Danny Ainge is the Instigator. He instigated as a player, as a coach and now as a Celtic executive.
Last night, he sat behind the basket during the game in Cleveland. When Cavs forward J.J. Hickson attempted a free throw with Ainge sitting under the right side of the stanchion, the Instigator threw a towel high in the air as a distraction.
Not even Mark Cuban would go that far for a victory. But Cuban isn't the instigator Ainge is.
As a player, Ainge was a 6'4" ball of hustle. He consistently played hard, diving for loose balls with tenacity. And he instigated opponents of all sizes to retaliate.
In the deciding game of the 1983 playoffs, Ainge's Celtics faced 7'1" Tree Hollins and the Atlanta Hawks. According to teammate Larry Bird, Ainge started calling Rollins a sissy with Boston in the lead. Rollins responded with an elbow. Ainge tackled Rollins despite giving up 9 inches to the Hawk center. As Ainge emerged from the rumble, he pointed out Rollins and said, "That sissy bit me." A dude 9 inches taller resorting to biting? That takes anger that only a master instigator can achieve.
He instigated Michael Jordan into a skirmish and technical foul in the 1993 finals.
In the 1994 playoffs, Ainge played for the Phoenix Suns against the Houston Rockets. On his way to a loss in that series, Ainge released his frustration on Mario Elie's face. Not with a punch or an elbow. Ainge inbounded the ball full force from point blank range into Elie's defenseless face. Bill Laimbeer never even went there.
Payback for that action came in 1997. Ainge had been named head coach of the Phoenix Suns in 1997. Ex-Rocket Robert Horry was in his first year with Phoenix. He was very unhappy to have been traded from Houston and further angered when coach Ainge minimized his role with the Suns. Horry also had been Elie's teammate during the ball in the face incident so he probably didn't have the fondest memories of Ainge as a player.
In a game in Boston where Ainge had been a champion player, Horry threw a towel in Ainge's face after being pulled from a game. Horry was suspended and traded for his rebellion. Ainge framed the towel.
The Celtics and Ainge have no comment on last night's towel throwing episode. Cavs coach Mike Brown said, "That was interesting to see that happen during the flow of the game, from Danny Ainge. If it's within the rules, hey, at this time, you do whatever you can to win. As long as it's within the rules."
In that one line, he summed up Ainge's approach to his entire basketball career. There are no rules against instigating with basketballs to the face or towels in the air.
Danny Ainge. Instigator for life.
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