Evan Turner Blasts Officiating After Celtics’ Game 2 Loss To Cavaliers

http://nesn.com/2015/04/evan-turner-blasts-officiating-after-celtics-game-2-loss-to-cavaliers/



Evan Turner Blasts Officiating After Celtics’ Game 2 Loss To Cavaliers


by Zack Cox on Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 12:30AM



Evan Turner had some strong words for the referees Tuesday after the Boston Celtics’ Game 2 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Turner, who’s know for his candidness in postgame interviews, said his beef with the zebras after Boston’s 99-91 loss centered around one call made late in the fourth quarter.

With just under four minutes remaining and the Celtics trailing by five, guard Avery Bradley was whistled for a shooting foul on Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving. The foul, which came as the shot clock expired, change the course of the game. Irving sank both of his free throws, and Cleveland never trailed by fewer than six points the rest of the way.

“Avery is a known defender,” Turner told reporters after the game. “So, they called a foul right there, and they called a foul on the guys behind the backboard. In that type of possession, that should never be called. It wasn’t a playable shot. It wasn’t a makeable shot. It wasn’t anything. That was a crazy call. … That was the only tough part about (Game 2). That didn’t really make any sense.

“You just can’t really worry about it. You try to do the right thing. The refs do a great (job) — are trying their hardest and everything like that. They can’t see everything. You just try to play hard the way you possibly can. But certain things — the one behind the backboard, 35 feet or whatever in the corner, was a crazy call. That was a big game-changer down the stretch.”

Fouls were an issue for the Celtics throughout the second half. They picked up four in the first three and a half minutes of the third quarter and two in the first 42 seconds of the fourth, putting them in a precarious position against a powerful Cavs offense led by Irving and LeBron James.

“You can’t,” Turner said when asked how to guard James and Irving when a team is in foul trouble. “It’s almost tough, because you have to gauge what you can do. Sometimes when you’re in the heat of the game and you feel like you’re not fouling, it’s hard to gauge what is a foul and what’s not a foul. And at the same time, they’re tricky players. One’s a physical force, and other one is great with the ball, and they can make tough shots.

Irving and James combined to score all 24 Cavaliers points in the fourth quarter.



bob


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I understand the frustration, but putting the blame on the refs isn't helpful. They shot a woeful 38.8% overall and 27.3% on threes. Even so, they were right in it at the end but couldn't get a rebound, and Cleveland put it away with second chance baskets.

Take responsibility and look in the mirror rather than pointing the finger elsewhere. Focusing on the refs puts Turner in the wrong mindset while he's playing. In the playoffs, you have to fight through calls, physical play, crowd noise, whatever. Rise above or take a seat.

Absolutely correct, Outside.  Until you can say you've played well enough that a single call can be pivotal in the outcome, best to convert the energy produced by frustration to playing better in the next game.

The more aggressive team is often awarded with more free throws; and frankly I'm a little shocked that the Cavs shot only 4 more freebies than the Celtics.  (I like to think that's a credit to the Celtics' swarming yet controlled defense.)

Right now, away from home versus arguably the best team in the playoffs, it's a credit to the Celtics that they are in the "close but no cigar" category.  Let's see if home cooking will help the cause.

Sam

Do the Cavs get the benefit of the doubt more often than the Celtics? Absolutely.

But in basketball as in life, those with the good reps get the benefit of the doubt. Play well and play hard and you'll start getting more of the close calls.

Besides a player of Turner's stature will not affect the refs no matter how much he publically complains.

Outside wrote:I understand the frustration, but putting the blame on the refs isn't helpful. They shot a woeful 38.8% overall and 27.3% on threes. Even so, they were right in it at the end but couldn't get a rebound, and Cleveland put it away with second chance baskets.

Take responsibility and look in the mirror rather than pointing the finger elsewhere. Focusing on the refs puts Turner in the wrong mindset while he's playing. In the playoffs, you have to fight through calls, physical play, crowd noise, whatever. Rise above or take a seat.

outside,

Yes, you've got to look in the mirror.  Yes, you've got to NOT make excuses.  

Sam is also right.  Unless you can look at a play and say "that was the one the game turned on" it's hard to blame it on the refs.

On the other hand, look at the Vine on the link I'm providing.  This was the call on Bradley.  It happened with 3:08 left in the game, the score 91-87 Cleveland.  Instead of Celtics ball and a two possession game because Irving missed the shot, it became a long 2 possession game, at 6 points, needing two 3s to tie.  Watch Bennett Salvatore's eyes on the call.  His head and eyes were up, but he called the foul on body contact.  There was none.   He didn't call it until after Irving fell down and not on the shot.  If he called it on the release you could say he saw contact on the hand/wrist regardless of where I think his eyes were looking, but he didn't.  He called it after Irving kicked his legs and fell down and, in fact, when he told the scorer's table what the call was he indicated it was on the body and not the hand/wrist.  He was also in perfect position to see the play.

http://nesn.com/2015/04/evan-turner-blasts-officiating-after-celtics-game-2-loss-to-cavaliers/


A 4 point game with 3 minutes left is different than a 6 point game with 3 minutes left.

