Ref's were a big storyline in Game 1

[CelticG1]

Let's hope this rend does not continue

This is exactly what the players, fans, media member's, everybody, did NOT want to happen.

I read several articles this past week talking about this very specific thing and it's a shame how quickly they became a storyline. It wasn't just the Pierce stuff (although that was  big part of it) but it was throughout the game, they were just beyond bad. Even if Pierce isn't ejected they still would have been a storyline

[MetroGlobe]

How big was the BS flagrant foul against Jermaine?  We had gotten back to 7 points, completely stolen the momentum, and BAM - they were gifted 5 points.  What an utter disgrace from the refs today.

And Paul's second T was ludicrous as well.  Wade blatantly jumped into his chest, leading with his shoulder and elbow.  How they even called Paul for a regular foul is beyond me.  But then a tech on top of it?  Complete insanity.  See for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOjbMYpVLKA

[CelticG1]

How big was the BS flagrant foul against Jermaine?  We had gotten back to 7 points, completely stolen the momentum, and BAM - they were gifted 5 points.  What an utter disgrace from the refs today.

And Paul's second T was ludicrous as well.  Wade blatantly jumped into his chest, leading with his shoulder and elbow.  How they even called Paul for a regular foul is beyond me.  But then a tech on top of it?  Complete insanity.

After calling that weak flagrant on JO the refs set it up so both Jones and Wade's fouls should have been flagrants

They should have been flagrant's anyway but they called such a weak one early on in the game that they really shouldn't have had a choice in calling the other ones.

It was just so blatantly inconsistent and mind boggling.

I just don't know how you can justify the JO flagrant without calling the other 2 at all

[Chris]

While the refs were a big story-line, I think the C's were the ones who put themselves in that position.

Rondo got in foul trouble because he made a couple dumb fouls early in the game.

Pierce got thrown out on a bad call, I agree...but that bad call would never have been an issue had he not tried to be a tough guy and get in Jones' face.  In fact, I would not have been surprised had he just walked away after Jones' foul, they may have conferred and called that a flagrant, but his tough guy act changed the emotions of the play, and got the refs to make it a double tech.

So yeah, the refs overall did not have a good night.  They made some bad calls.  However, the C's played last night like they were trying to prove they are something they are not.  This team is no longer big bad bullies.  In 2008 they won physically, and overwhelmed other teams with their aggression.  This is a different team.  Now, they win by overwhelming other teams with their skill and execution.  It seems like last night they forgot who they were, and it came back to bite them.  They are not going to win this series unless they refocus, and learn that they need to be above that stuff.

[Rondo2287]

The way I see it,

We didnt get any breaks last game, Pierce got thrown out.  Rondo was on the bench for most of the second quarter, and James Jones set the world on fire.  And we lost by 9 on the road.  Obviously I would have liked the win, but it could have been uglier.

[CelticG1]

While the refs were a big story-line, I think the C's were the ones who put themselves in that position.

Rondo got in foul trouble because he made a couple dumb fouls early in the game.

Pierce got thrown out on a bad call, I agree...but that bad call would never have been an issue had he not tried to be a tough guy and get in Jones' face.  In fact, I would not have been surprised had he just walked away after Jones' foul, they may have conferred and called that a flagrant, but his tough guy act changed the emotions of the play, and got the refs to make it a double tech.

So yeah, the refs overall did not have a good night.  They made some bad calls.  However, the C's played last night like they were trying to prove they are something they are not.  This team is no longer big bad bullies.  In 2008 they won physically, and overwhelmed other teams with their aggression.  This is a different team.  Now, they win by overwhelming other teams with their skill and execution.  It seems like last night they forgot who they were, and it came back to bite them.  They are not going to win this series unless they refocus, and learn that they need to be above that stuff.

Yeah well you can always argue that the team put themselves in that position. Has there ever been a game where it was only the refs fault? No. But there have been PLENTY of games where the ref's were a major factor and yesterday was one of those games.

They were completely inconsistent throughout the game and were wildly inconsistent at critical junctures during the game.

We didn't want the ref's to be a storyline in this series and so far after one game they are the storyline

[Chris]

We didn't want the ref's to be a storyline in this series and so far after one game they are the storyline

This is the NBA.  The refs are going to be a storyline whether we like it or not.  Some games, things will benefit the Heat, and some games they will benefit the C's.  That is how things work in the NBA. 

