NBA fines Celtics' Marcus Smart for public criticism of officiating

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22668008/marcus-smart-boston-celtics-fined-15000-nba-public-criticism-officiating



NBA fines Cetlics' Marcus Smart for public criticism of officiating




11:49 AM PT


Chris Forsberg
ESPN Staff Writer




The NBA fined Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart $15,000 on Tuesday for public criticism of officiating following Saturday's 123-120 loss to the Houston Rockets.

Smart did not reference the officiating during a media session with a group of reporters immediately after the game, but he was later asked about the difficulties in defending Houston star James Harden.

Smart decried some of the whistles against the Celtics in an interview with the Boston Globe.

"When you're playing a guy like that who gets those types of calls, it's pretty much like you're playing in foul trouble," Smart told the Globe. "You've got to play really certain. You have to be really solid. You can't really play the defense that you want, because you know nine times out of 10, he's going to get those calls. It doesn't matter whether your hands are up or not. He still gets them. We saw that here tonight a few times, and we've seen that every other game.

"He has a way of using his hands, grabbing us, pulling us into him and drawing those fouls. He's been doing it for a long time. He gets the benefit of the doubt."



The Celtics' Marcus Smart said "you can't really play the defense that you want" against the Rockets' James Harden, "because you know, nine times out of 10, he's going to get those calls. It doesn't matter whether your hands are up or not." Erik Williams/USA TODAY Sports


Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown found early foul trouble while trying to defend Harden on Saturday. On one whistle, Brown appeared to get hit in the face on a Harden drive. Early in the third quarter, Harden appeared to push off Brown in order to receive a pass at the top of the key.

Brown got whistled for his fourth foul and then got a technical for arguing how Harden's shove had sent him to the floor.

"It happens all around the league," Smart told the Globe. "You get certain players who get calls that other guys just wouldn't get. We all know the rule. We all understand it. Superstars are going to be superstars. We get it. It is what it is. We've just got to play."

Smart, who was celebrating his 24th birthday Tuesday, was on the right side of the referees' whistles in December when Harden was called for two offensive fouls in the final seconds of Boston's comeback win.

After that December meeting, Harden vented about the officiating, including the use of only two game officials after one was injured in pregame warmups, but was not fined for his comments.

"First of all, I want to know, how do you only have two officials on a national TV game? That's the first question," Harden said in December. "A lot of grabbing, a lot of holding. I mean, how else am I supposed to get open? Guy has two arms wrapped around my whole body."

Added Harden: "It's just tough. You can't have two officials in a professional game. There's a lot of no-calls that need to be called, because that changes the dynamic of the game."



bob
MY NOTE:  By fining Smart but not fining Harden the league just proved Smart right.

.

They didn't fine LeBron either for his incessant bitching.

This league aggravates me sometimes.


KJ

I know there isn't supposed to be politics, but this makes me think of how upside down the world is. It's a fact that the nomination was rigged against Bernie Sanders. That's not a debate, so I figure I can drop that in to make a point.

Marcus Smart gets punished for free speech, while so much other stuff never faces justice.

Jeff Van Gundy used to speak out against the refs, but the league seemed to figure out how to quiet him down.

The NBA is a joke. The Celtics are not. Smart said it when he said it. We all know what's going on. The league gifted a win to Houston. They don't want anyone to realize they are a pretender. They don't want anyone discussing tanking or of incompetent, possibly corrupt refs. I think it's coming from the league. There's a reason the phrase professional wrestling is often tossed out there talking over decades now, think Sacramento-Lakers 2002 or pick you favorite seemingly fixed series.

Boxing had this problem or image. I don't know if that is still going on.

I agree that both Harden and James always have something to say on each and every call during a game, but Smart must have crossed the line somewhere. As much as I like Marcus Smart as a player, if he values $15,000 he will at least say things in a different manner and time.

Regarding Harden's complaining about only have two officials in a particular game, I have to agree that two guys are not enough in a highly competitive NBA game. This does not mean that his team was unfairly penalized more than their opponent, but the NBA is played at far too fast a pace by very large athletes for two guys to be able to see all possible calls.