Basketball is a game of rhythm and runs.  At the time of the previous timeout, at 5:24 left, the score was 91-84 Cleveland, a 7 point, 3 possession game requiring at least one 3 which, as you correctly pointed out, we were not shooting well.  So, every 3 that we needed to hit to catch up was that much harder for us.  2:16 minutes later, their lead had shrunk to 4 and we were going to have the ball on the Irving miss.  In fact, as you can see, they hadn't scored a single point in those 2:16 minutes, remaining stuck at 91.  They were 0-2 from the field and had 2 TOs.  The Big Mo was going our way and this bad call turned that around.  When a ref ends a team's run, late in the game, because of a bad call that is just as impactful as someone hitting a big basket to take the wind out of the other team or making a steal and going the length of the floor to score or having an inspiring alley oop dunk.  


bob



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Bob,

It was a bad call. I don't dispute that. I understand that the call really hurt the Celtics cause at that juncture in the game. But if they'd made a few more shots and closed out the game with a few rebounds, we wouldn't be talking about a bad call because it wouldn't have mattered.

Turner can't control what calls the refs make, but he can control whether he takes severely contested fall-away jumpers or throws the ball up at the rim just hoping for a call or that the shot somehow goes in. Focus on what you can control to get a win in the next game.

News alert: there are bad calls in every game. If the Celtics use that as the reason why they didn't win, then they won't win.

The Irving/Bradley call was a tough one for the Celtics, but Bradley's right leg did make contact with Irving's right leg.
Irving should have had room to land.
Bradley's right foot was almost under Irving's foot when he landed.
It was definitely clean up top, but not down below.

tjmakz wrote:The Irving/Bradley call was a tough one for the Celtics, but Bradley's right leg did make contact with Irving's right leg.
Irving should have had room to land.
Bradley's right foot was almost under Irving's foot when he landed.
It was definitely clean up top, but not down below.

TJ,

No, Bradley did not make contact with his leg. Irving did have room to land and he did land. The entire sole of his sneaker was on the floor, with Bradley's foot NEXT to his.


bob



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bobheckler wrote:

tjmakz wrote:The Irving/Bradley call was a tough one for the Celtics, but Bradley's right leg did make contact with Irving's right leg.
Irving should have had room to land.
Bradley's right foot was almost under Irving's foot when he landed.
It was definitely clean up top, but not down below.

TJ,

No, Bradley did not make contact with his leg.  Irving did have room to land and he did land.  The entire sole of his sneaker was on the floor, with Bradley's foot NEXT to his.  


bob



.

I just watched the video at least 5 times.
I see that Bradley's leg clearly made contact with Irving's right leg.
I thought the same thing last night.

tjmakz wrote:

bobheckler wrote:

tjmakz wrote:The Irving/Bradley call was a tough one for the Celtics, but Bradley's right leg did make contact with Irving's right leg.
Irving should have had room to land.
Bradley's right foot was almost under Irving's foot when he landed.
It was definitely clean up top, but not down below.

TJ,

No, Bradley did not make contact with his leg.  Irving did have room to land and he did land.  The entire sole of his sneaker was on the floor, with Bradley's foot NEXT to his.  


bob



.

I just watched the video at least 5 times.
I see that Bradley's leg clearly made contact with Irving's right leg.
I thought the same thing last night.

TJ,

I've watched it a lot more than 5x, A LOT, and I see no contact. I see Bradley's lower leg approaching Irving's and then, at the last second, Irving twist his body so his foot comes down perpendicular to the baseline and Bradley's shin missing his leg and his foot coming down next to Irving's, not under it or on top of it. In fact, it looks like their feet hit the floor concurrently. I can see daylight in between Bradley's leg and Irving's all the way.


bob



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It is not a matter of 'blaming' the officials to me. Much more about expecting equal type calls. If it is touch foul against the Cs (like the Bradley call mentioned above) then when Love or James just plow their way through guys to get to the basket those should also be calls.

i know that some out there are going to say that the better team's star players always gets the advantage, but I still can not buy it and never have. A foul is a foul and the team that gets away with the most in any given game has a distinct advantage.

James is the best player in the league, but he should have been on the bench with at least 4 fouls in the first half last night, and if he had been the game easily could have had a different outcome.

Clyde,

Why expend energy fretting over something you cannot control at the expense of focusing on what you can control?

A coach commenting about the refereeing on an off day between games can sometimes swing calls his team's way the next game. A player complaining about calls right after a game will achieve the opposite result, if anything.

ET did not BLAST the refs. He calmly pointed out the effect one bad call had on the Celtics' mo. Too bad the 1st amendment doesn't apply to NBA players.

Bradley clearly made contact, but Irving clearly kicked his leg out, Reggie Lewis style.  Both were infractions, but Irving's infraction occurred a split second before Avery's.  Tough call for a ref, but Irving—by flopping backward—"sold" it better than Avery did by running around waving his arms a la J.R. Smith.

I still say that, with a 10 point lead, the Celtics could have absorbed the call and led by "only" 8.  They should focus on getting a decent margin in their favor down the stretch.

I guess there's nothing wrong with complaining about refs' calls; practically everyone does it.  Personally, I would rather expend the energy exhorting my team to be more aggressive and earn the calls.

Sam