In going through the comments from other fans I invariably come across comments like "KG is so dirty."  or "The Celtics are such a dirty team."  But we rarely see the Celtics commit really dirty plays against other players that could possibly injure them.  Not true of some of the other NBA darlings.

 Take Dwyane Wade for instance.  He has been establishing himself lately as a truly dirty player.  Last night against the Bobcats was just the latest instance.


That's clearly an intentional kick between the legs. I really hope the NBA issues a suspension and fine for that one.



 Here's a short compilation of just a few other recent instances where Wade crosses the line.


Beginning with the play where Wade pulled Rondo to the ground, injuring his elbow, and continuing with Kobe's broken nose in the All Star Game on through the intentional flagrant on Collison, Wade has established a reputation as a very dirty player. I mean, what player breaks someone's nose in an ALL STAR GAME?????

Dwight Howard is another player who is portrayed as a nice and jolly guy, his trade demands notwithstanding. But he also is a dirty player. He swings those elbows purposely to clear space and too often they aren't called. There was his flagrant foul on Paul Pierce a couple years ago. And remember the elbow that gave Big Baby a concussion a couple of years ago. Now there is this.



Wade has been getting progressively dirtier as his skills diminish. But he's not the only dirty player on the Heat. Shane Battier has also become a very dirty player and gets away with a lot of shoves, trips, etc because the Heat are the NBA's darlings now. Likewise, Dwight Howard joins one of the dirtiest players in the league on the Lakers - Ron Artest. I refuse to call him World Peace because there's nothing peaceful about him.

And then, there's JR Smith, who has long been a loose cannon in this league. Here's the latest evidence against him.



And like the other two mentioned above, he has company on the team in that several others have been known to play dirty, not the least of which is Carmelo Anthony who loves to trip players and often gets away with it. And that brings me to the Brooklyn Thugs Nets I think they are trying too hard to live up to that tough Brooklyn reputation. You have to look no further than their past 3 games with the Celtics to see several instances of their dirty play. There was Bogans' dangerous foul on Barbosa in the first game that somehow the refs thought was just a foul and not flagrant. There was the hard foul by Humphries that precipitated the brawl in the second game. And there was Gerald Wallace grabbing KG's shorts to keep him from getting the rebound and then not letting go in the third game. All 3 of these players are known for their dirty plays, especially Wallace and Humphries who make thuggery an art form.

The Celtics can't come anywhere close to being as dirty as any of these players. And yet, their fans have the nerve to call the Celtics a dirty team because of a few moving screens. The sad part about it is that the league lets these guys get away with much of their garbage. Nothing was called on Wade for that kick to Sessions that was obviously on purpose. LeBron and Chalmers flop on a regular basis, most recently in the Christmas Day game on national TV where all of the fans saw it and mentioned it but David Stern turns a blind eye. Until the Heat, the Nets, the Knicks, and the Lakers are called on their antics, the officiating in the league will always be a joke.

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