However, championship teams don't let that effect them.  They win despite a bad game by the refs, because they don't let it get in their heads, and they don't put themselves in bad positions with dumb fouls, etc.

I think the best example was the Detroit series in 2008.  I think it was game 6, when in the second half, the refs seemed to "flip the switch", and it began to look like the game was turning for the Pistons (I think this was the game where there was a terrible call on Pierce shooting a 3 pointer trying to draw a foul).  However, instead of complaining about the refs, the C's internalized it, turned up the intensity and pressure, cleaned up their game, and closed it out.  They stopped whining about calls, and just played basketball.

That is what I want to see from my team.  If they feel like they can blame losses on refs, then they don't deserve a championship.  Step it up, and win the games.

[CelticG1]

We didn't want the ref's to be a storyline in this series and so far after one game they are the storyline

This is the NBA.  The refs are going to be a storyline whether we like it or not.  Some games, things will benefit the Heat, and some games they will benefit the C's.  That is how things work in the NBA. 

However, championship teams don't let that effect them.  They win despite a bad game by the refs, because they don't let it get in their heads, and they don't put themselves in bad positions with dumb fouls, etc.

I think the best example was the Detroit series in 2008.  I think it was game 6, when in the second half, the refs seemed to "flip the switch", and it began to look like the game was turning for the Pistons (I think this was the game where there was a terrible call on Pierce shooting a 3 pointer trying to draw a foul).  However, instead of complaining about the refs, the C's internalized it, turned up the intensity and pressure, cleaned up their game, and closed it out.  They stopped whining about calls, and just played basketball.

That is what I want to see from my team.  If they feel like they can blame losses on refs, then they don't deserve a championship.  Step it up, and win the games.

The ref's are the storyline in NBA games? No one is talking about the ref's of OKC and Memphis. Everywhere I look today it is all about the officials with the Celts-Mia

I don't see what's so wrong with just pointing out how bad the officiating was yesterday. It was an embarrassment. I don't anticipate the rest of the series being officiated this poorly but if it is, wow the NBA would like a lot more WWE than NBA.

For the Celtics I didn't really see them acting out of the ordinary. Were they whining to the refs? Were they not playing hard? We may not have won this game anyway but the Ref's putting a big old fat stamp on this game didn't help.

[Chris]

We didn't want the ref's to be a storyline in this series and so far after one game they are the storyline

This is the NBA.  The refs are going to be a storyline whether we like it or not.  Some games, things will benefit the Heat, and some games they will benefit the C's.  That is how things work in the NBA. 

However, championship teams don't let that effect them.  They win despite a bad game by the refs, because they don't let it get in their heads, and they don't put themselves in bad positions with dumb fouls, etc.

I think the best example was the Detroit series in 2008.  I think it was game 6, when in the second half, the refs seemed to "flip the switch", and it began to look like the game was turning for the Pistons (I think this was the game where there was a terrible call on Pierce shooting a 3 pointer trying to draw a foul).  However, instead of complaining about the refs, the C's internalized it, turned up the intensity and pressure, cleaned up their game, and closed it out.  They stopped whining about calls, and just played basketball.

That is what I want to see from my team.  If they feel like they can blame losses on refs, then they don't deserve a championship.  Step it up, and win the games.

The ref's are the storyline in NBA games? No one is talking about the ref's of OKC and Memphis. Everywhere I look today it is all about the officials with the Celts-Mia

I don't see what's so wrong with just pointing out how bad the officiating was yesterday. It was an embarrassment. I don't anticipate the rest of the series being officiated this poorly but if it is, wow the NBA would like a lot more WWE than NBA.

For the Celtics I didn't really see them acting out of the ordinary. Were they whining to the refs? Were they not playing hard? We may not have won this game anyway but the Ref's putting a big old fat stamp on this game didn't help.

Look back at Bill Simmons' tweets through round 1.  The refs are constantly storylines. 

[bmxgitch]

  Go to the NBA's web site. Scroll all the way down and click on contact us. Then go to the 4th headline - contact the NBA/WNBA ect. Here you put in your name and e-mail info. There is a place where you click on "select one" do that and then finally click on "officiating in the NBA" Now it is time to voice your opinion about the SAD and down right BAD state of NBA officiating. I always add "please don't send me back a form letter because it just shows you don't care" ! Lets flood the NBA with e-mails about how bad the refs are especially Ed Malloy and Joe Crawford !

