There has been much discussion about the three technicals called on Kendrick Perkins (2) and Rajon Rondo (1) in Game 5 of the Magic/Celtics series. Here are my thoughts on each one:

1. Perkins elbows Gortat.
It looked to me like Gortat was checking on Pierce who took a hard fall and Perkins felt the need to throw a little elbow into Gortat’s chest. Gortat also deserved a technical for knocking the ball out of Perkins’ hand after the elbow. There’s no need for any after-the-whistle shenanigans, and Perkins lost some credibility with the officials when he said that he “didn’t do anything.” Yeah, right. Verdict: Justified

2. Perkins upset after a foul call. (1:10 mark)
I thought the foul call was iffy, and Eddie Rush compounded the problem by overreacting to Perkins’ overreaction. I think officials should give a little more leeway to a player after a close call like the one in question. That said, Perkins wouldn’t have been called for a “T” had he handled the call better. Verdict: Unjustified

3. Rondo called for a technical. (3:00 mark)
First of all, Rondo was dead wrong on the call. Jameer Nelson’s feet were outside of the restricted area, though the video doesn’t show it. He continued to complain through the timeout and tried to get the attention of the official who made the call. An always emotional Joey Crawford stepped in and told Rondo to go to his bench and gave him a warning. Rondo said something — we don’t know what — and that’s what led to the technical. Since we don’t know what he said, we don’t know for sure if the technical was justified, but Rondo needs to understand his audience. Joey Crawford once tossed Tim Duncan out for laughing on the sidelines, so everyone knows he has a short fuse. Don’t mess with him by continuing to talk to him after he’s already given you a warning to go to your bench. If Rondo hadn’t said anything over his shoulder, he wouldn’t have gotten the technical. Verdict: Justified

Note: I don’t really care who wins this series, so I consider myself an objective observer. I do feel that there is too much complaining to officials during NBA games and it needs to be curtailed. As for Crawford and Rush “having it in” for the Celtics, I don’t buy it. Two technicals were called on Orlando as well (Gortat, Matt Barnes).