Celtics (28-7) at Pacers (20-15) Game #36 1/8/24

[johnnygreen]

I didn't see much of the game, as I was watching the college national championship. However, I did see the last few minutes of the Celtics game. I don't care that Tatum didn't play, the Celtics still should have won, and the game should have never come down to a blown call by the officiating. To make matters worse, the Pacers best player was only in the game for 13 minutes. The team needs to stop making excuses and learn to put teams away. Don't think your a championship caliber team, go out there and prove it.

[libermaniac]

I didn't see much of the game, as I was watching the college national championship. However, I did see the last few minutes of the Celtics game. I don't care that Tatum didn't play, the Celtics still should have won, and the game should have never come down to a blown call by the officiating. To make matters worse, the Pacers best player was only in the game for 13 minutes. The team needs to stop making excuses and learn to put teams away. Don't think your a championship caliber team, go out there and prove it.

You do realize they are on pace for more than 60 wins don’t you?

[hpantazo]

wait, so now the head is part of the ball?

[SparzWizard]

When LeBron complains about reffing and controlling the outcome of game, we laugh and mock him.

But when Celtics fans complain about JB getting hit in the back of the head and reverses the call, we revolt.

For me, I just look at the big picture and wonder why in the 3rd quarter this team underperformed which led to this point. I certainly hope this game won't cost us home-court advantage in the playoffs.

[Birdman]

Bad call like all sports but time to move on to next game

[Vermont Green]

I didn't see much of the game, as I was watching the college national championship. However, I did see the last few minutes of the Celtics game. I don't care that Tatum didn't play, the Celtics still should have won, and the game should have never come down to a blown call by the officiating. To make matters worse, the Pacers best player was only in the game for 13 minutes. The team needs to stop making excuses and learn to put teams away. Don't think your a championship caliber team, go out there and prove it.

You do realize they are on pace for more than 60 wins don’t you?

Yeah, I don't understand the angst of losing one game.  Even championship teams are not that much better than 0.500 on the road.  We went 1-1 vs. IND on the road.  Next time Brown hits the last shot and we win.  That is just how it goes.

I am so on to Minnesota.

[Yuckabuck33]

Bad call like all sports but time to move on to next game

Not a run of the mill bad call. This one raises crucial questions.
1. How does a ref (Pacers fan) say "no contact" after watching replay? The L2M Report acknowledged contact.
2. Haliburton's injury caused a lot of money to be bet on Boston. Did this have anything to do with the calls?
3. If so, how many other times or ways do the refs affect the game one way or another?
4. Was there a pattern here? "One bad call" can happen. But combine that with:
A. Celtics given zero free throws in the 1st half of prior game against Pacers.
B. Celtics fast break wiped out when ref calls technical foul on Pacer.
C. League L2M Report says no foul on Porzingas that gave Pacers winning free throws.
5. If there was a pattern here, what was the goal?
A. To keep the game close in order give to home team fans their money's worth?
B.To enable a particular team to win on a particular day?
C. To protect gambling interests and make them happy?
6. If the goal was to affect the game, who made this decision? The league, the ref, other outside interests?
7. How often does this happen?

These are serious questions. Never forget- when the FBI caught Tim Donaghy, they went to David Stern and asked him to keep it quiet so they could see if other refs were giilty. And Stern leaked it to the press so no one else could be caught.

I will not just move on.

[footey]

When LeBron complains about reffing and controlling the outcome of game, we laugh and mock him.

But when Celtics fans complain about JB getting hit in the back of the head and reverses the call, we revolt.

AND when LeBron backs up Celtics' ref complaints on social media, we get really confused!!

[Yuckabuck33]

I didn't see much of the game, as I was watching the college national championship. However, I did see the last few minutes of the Celtics game. I don't care that Tatum didn't play, the Celtics still should have won, and the game should have never come down to a blown call by the officiating. To make matters worse, the Pacers best player was only in the game for 13 minutes. The team needs to stop making excuses and learn to put teams away. Don't think your a championship caliber team, go out there and prove it.

You do realize they are on pace for more than 60 wins don’t you?

Yeah, I don't understand the angst of losing one game.  Even championship teams are not that much better than 0.500 on the road.  We went 1-1 vs. IND on the road.  Next time Brown hits the last shot and we win.  That is just how it goes.

I am so on to Minnesota.

Are you sure? Isn't it just as likely that next time Brown hits the shot and the refs take it away from him with a bogus offensive foul call, on him or on an off ball play?

[liam]

Bad call like all sports but time to move on to next game

Not a run of the mill bad call. This one raises crucial questions.
1. How does a ref (Pacers fan) say "no contact" after watching replay? The L2M Report acknowledged contact.
2. Haliburton's injury caused a lot of money to be bet on Boston. Did this have anything to do with the calls?
3. If so, how many other times or ways do the refs affect the game one way or another?
4. Was there a pattern here? "One bad call" can happen. But combine that with:
A. Celtics given zero free throws in the 1st half of prior game against Pacers.
B. Celtics fast break wiped out when ref calls technical foul on Pacer.
C. League L2M Report says no foul on Porzingas that gave Pacers winning free throws.
5. If there was a pattern here, what was the goal?
A. To keep the game close in order give to home team fans their money's worth?
B.To enable a particular team to win on a particular day?
C. To protect gambling interests and make them happy?
6. If the goal was to affect the game, who made this decision? The league, the ref, other outside interests?
7. How often does this happen?

These are serious questions. Never forget- when the FBI caught Tim Donaghy, they went to David Stern and asked him to keep it quiet so they could see if other refs were giilty. And Stern leaked it to the press so no one else could be caught.

I will not just move on.

Me either. The NBA has an officiating problem. If you watch college ball or international games the refs are much better. Even the G League refs seem better.  No one is looking for perfection but when they can't even get the call right on replay review that just stinks!

[Vermont Green]

I didn't see much of the game, as I was watching the college national championship. However, I did see the last few minutes of the Celtics game. I don't care that Tatum didn't play, the Celtics still should have won, and the game should have never come down to a blown call by the officiating. To make matters worse, the Pacers best player was only in the game for 13 minutes. The team needs to stop making excuses and learn to put teams away. Don't think your a championship caliber team, go out there and prove it.

You do realize they are on pace for more than 60 wins don’t you?

Yeah, I don't understand the angst of losing one game.  Even championship teams are not that much better than 0.500 on the road.  We went 1-1 vs. IND on the road.  Next time Brown hits the last shot and we win.  That is just how it goes.

I am so on to Minnesota.

Are you sure? Isn't it just as likely that next time Brown hits the shot and the refs take it away from him with a bogus offensive foul call, on him or on an off ball play?

That is the point, it is just as likely, especially on the road.  The foul could go either way, the shot could go either way.  More likely to go the Celtics way at home, less likely to go their way on the road.  This last game vs IND, it went one way.  It will go the other way just as often.  The only way to avoid this element of chance is to have a bigger lead, which the Celtics often are able to do.

But when games come down to a final shot or a final call, you introduce the element of chance.

I do agree that Brown is more likely to get an offensive foul call or not get any call than a lot of other stars.  I guess they only give the star treatment to one player on a team and that player for the Celtics is Tatum.