[CelticG1]

We didn't want the ref's to be a storyline in this series and so far after one game they are the storyline

This is the NBA.  The refs are going to be a storyline whether we like it or not.  Some games, things will benefit the Heat, and some games they will benefit the C's.  That is how things work in the NBA. 

However, championship teams don't let that effect them.  They win despite a bad game by the refs, because they don't let it get in their heads, and they don't put themselves in bad positions with dumb fouls, etc.

I think the best example was the Detroit series in 2008.  I think it was game 6, when in the second half, the refs seemed to "flip the switch", and it began to look like the game was turning for the Pistons (I think this was the game where there was a terrible call on Pierce shooting a 3 pointer trying to draw a foul).  However, instead of complaining about the refs, the C's internalized it, turned up the intensity and pressure, cleaned up their game, and closed it out.  They stopped whining about calls, and just played basketball.

That is what I want to see from my team.  If they feel like they can blame losses on refs, then they don't deserve a championship.  Step it up, and win the games.

The ref's are the storyline in NBA games? No one is talking about the ref's of OKC and Memphis. Everywhere I look today it is all about the officials with the Celts-Mia

I don't see what's so wrong with just pointing out how bad the officiating was yesterday. It was an embarrassment. I don't anticipate the rest of the series being officiated this poorly but if it is, wow the NBA would like a lot more WWE than NBA.

For the Celtics I didn't really see them acting out of the ordinary. Were they whining to the refs? Were they not playing hard? We may not have won this game anyway but the Ref's putting a big old fat stamp on this game didn't help.

Look back at Bill Simmons' tweets through round 1.  The refs are constantly storylines. 

Would you say that they were probably the biggest storyline in the playoffs so far with their game yesterday?

I would

[Jaycelt]

  In fact, I would not have been surprised had he just walked away after Jones' foul, they may have conferred and called that a flagrant, but his tough guy act changed the emotions of the play, and got the refs to make it a double tech.

  It's been my experience that it's usually totally opposite.  A flagrant is much more likely to be called if the offended player takes exception.  In fact I can't think of a single instance where the other player or the other team has simply walked away and a flagrant has been called on a hit like that.  I think your assumption is pretty hard to defend. 

[jdpapa3]

Rondo got in foul trouble because he made a couple dumb fouls early in the game.

The wrap up on Lebron was dumb, but the other 2 were headscratchers.

[Chris]

Rondo got in foul trouble because he made a couple dumb fouls early in the game.

The wrap up on Lebron was dumb, but the other 2 were headscratchers.

Headscratchers in what way?  They may not have been as "dumb", but they looked like fouls to me.  The first one was obviously a push-off, and he needs to be careful of that stuff when he is around a flopper like Bibby.  And the third one may or may not have been a foul, but he got in under the guy on the rebounding motion.  Again, may not have been something he could have avoided, but it wasn't NOT a foul.

[18isGREATERthan72]

Rondo got in foul trouble because he made a couple dumb fouls early in the game.

The wrap up on Lebron was dumb, but the other 2 were headscratchers.

I don't have much problem with Rondo's first 2 Fouls, but his 3rd one on James Jones was literally "Are you serious?"

I just want to know the last time a referee was fined for doing something stupid, or losing money because of poor performance.  These guys have NO outside influence on how they do things.  There is no organization that assesses the integrity of the officiating.  It is all done in house, and any time anyone speaks out about it, there are fines.

I rarely have a problem with the officiating, but 3 calls in yesterdays game were bad.

1. JO flagrant on James Jones
2. No call Flagrant on James Jones for wrapping up Pierce
3. Foul on Pierce leading to ejection (Not sure if Pierce got called for the foul or if Wade was, slightly confusing moment, if someone could clarify)

Those three calls contributed essentially a 10 point swing, and one of our top players being ejected.

The JO Flagrant was BOGUS, and if THAT was a flagrant, then the James Jones wrap up, and the way Wade tried to run through the screen should have certainly been Flagrant.  Normally I wouldn't consider The other two to be Flagrant, but since JO got called, I imagine those two should have been to maintain consistency.

Just a terrible job overall.