After five games, two upset losses, many inexcusable non-calls against the Hawks, even more inexcusable calls against the Celtics, and many, many beers, I've come to the conclusion that NBA officials must have put a significant amount of money on the Atlanta Hawks.
How else do you explain it?
Atlanta has taken 45 more free throws than the Celtics (155 to 110). The Celtics have been called for 21 more personal fouls than the Hawks.
Even in a Celtics’ victory, the officiating was so excruciatingly bad that the game was hard to watch.
Do the officials want to keep the series close? Did David Stern decide that getting the fans back in Atlanta was better for the NBA than a Celtic sweep?
The Hawks came out in game two and decided that their only chance against Boston was to beat up the Celtics' better players. The Hawks did just that (nearly knocking Pierce out of the game), yet somehow it's the Celtics' players who have been in foul trouble all series long.
In game four, Joe Johnson threw a punch and wasn’t called for a foul.
Al Horford, who I used to like, has proven nothing more than an immature punk.
People want to get on Paul Pierce for making a hand gesture that “might” have meant something threatening, how about getting on Horford for taunting, playing dirty, and being an all around moron?
Pointing to your muscle after hitting an open shot while down 14? Way to show you're a moron, moron.
I’m tired of watching Rondo get knocked to the floor and Pierce get elbowed out of bounds on one side of the floor with no call, then seeing the Celtics get called for minimal contact on the other side of the floor.
It’s driving me completely insane.
I could never be an NBA coach. I'd go crazy.
After the second foul on Pierce in ten seconds last night, the first of which should have been an offensive foul and the second was questionable at best, I would have picked up my chair and gone Stone Cold Steve Austin on the official.
Bobby Knight would have had nothing on me. He threw a chair. I would have hit the ref with the chair, then I would have thrown him.
Or maybe I’m overreacting?
Maybe Doc Rivers slept with every NBA officials’ sister and this is their payback?
Maybe, as the headline suggests, the officials bet on the Hawks?
Anyway, at least the Celtics won.
Paul Pierce had his best game of the series. My contention all season has been that Paul Pierce should get MVP consideration because of his importance to the Celtics.
He’s the one non-Big they have who can post up, drive to the hoop, hit the outside shot, take anyone to the basket at any time, and create his own shot.
If they’re struggling offensively, they can go to him and he can take over.
Ray Allen is a great jump shooter who occasionally can drive to the hoop, but he’s not a physical post-up guy like Pierce.
Garnett isn’t as dynamic an offensive player as Pierce.
When Pierce gets going, Ray Allen gets his open shots and teams have to hold off double-teaming Garnett.
Pierce is the key to the Celtics winning a championship.
Ray Allen is going to be Ray Allen. Kevin Garnett is going to be Kevin Garnett. If Paul Pierce can be Paul Pierce, this Celtics team is going to be hard to beat.
With Paul Pierce being Paul Pierce, I fully expect the Celtics to wrap this up in Atlanta. Nobody wants to see a game seven.
Well, except maybe the NBA officials.
I’m SeanMC.
SeanMC is a Senior Writer at Bleacher Report. His archive can be found here. You can find everything he writes, including articles for other publications, here.
Comments (21) Add a comment »
from 15 days ago
"Pierce should get MVP consideration because of his importance to the Celtics. "
"Pierce is the key to the Celtics winning a championship.
Ray Allen is going to be Ray Allen. Kevin Garnett is going to be Kevin Garnett. If Paul Pierce can be Paul Pierce, this Celtics team is going to be hard to beat."
You think Pierce should get MVP just because he is playing as usual? but not Garnett or Kobe who have
superior game and numbers?
You definitely are a Moron and you don't have the right to call somebody else the same.
from 15 days ago
No, because he's key to the Celtics winning. He's the teams MVP.
For the record, Tommy Heihnson, Celtic legend, agrees. And even ESPN and TNT jumped on the bandwagon towards the end of the year.