Not sure what the NBA can do about this, but two officials is not enough for most games, and this is why
the league first went to the three official format.

James Harden is a great player, and an even better cry baby.

There have been exactly ONE game this season with 2 officials. It happened because of extenuating circumstances, there is absolutely nothing that needs to be done other than to give Harden a crying towel.

The legendary teams of the past played at a MUCH faster pace than modern teams and had two officials. More evidence of modern, coddled, spoiled brat athletes.

mrkleen09 wrote:James Harden is a great player, and an even better cry baby.

There have been exactly ONE game this season with 2 officials.  It happened because of extenuating circumstances, there is absolutely nothing that needs to be done other than to give Harden a crying towel.

The legendary teams of the past played at a MUCH faster pace than modern teams and had two officials.  More evidence of modern, coddled, spoiled brat athletes.  

+1

I was going to ask wideclyde what he meant about the NBA only having 2 refs. during games,  but you addressed it for me. The NBA still regularly has 3 refs. during games. I do recall that they at one time had a backup ref. at the sidelines to fill-in for extenuating circumstances - I don't know if they had one for that particular game or if the backup ref. was also incapacitated.

Phil Pressey wrote:I know there isn't supposed to be politics, but this makes me think of how upside down the world is. It's a fact that the nomination was rigged against Bernie Sanders. That's not a debate, so I figure I can drop that in to make a point.

Marcus Smart gets punished for free speech, while so much other stuff never faces justice.

Jeff Van Gundy used to speak out against the refs, but the league seemed to figure out how to quiet him down.

The NBA is a joke. The Celtics are not. Smart said it when he said it. We all know what's going on. The league gifted a win to Houston. They don't want anyone to realize they are a pretender. They don't want anyone discussing tanking or of incompetent, possibly corrupt refs. I think it's coming from the league. There's a reason the phrase professional wrestling is often tossed out there talking over decades now, think Sacramento-Lakers 2002 or pick you favorite seemingly fixed series.

Boxing had this problem or image. I don't know if that is still going on.

"Boxing had this problem or image. I don't know if that is still going on."

Off on a tangent, but IMHO, the best way to clean up the scandalous boxing issue is to show a running scorecard, round by round for everyone to see, a la the inning by inning scoreboard in baseball. It would make it a lot harder for the judges to surreptitiously "fix" the scoring and there would be no surprises at the end of the fight. But that would take away the corruption and bribes that are inherent in boxing, so it will not happen as long as those in power (promoters) have their way.

So, in the same game, Mike D'Antoni runs up and down the court, screaming and yelling at referee's, every call, throws his arms in the air.   One of the main reasons I can't stand him. He gets no tech.  Late in the game, Brad stands up, God knows what he said to the ref, but I can almost guarantee there was no swearing involved, and automatically gets whacked with a tech.

Van Gundy makes the statement that the ref's were just sick of all the complaining so they picked him.  BS, period .    that is what it is.  Kyrie got whacked at least two to three times, never got a call.  They blew on Harden and bingo, the defensive player got hit.  I have said for a very long time that Kyrie never gets the respect he deserves from the referees.  

This will go on, so they have to attempt to deal with it without having it affect the way they play defense.

Tangentally speaking, Sandp, I love love your boxing idea.

We have calls being made in real time - and being reviewed in stop action slow motion. Surprise - surprise - they find errors in the real time calls. Is that a surprise to anyone ? The athletes have standards of acceptance considerably below perfect - why not officials. After all - officiating is not an exact science.

swish

Fair point, but I still think the officiating stinks.

jrleftfoot wrote:Fair point, but I still think the officiating stinks.

jr

By your standards it stinks - and for the record - back in the 50's and 60's, we the fans also thought that it stunk. Back in the late 40's the Boston Braves of the National League had a small musical group called the Troubadours. They sat in the right field bleaches and each game they would serenade the umpires, as they were being introduced over the P A system, with the tune "three blind mice". Some things just never change.

swish

Steve Bulpett
@SteveBHoop
Marcus Smart says he will appeal his $15,000 fine from the league for being critical of the officiating after the loss in Houston.

