The Celtics lost Game 6 in Cleveland, dropping them to 0-6 on the road in this post-season. After the game, Doc Rivers seemed to have the answers for the teams road woes: bad calls from the officials.
With the Celtics trailing, 72-67, with 49.9 seconds remaining, Pierce was called for a charge after colliding with James.
"I thought the charge call on Paul . . . well, you guys can take it from there," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "I mean, that's a huge call . . . to make, but listen, we played hard. I'm just going to stop there."
Kevin Garnett followed his coach's example of complaining and chimed in on the matter as well:
"There were questionable calls at the end."
A charge call (which, by the way, always has a 50-50 chance of going either way) with your team trailing by five with under 50 seconds to play cost you the game? I hate to break it to the Celtics, but there were plenty of reasons they lost that game, and not one of them has to do with the officiating.
How about the fact that they were only able to score 69 freaking points? Think that might have contributed to the loss? What about letting the Cavs end the first half on a 17-2 run? How about getting out-rebounded 45-37? What about shooting 39% from the field for the game? How about the fact that your Game 5 hero, Rajon Rondo, managed to contribute just two points, five assists, and three turnovers in 31 minutes? Might that have had something to do with the loss, guys?
The Celtics have no one to blame for themselves for this loss. Cleveland only shot 12 more free throws than Boston did, a far cry from the 20 free throw discrepancy we've seen for some home teams in the playoffs. The home team tends to play more aggressively (especially when facing elimination), so they get to the line more. The Celtics need to stop worrying about the refs, and start worrying about their 66-win season ending up in nothing more than a second round playoff loss. Which is exactly what will happen tomorrow if they don't start focusing on basketball instead of the officiating.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Good post.
Posted at 12:44PM on May 17th 2008 by Greg
2. I've seen more questionable calls in the Lakers Jazz game, especially late in the 4th quarter were Kobe got away with two obvious charging fouls. Good job Stern.
Posted at 1:27PM on May 17th 2008 by DM
3. No. Bad post. Buzz Bissinger deducts 1 point.
You're right that it's not why they lost, and that nobody wants to hear a guy whine about refs after he loses.
But don't downplay how awful that call was. It was not by any means a garden variety 50-50 contact play. LeBron's feet were very clearly on the move. It was an easy call that was blown at a pivotal moment.
Slap the Celtics all you want for whining, but you don't need to be disingenuous to make your point.
Posted at 1:47PM on May 17th 2008 by pstargalac
4. wahhhh....we're the team of destiny....wahh...we're resurrecting the Celtic dynasty....wahhh....we're not supposed to lose we have the big three....wah....how come teams keep beating us on the road???? It must be the refs....they're the ones who cost us ALL 6 games on the road so far...yeah, that's it...it's the refs...
Posted at 1:50PM on May 17th 2008 by Michael gifford
5. Me thinks Doc Rivers gets more of a break than Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick.
You can see it in his post game press conferences the guys about to crack up."We're fine,we're fine,we just gotta win at home,go ask the refs."
Hey Doc,news flash,you suck as a coach.
Your league best record had nothing to do with "You" and everything to do with acquiring Garnett and Allen and playing in the east.
The Pistons are the best team in the east.
And, lets not give a pass to KG and Ray like old Uncle Teddy got,these guys have never one anything either.
Posted at 2:14PM on May 17th 2008 by Lakergregg
6. The belief that a defender must be stationary in order for a charge to be called in incorrect. When an offensive player jumps, the defender can't move into the area where the offensive player will land. Thus, in those instances, the ref looks to see if the defender's feet were set before the offensive player left his feet. However, on the perimeter, the issue is which player caused the contact. When an offensive player's shoulder hits the defender square in the chest, a charge will almost always be called, because the defender beat him to the spot. This is what happened at Cleveland.
Posted at 2:33PM on May 17th 2008 by Martin
7. brett you bring this whole site down.
'celts blame refs for game 6 loss'. how much of the post game press conference did you listen to? rivers makes one comment concerning officiating and now they are blaming the loss on the refs? how much more egregious were kg's comments then those made by lebron after game 5?
i suppose it wouldn't contribute to your point here to point out that doc also 'blamed' missed shots, a great game from lebron & solid team defense from the cav's.
you're a clown.
Posted at 3:41PM on May 17th 2008 by radja9697
8. I haven't seen the play because frankly I don't care, but feet don't need to be set if the defender has defined position.
Posted at 4:38PM on May 17th 2008 by Dr Huxtable
9. In every game there are seemingly horrible calls that go both ways. Usually the only ones that are remembered are the ones that cost "your team" the game. Boston did not lose because of bad calls. They lost because they could not make a shot when it counted and they did not box out and rebound. Lebron was called for the same charge late in game one. He drove into the lane, pierce was not set, Lebron lowered the should a little bit and it was a charge. Did you hear Mike Brown boohoo about officiating. In game 6, Joe Smith was called for a blocking foul for apparently hitting his chin on Garnett's elbow. The replay clearly showed that Garnett initiated contact to Smiths chest and chin and this case Joe Smith was in good defensive position. It was clearly an offensive foul that was not called.
Posted at 5:41PM on May 17th 2008 by cpa
10. it wasn't a charge or a block, lebron reached across pierce and got as much arm as ball.
the most reasonable call (from his post game comments, it was the one that lebron expected) would have been out of bounds celtic's ball.
it did not cost the celtics the game; no one (doc, kg, pierce, scal) except brett edwards made that assertion.
Posted at 8:11PM on May 17th 2008 by radja9697
11. I am horribly disappointed in Boston. But with the understanding that these guys are learning to win. And if they take care of things tomorrow, all is right and they get the Pistons.
But Allen has turned into a joke. A defensive loss. Shooting bricks. And not even shooting bricks often enough to get over the problem. I find it shocking how utterly useless he has become.
And they should stop bitching and play like they can. They honestly might lose tomorrows game. And considering they are playing as bad and ugly as the Cavs and the Pistons normally do, the idea that they can play beautifully is bowing to the simple fact that they are not.
Posted at 10:22PM on May 17th 2008 by Preacher
12. The Celtics will get their act together and beat the Cavaliers in their home court and then play the Detroit Pistons. You are right blaming the referees for the loss is asinine.
Posted at 10:36PM on May 17th 2008 by George B Vieto
13. I normally hate when players blame a loss on the refs, but there were AT LEAST two terrible calls at the end of the game that really hurt the Celtics. The sucky, so say it nicely, charge call, which LeBron practically admitted wasn't legit during the PG press conference and the basket that was called a block on Allen. He should have been going for the and one at the line bc the ball hit glass first. No, those calls didn't determine the game in its entirely, but yes, they hurt the Celts. The refs messed up big time.
Posted at 1:29AM on May 18th 2008 by Shonda
14. The Cavs will win game 7 because they are a better defensive and rebounding team,and because they have the best player on the court.And Post #11 by Preacher is right. Ray Allen is a brickster.
Posted at 3:10AM on May 18th 2008 by Mr.G
15. Bad calls seem all the worse in the playoffs with so much at stake. For all the teams still playing, be glad Dougherty still isn't a ref. Now that would be a real cause for concern!
In a way, I wish the NBA would institute the instant replay on controvertial calls. The only problem I see with that is the floppers and whiners could easily extend every game by a good 30 minutes arguing every stupid call.
Posted at 3:17AM on May 18th 2008 by Gerber