NBA Playoff Schedule 2012: Officiating Will Be Deciding Factor in Celtics-Heat
In Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, we all saw what happens when the officiating doesn't compromise the outcomes of the games.
There were lots of similarities between the first two and the last two games of this Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics series. There have still been a fair amount of controversial calls. Paul Pierce still managed to foul out in the midst of a crucial overtime contest.
But this time, LeBron James fouled out, too, and this time, the Celtics—who have played spectacularly for the last three games in a row—have something to show for their efforts.
After two huge wins at home, the series moves back to Miami for Games 5 (Tuesday, June 5, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) and 6 (Thursday, June 7, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN. The full schedule is available here).
We've all seen this before: The Heat have dropped two in a row, they're starting to panic and they're now facing what might as well be a must-win. And this time, as long as the officiating remains fair and even, the Heat are going to have to work a lot harder to get those next two wins.
In Game 4, the Celtics still had more personal fouls (30) than the Heat (28), but unlike the case in a controversial Game 2, the totals were much more even. Unlike the case with Game 2, no one is talking about blown calls the morning after the game. Game 4 was exactly what it should've been: A contest in which the team that made the most plays at the end of the game took home the win.
The most critical point of Sunday's matchup came with 1:51 remaining. The Celtics were up 92-91, and after a scuffle underneath the Heat basket, LeBron drew his sixth foul and fouled out for the first time ever as a member of the Miami Heat. The Celtics, who had lost Pierce three minutes earlier, took full advantage and didn't let the Heat score again.
Neither team was perfect in the extra frame—if they had been, they each would've been able to prevent their most important player from fouling out. But this time, the Celtics didn't have to combat the Heat and the officials in the final frame, or for the rest of the game, for that matter. This time, it was the Heat's turn.
At halftime, with the Celtics up 61-47, ESPN's Doris Burke asked Rajon Rondo to name exactly what Boston was doing to exploit Miami's defensive holes. Rondo deadpanned, "They're complaining and crying to the referees in transition."
What Rondo was really saying, of course, was that the Heat were finally seeing what it was like to play without the refs in their back pockets, and it wasn't easy.
Some of the calls at the end of Sunday's game may have been questionable, but the Celtics didn't win because of them. They won because they were almost perfect in the first half and they played terrific defense in overtime.
If the officiating stays that way, this is going to continue to be the kind of series every NBA fan loves to see—one in which the best, not the luckiest, team wins.