1:45 PM - Mar 7, 2018



bob
MY NOTE:  GO GET'EM, MARCUS!  SIC'EM!!! You shouldn't be fined for stating the ridiculously obvious.



.

I will be interested to see how the league handles this. Wonder if Brad is doing the same?????

swish wrote:
 jr

By your standards it stinks - and for the record - back in the 50's and 60's,  we the fans also thought that it stunk. Back in the late 40's the Boston Braves of the National League had a small musical group called the Troubadours. They sat in the right field bleaches and each game they would serenade the umpires, as they were being introduced over the P A system, with the tune "three blind mice". Some things just never change.

  swish

Swish - you never addressed my post to you in the Houston post game thread, so will repost them here for your comment.

---
This is not about slow motion replays, as those have been around for decades - yet the past few season it is very clear by any objective measure, the NBA officiating has been in decline.

Lots of quality veterans have retired. A number left for the NCAA. And the NBA officiating is less experienced than in the past, and the results are showing.

Now the players are not blameless in this, as the complaining has also gotten out of hand. But they didnt schedule a meeting during the All Star break between the NBA Players Association and National Basketball Referees Association because of replays.

https://www.sbnation.com/2017/12/27/16818854/nba-referees-players-ejections-leadership-tension

mrkleen09 wrote:

swish wrote:
 jr

By your standards it stinks - and for the record - back in the 50's and 60's,  we the fans also thought that it stunk. Back in the late 40's the Boston Braves of the National League had a small musical group called the Troubadours. They sat in the right field bleaches and each game they would serenade the umpires, as they were being introduced over the P A system, with the tune "three blind mice". Some things just never change.

  swish

Swish - you never addressed my post to you in the Houston post game thread, so will repost them here for your comment.

---
This is not about slow motion replays, as those have been around for decades - yet the past few season it is very clear by any objective measure, the NBA officiating has been in decline.

Lots of quality veterans have retired. A number left for the NCAA. And the NBA officiating is less experienced than in the past, and the results are showing.

Now the players are not blameless in this, as the complaining has also gotten out of hand. But they didnt schedule a meeting during the All Star break between the NBA Players Association and National Basketball Referees Association because of replays.

https://www.sbnation.com/2017/12/27/16818854/nba-referees-players-ejections-leadership-tension

  mrkleen

  Happy to respond to your opinions.
   Having watched the nba as an adult since 1950 I have formed the very simple opinion that it is much more difficult to officiate the modern game than it was in the distant past - and continues to get more difficult each year for at least 4 reasons.

   * The speed, quickness and superior ball handling skills of the players.
   * The reckless abandon exhibited on drives to the rim.
   * Deliberate hard fouls and overall physicality of the modern game
   * And perhaps the most important change is not calling the games as tight as they once did ( with the help of new rules in the late 60's) - in order to stem the tide of 70 to 80 free throws per game - its now in the low 40's. I would guess that there are many different opinions on this matter - which should make for interesting comment.

  swish

There are so many rules that are nitpicky that it has become a farce. Tick the ref off and for sure you will get a travelling, moving screen, illegal pick call the next time down the court.

My biggest issue consistency. Protecting the superstars is out of hand. Look at LeBron, a 260 pound active player. How many games has he fouled out in his career....4??? Up until a couple of years ago he had never fouled out of a game. Give me a break, he is not a finesse player, he is a bull. He walks every time he drives, but so don't many younger players.

I am just using him as an example, there are so many more, and Harden is the biggest. I don't remember seeing Paul Pierce get away with much, hell, they even call hanging on the rim in one game. They all swing around on that rim for the effect it has on the crowd.