I'm not saying he should win, just that he deserves consideration.
from 15 days ago
Very measured response considering this cowardly "anonymous" hit-and-run, childish name-calling. But I do have to tell you as far as the assertion that the Celts (y'all know you pronounce it wrong, don't you? It's Kelts: there is no "s" sound in the Celtic language and Celtic is the culture or language, whereas one of the race is called a Celt) are getting hosed and that's why they are losing, I have two replies:
1. I am a Bucks' fan, and we got hosed all the time when against y'all when I was growin' up, and
2. If you need calls to beat the 37 win Hawks, you have bigger problems.
from 15 days ago
i think your article deserves consideration for being extremely biased! lol. what u got against the hawks man? being from ga let me say that we know the hawks had no chance of winning unless they mauled the celtics. and even then we only managed to win two measly games. so what if we paid the refs? so what if they bet on us to win? we still lost anyways!
from 12 days ago
It's supposed to be biased. I'm a Celtics fan, not a paid sports writer. It was exactly what I would have said if I were sitting at a bar immediately after the game.
from 15 days ago
You won't find "unbiased" coverage at Bleacher Report—and that's the point. - You can find that quote by going to the "About Bleacher Report" page you will find on the bottom of this page. The great thing about being a fan and not a paid analyst is that you can say what real fans think. Sean is a real fan, trust me I've read enough of his stuff to know he is a die hard Bostonian sports nut. The Celtics don't need to get calls to beat the Hawks, but the Hawks shouldn't be getting calls so they have a chance to beat them. The foul numbers are astronomically one-sided. Forty-five more fouls in the first 4 games? That's a bit ridiculous. Especially for a team of playoff n00bs outside of Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby. 5 Stars here Sean, good work.
from 12 days ago
Thanks Marcus!
from 15 days ago
I'd just like to say that I freaking hate everything about the NBA including the fact that my Suns were reduced to a fumbling bumbling bunch of hacks by 'the classof the league.'
What was once a bright spot (Suns / Mavericks / Warriors / Nuggets) for an already tarnished league has now been reduced to a league full of double standards, floppers, loop-hole exploiters, babies, whiners, dope smokers (I suppose that's always been), crooked refs, and unreasonable mandates.
Consider yourself lucky that you didn't have players suspended this series.
I've actually found solace in the Suns being knocked out of the Playoffs - Now I don't have to subject myself to the misery of another NBA game.
Stern can keep this league.
RIP
from 12 days ago
Amen Greg, amen.
from 15 days ago
You're probably just saying the refs are idiots, and not actually trying to insinuate some kind of anti-Celtic conspiracy, but just in case it's the latter, let me say that anyone who buys into the Stern-conspiracy theories couldn't possibly think there would be one AGAINST the Celtics. Their resurgence could be one the best things to happen to the league in the past ten years, especially with the Lakers looking like the cream of the crop, as well. Another Lakers-Celtics finals would probably shatter some viewership records.
from 12 days ago
They already got the fans back in Boston. If I were a conspiracy guy, I'd suggest that they wanted to draw out the series because they were trying to get the fans back in Atlanta.
But I'm not. I don't think.
from 15 days ago
With the exception of two questionable third quarter fouls on Paul Pierce, and then a questionable make-up call benefiting Pierce on a plus one where Al Horford jumped straight up and Pierce jumped into Horford, the officiating has been fine. I mean that sequence lasted what...3 minutes? It happens.
If Boston had anybody besides Paul Pierce who would aggressively attack the hoop, they'd get more calls. Smith and Johnson have been very aggressive in attacking the rim for Atlanta while only Pierce has attacked the basket with force for Boston.
Also, Atlanta has too many defensive breakdowns where they aren't in position to foul. Many open layups Boston has gotten are fouls when Atlanta attacks Boston's basket, because Boston is rotating to prevent a layup, while Atlanta isn't in position to lay the hammer down.
Don't correlate more free throw attempts to favorable refs. It's like saying an umpire is rewarding a baseball team because the other team is giving up a lot of walks. Look at how the teams are playing first.
from 12 days ago
I agree with this partially, but I'm going by what I'm seeing.
