Matt Barnes ignites imbroglio with Rafer “Skip to my Lou” Alston.
I miss Matt Barnes. And as a matter of fact his fiancee just gave birth to twins right here in the Bay Area. Crazier still, FTB reader “GSW Girl” had a sister giving birth down the hall. But with all of those good vibes gone come game time, apparently the “red mist” descended for Barnes in the Phoenix/Houston game earlier tonight. While I was indulging my newly registered NBA League Pass on the Clips/Kings matchup, Barnes decided to take some of the skip out of Rafer. This ignited some fireworks that even Nasty Nash put his crooked nose into the middle of. Not surprisingly, a couple of rather hefty shoves from Sheriff Shaqtus and some quick moves from the coaching staffs of both teams kept things from escalating further.
In either of the two games that I’ve watched recently, I’d bet that either the Dubs or Clips would have liked one of Barnes’ elbows to find its match with Mikki Moore’s annoying mug. At least the Dubs prevailed. In the case of the Clips, they faded down the stretch after riding their three (!) Davises to considerable comeback effect. While FTB ponders an epic road trip for a Saturday matinee between sub-500 teams that we have a divided interest in, let’s raise a late-night glass to a departed Warrior, one who certainly hasn’t lost his Warrior spirit: Matt Barnes we salute thee. Maybe it was a cheap shot, sure. But if I wasn’t watching the right game tonight, at least I can assume that Skip was inappropriate first, right? Sure.
Turman
I miss Barnesy. Somehow I don’t see Brandan Wright setting a screen like that.
Comment by matthewmeschery | 11.13.2008 | 8:03 am
Kinda crazy how Shaqtus shoves Yao to the floor like a 7′7″ 300 pound rag-doll. The big man may have lost some stamina, but not any of his strength.
Comment by beardedbarman | 11.13.2008 | 12:21 pm
Every team needs to have “that guy” MM; and you should know, since your pops was him. Barnes gets a little carried away sometimes in the role, but all in all, he’s a pretty good enforcer, 2008 style anyway. Turiaf is about the closest thing we’ve got now, but he has to be above he fray and cannot be getting tossed out of games for stupid ish, because he’s too valuable as a rebounder and defender around the basket.
And yeah, Sheriff O’Neal still packs some rather substantial strungth.
Comment by admin | 11.13.2008 | 12:23 pm
Actually, I forgot to mention the most remarkable thing about this brouhaha: where was Ron Artest? Oh yeah, he definitely wanted no part of Shaq. Trust me, he’s a bitch when it comes to cats that could whup his ass. He was glued to the bench just like he glued himself to the scorer’s table when Ben Wallace was ready to rip his esophagus out.
Comment by admin | 11.13.2008 | 12:28 pm