It was the "Woooo!" at 9:52.

That’s the sound Antoine Walker made after hitting a first-quarter left baseline jumper over Cliff Robinson. That’s how Walker celebrated the Celtics’ 8-0 start and a lead they would never relinquish in their Game 2 win over the Pistons. And while I have not talked to Robinson, I'm guessing that’s what provided most of the steam behind Uncle Cliffy ripping Walker as a no-class stats-conscious poser afterward. I’m guessing that because the "Woooo!" rubbed me the same way the instant I heard it through my TV. (Hey, I can’t be everywhere.)

Let’s get this straight -- I have no problem with trash talking or letting a guy know he’s getting worked. If you’re good enough to say what you can do and then back it up, more power to you. It raises the stakes and makes the action that much more delicious, whether you’re watching or playing.

But there aren’t many taunts more aggravating than a high-pitched, semi-melodic "Woooo!" It’s suggesting your performance deserves a studio audience -- and providing one. It's a mixture of can’t-touch-this and you-still-here? and gotcha and sit-down and I-am-having-so-much-fun-at-your-expense.

It’s clowning someone, plain and simple. Antoine Walker did all that after hitting a baseline J barely more than two minutes into a playoff game. Doesn’t sound quite right, does it?

We’ve all run into a Walker on a court somewhere. He’s the guy taking the crazy shot and woofing if it falls, demanding the ball again if it doesn’t, clearly oblivious to how ill-advised the shot should have been in the mind of anyone playing to win as opposed to looking good. He’s the guy who scores and then stares at you, even though his team is down by five. Or maybe the shot puts his team up by five but chances are his teammates had a lot more to do with that than he did.

That’s the problem. If ‘Toine hits that shot to win the game or maybe in response to an earlier "Woooo!" by Robinson, he’s on solid ground. It’s even possible that such a basket to take the lead after a sizeable comeback might warrant such celebration. But 2:08 into the second game of a best-of-seven semifinal?

The insult isn’t in Walker letting Cliff know he just got a facial, it’s in presuming a shot that innocuous, that early, carries any extra weight. Walker is suggesting he just hit an important shot, which it was not. He’s suggesting this is his night and Cliff isn’t going to be able to do anything about it. (If he wasn’t thinking that, why is he trying to embarrass a guy in the opening minutes?)

In any case, Walker didn’t make good on the "Woooo!", scoring 15 points in 42 minutes on 5-of-12 shooting. Cliff’s pique was undoubtedly aggravated by the fact that the Pistons lost at home and he had an off night, missing 11 of 17 shots for 13 points, but Cliff gave ‘Toine everything he could handle at the other end. That’s another egregious element of Walker’s "Woooo!" -- Cliff is a proven quality defender, one of the league’s best. He forced Walker to take 22 shots to score 20 points in the Game 1 loss.

Granted, it’s only one "Woooo!" and if Cliff hadn’t spoken up, this column might be about something else. Who knows, maybe Walker was simply relieved to hit a shot after his frustration in the series opener. Maybe he simply, momentarily, lost his mind. Or maybe he doesn’t know any better.

Anyone who has been an All-Star, and would like to be one again, should.

AND ONES: If Kobe was ticked off at Rick Fox after the final possession of Game 2 -- and it sure looked like he was -- that was warranted, too. When Kobe drove into the middle of the paint, Fox inexplicably hid behind Danny Ferry underneath the basket rather than popping out to give Kobe an outlet pass. If Fox does, he gets the ball for an open 15-footer and the Lakers are playing a demoralized Spurs team in OT ... Yao Ming has been measured for a draft-night suit by noted tailor-for-the-pros Cary Mitchell, the clearest indication yet that he expects to be in New York on June 26 ... The way Spurs VP/coach Gregg Popovich handled the death of Tim Duncan’s father -- giving Duncan whatever time he needed with absolutely no pressure to play -- is why Duncan will have a hard time ever leaving the Spurs as long as Popovich is part of the organization ... Maybe I’m reading too much into their Game 2 performance, but the Hornets certainly look like they’ve lost some of their fire now that they know the franchise is a sure bet to move to New Orleans. Makes sense -- knowing you have to move seems like a far greater distraction than thinking you might. Even though the possibility has existed all season, it has to be strange to play for, and in front of, people you probably will never see again.

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ric.bucher@espnmag.com.