The discrepancy is now over 70 free throws. The Celtics announcers are openly questioning the referees, at one point saying "I would have to expect the Celtics will get a few makeup calls when the series gets back to Boston in game seven."
The Celtics need to get more aggressive offensively, no doubt. But every close call has gone the Hawks way. Every single one.
I mean, Pierce fouling out of game 6? Four of those six fouls were questionable. FOUR. I'm just waiting for it to even out....
from 15 days ago
Dude, Paul Pierce deserves 0 MVP consideration. Up to this season, he was a below average superstar compared to Ray Allen and KG. KG changed the entire lifestyle of the Boston area and of that team. He taught them how to compete, how to play defense, and how to play with confidence. Pierce never did that. I love the Celtics, and I've always loved 34, but there's no wayyyyyyy he's the best player on the team right now, maybe not even second. And "KG being KG" is much better than "Paul being Paul"
Sorry bro, but you're wrong here.
...moron
from 15 days ago
Err, Eddy, Pierce is a better defender, both help and on-ball, than Garnett is. Pierce is also a much more creative and reliable go-to scorer who can finish tough shots in traffic. You know what Garnett shot yesterday in post ups and layups where he created his own shot? 1-8, including a missed turnaround over Mike Bibby.
You know what Garnett was before he became acquainted with Pierce? An overhyped choke artist. Even Josh Smith has outplayed Garnett the first four games of the series.
Sorry Eddy but you're wrong here.
...moron
from 12 days ago
Pierce creates his own shot better than anyone else on the Celtics. He's also a better defender than Ray Allen. People bash Pierce because of what he's done in the past, but here's a quick reminder of what that includes:
1) taking a ridiculously bad Celtics team to the Eastern Conference finals.
2) taking the team currently playing in Minnesota to the playoffs two years ago.
3) sixth best scorer in Boston Celtics history.
So if we're going to talk about last year (when he didn't even play most of the season), we might as well include some of the years he did play.
from 15 days ago
So the very first article I ever see on my first visit to this site is a biased completly moronic piece of trash that's supposed to be called an article.
And this guy is a senior writer?
Not a good sign.
from 12 days ago
Who taught Al Horford's mom how to use a computer?
from 15 days ago
Great article. The officiating in games 3 and 4 was beyond terrible. I dont know how Violet Palmer is allowed to officiate a playoff game - it would be like the celtics benching KG and starting Scal. the theory among many fans is the NBA tries to control outcomes in the playoffs by what officials they assign - want the home team to win, assign bad officials who will be influenced by the crowd. dont care who wins, or want the road team to have a chance, assign veteran officials who will call the game the best.
Last night I thought for the most part the officiating was better. but in the 3rd quarter, the Hawks got back into the game with the aid of several terrible calls. Especially back to back fouls on Pierce that allowed the lead to be cut to 6 - a blocking foul when dick bavetta, the ref in position to make the call, clearly was going to call a charge. but the ref beyond the 3 decided he had the better view. then the following possession, a foul was called on pierce after the hawks players (i think smith, but i could be wrong) clearly traveled, causing pierce to openly laugh at how terrible a call it was.
and i also agree about Pierce getting MVP consideration - not that he should win it, but he should be among the top 10.
in the end, officiating should not matter in this series - celtics are the far superior team, and the refs could be tree rollings, dominique wilkins and spud webb and i still think the c's should win easily.
from 13 days ago
I'm from Boston and after last night I totally agree with this guy about the refs. Nearly half of the Hawk points came from free throws in game 6. This series should have been won in 5 or 6 games by the Celtics, but now we have to play a 7th and go in tired against the Cavs. The officiating was so bad and biased that I jumped up many times screaming at my television set. Hopefully we crush these no-talent-ass clowns when they come back to the Garden!
from 12 days ago
As long as we play seven and go in tired against the Cavs. If we play seven then watch the Cavs and Hawks on TV, I'm not sure how I'll react. But my Doc Rivers voodoo doll is going to take a beating....
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