On Thursday, the Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets 108-87. The game went in favor of the Celtics. But the game’s officiating may be a different story. According to reports, the leagued fined Celtics guard Marcus Smart $15,000 for his criticism of officials.
After the Celtics’ big win, Smart criticized the referees, with two particular incidents in mind. At one point in the third quarter, Smart was called for two fouls. He received a foul on both ends of the floor, as the calls gave him his fourth and fifth fouls. Then, he received a technical after an incident with Hornets forward Miles Bridges in the fourth. Smart said he did not understand some of the calls.
“Really, just, I wish they would call the game the right way,” Smart said, “A lot of calls that they called, I didn’t understand where the fouls were. And it just seems like whenever I get the ball and I’m on offense, I can’t get a call.”
Smart realized that his criticism could cost him and chose to accept that consequence.
“Nobody else is going to protect yourself. You’ve got to protect yourself. So if that means I’ve got to lose a little bit of money, then I’ve got to lose a bit.”
He also mentioned his incident with Bridges.
“With the Bridges push and stuff like that, I told them, I said, ‘If it was me, y’all would probably throw me out the game and everything,’” Smart said, “‘So you clean it up, or I will. I allowed y’all, I gave y’all the time, y’all keep telling me, ‘Let us handle it, let us handle it.’ I’m coming to y’all first, but at some point as a player, as a man, you’ve got to protect yourself.’”
Smart and the Celtics are off to a great start. They are first in the East with a record of 6-1. He currently averages 9.3 points, 3.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds. Smart is a skilled defender whose toughness makes him one of the Celtics’ leaders. As his words show, the fine doesn’t bother him. He spoke his opinion and received the consequence. Now, it is time to move on.
Featured Image courtesy of David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
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