve never been the kid who was great at everything.
But Scal? Seeing him hit a 3 is like a personal victory sort of. It’s a small victory for the most average player on the Celtics.