Consistency, that is all I ask for. Not a break, just consistency

swish wrote:

jrleftfoot wrote:Fair point, but I still think the officiating stinks.

   jr

By your standards it stinks - and for the record - back in the 50's and 60's,  we the fans also thought that it stunk. Back in the late 40's the Boston Braves of the National League had a small musical group called the Troubadours. They sat in the right field bleaches and each game they would serenade the umpires, as they were being introduced over the P A system, with the tune "three blind mice". Some things just never change.

  swish

Every opinion I have is by my standards , swish. I believe that basing one`s opinion on one`s own standards is, um, standard practice

I think whichever side of the debate you land on, there must be acknowledgement that basketball is arguably one of the hardest games to officiate. Calls get missed, and they always have. Players and fans can bitch about refs and calls, but it's a fast paced game. You can put 5 zebras on the floor if you want, and there will still be plays where they're all screened and miss something, or get it wrong. They can fine Smart, or whomever, all they want. Right or wrong, the complaints will continue.

jrleftfoot wrote:

swish wrote:

jrleftfoot wrote:Fair point, but I still think the officiating stinks.

   jr

By your standards it stinks - and for the record - back in the 50's and 60's,  we the fans also thought that it stunk. Back in the late 40's the Boston Braves of the National League had a small musical group called the Troubadours. They sat in the right field bleaches and each game they would serenade the umpires, as they were being introduced over the P A system, with the tune "three blind mice". Some things just never change.

  swish

Every opinion I have is by my standards , swish. I believe that basing one`s opinion on one`s own standards is, um, standard practice

Jr

That's why I agreed with you in my statement - "back in the 50's-60's, we the fans also thought that it stunk".

swish

NYCelt wrote:I think whichever side of the debate you land on, there must be acknowledgement that basketball is arguably one of the hardest games to officiate. Calls get missed, and they always have. Players and fans can bitch about refs and calls, but it's a fast paced game. You can put 5 zebras on the floor if you want, and there will still be plays where they're all screened and miss something, or get it wrong. They can fine Smart, or whomever, all they want. Right or wrong, the complaints will continue.

“You can put 5 zebras on the floor if you want, . . . “

That would be called a “dazzle” or “zeal” of zebras. Ironically, those descriptors would probably not used by most when describing the performance of the officials . . . um, zebras.

And everyone of them would call the game differently!

Let's face it, we are never going to be happy with the ref's especially when the Celtics keep sending guys on the other team to the free throw like. I diisliked ref's in the 60's and I still do now. I think I would be what you would call "A HOMER"!!

Swish is right. We did complain about the officials in the 50s and 60s. Nobody complained louder than Red. It was fun.

But with expansion, not only are the players watered down but so to the officials. The first answer was to add a third official. The second was to add notallthatinstant replay. Now there is talk of a fourth official. They may need to expand the size of the playing floor to accommodate all those people.

Most of these plays could be decided by an official in the booth before the ref gets to the sideline. TV fans usually get the definitive replay in less than a minute. That whole part of the process could easily be speeded up.

For me, each era has seen a decline in the overall competence of league refs. I think most fans would agree with me.

It used to be that the replay usually would vindicate the call made on the field or court. Now, more and more, the refs are being shown to have been in error. The refs need the kind of training and skill development that the players have.

mulcogiseng wrote:Swish is right. We did complain about the officials in the 50s and 60s. Nobody complained louder than Red. It was fun.

But with expansion, not only are the players watered down but so to the officials. The first answer was to add a third official. The second was to add notallthatinstant replay. Now there is talk of a fourth official. They may need to expand the size of the playing floor to accommodate all those people.

Most of these plays could be decided by an official in the booth before the ref gets to the sideline. TV fans usually get the definitive replay in less than a minute. That whole part of the process could easily be speeded up.

For me, each era has seen a decline in the overall competence of league refs. I think most fans would agree with me.

It used to be that the replay usually would vindicate the call made on the field or court. Now, more and more, the refs are being shown to have been in error. The refs need the kind of training and skill development that the players have.

mulcogiseng

"But with expansion, not only are the players watered down but so to the officials'

I think that your above statement is far from the truth - and just the opposite is the case. If anyone is interested I'll take the considerable time to explain why.

swish