Boston’s Ime Udoka says ‘Let me be the guy who complains the ref;’ wants players to focus on plays

The new Celtics coach prefers his players let him be the primary person working the officials, and that at a minimum.

There were more than a few games in the Boston Celtics‘ 2020-21 NBA season that saw players of note in games where they were jawing with officials when they could have been getting back on defense, with the predictable outcome plaguing the team’s play and quite probably their win – loss record as well.

But if new Celtics head coach Ime Udoka has his way, that is going to become a thing of the past, with the Portland native looking to limit complaints to the refs as something that will come from just one person — him. Udoka made this position clear when asked if he were the type of coach to work the officials during games, or if he’d reserve his criticism for when it really mattered.

“Only when needed,” was his response, which he then pivoted to Wednesday’s practice to use as an example.