A tough call for the Celtics

INDIANAPOLIS -- Basketball becomes exponentially more physical in the postseason -- and officials are inclined to let teams battle with fewer interruptions.

Interim Celtics coach John Carroll expected as much before Boston and Indiana started their first-round series Saturday afternoon.

"You see the way games are refereed," said Carroll before Game 1, a 104-88 Pacers victory. "Sometimes what you get away with in the playoffs, you couldn't get away with during the regular season. There's just a different intensity level. Our young guys will hopefully see it early in Game 1 and be able to, at some point, quickly adjust to it."

In addition to better ball movement and improved interior defense, Carroll wants more toughness from his charges. Veteran Chucky Atkins also made a call for a tougher physical and mental approach to the playoffs.

But the line between toughness and thuggery has gone up for debate between Indiana and Boston as it has been drawn around MVP candidate Jermaine O'Neal and infrequently used rookie Brandon Hunter.

It started when Hunter and O'Neal became entangled awaiting a rebound in the second quarter. What happened next depends on whom you talk to. Hunter either accidentally or intentionally took down O'Neal. The players jawed. O'Neal tried to go after Hunter. Ron Artest took three steps onto the court before tempers cooled. If the league judges Artest leaving the bench by the letter of the law as opposed to intent, the soon-to-be-named Defensive Player of the Year could be suspended for Game 2. Hunter was tagged with a loose ball foul; O'Neal earned a technical.

Indiana coach Rick Carlisle spoke out after the game, saying he believed Hunter was sent in specifically to rough up O'Neal.

And yesterday after practice, he said, "If they're going to deem this situation with [Artest] as a suspendable offense for one of our All-Star players, they've got to take a hard look at what Hunter did. That's got to be dealt with with severity commensurate with what they're going to do to our guy. We'll see . . .

"I'll say this about Brandon Hunter. I've seen him play a lot. I saw him play in the Summer League last summer in Boston. He's a nice kid. He's a good kid from everything I've heard. He plays hard. But I have never, ever seen him grab a guy and throw a guy on the floor. When you see a player act out of character like that, it gets your attention."

When asked if he thought Carroll put Hunter into the game to take down -- or even take out -- O'Neal, Carlisle added: "All I'm saying is what I saw. I've watched this kid play a lot and I've never seen him do anything like that."

Hunter, who started 12 games during a stretch from late February through mid-March, is a rebounding specialist Carroll called upon to provide toughness inside during the final two months of the season. The rookie, a bulky 6-foot-6-inch, 260-pounder, plays a physical brand of ball.

According to Carroll, Hunter played six minutes in Game 1 because Boston's other big men were either in foul trouble or fatigued. To suggest otherwise offended Carroll, who spoke over the phone yesterday after the Celtics' two-hour practice.

When asked about Carlisle commenting that Hunter intentionally took down O'Neal, Carroll said, "I was extremely disappointed in those comments because those comments basically imply Brandon went in the game for an express purpose. I would never, ever, ever ruin the integrity of the game trying to win a game [like that]. And anyone who knows me knows I would never do that.

"I was in a position where Mark [Blount] had two fouls. Chris [Mihm] had two fouls. And Walter [McCarty] was fatigued, so I took him out and I had to put someone in. That's what I did . . . At some time, I believe you have to be physical in playoff basketball. It is what it is. He had to say what he had to say. I'm not trying to say anything about Rick Carlisle, but I'm disappointed that anyone would think I value the game that little to do something like that."

The good news for the Pacers was that O'Neal handled the fallout with sound perspective, and even a little humor.

"I'm built for [rough play]," said the 6-11, 242-pound O'Neal, who also thought the takedown was intentional. "It's not something that just started yesterday. I've been banged around, held, hit, so I think God has really put me together for this type of atmosphere. "I'm going to call [the incident] a love tap. I don't know if he even got back in the game. I think he might have been put in the game just for that. I'm preparing for it. I'm going to go lift some more weights right now. It's playoff basketball. You can't really take it personal. You just gotta do what you can do to stay involved. I've got to do a better job of just staying focused and being prepared for stuff like that. I'll keep doing what I keep doing, being able to score, bang bodies, and get Ws, and that takes away from anything they try to do to me."