This is usually the Boston Celtics bone to pick.
However, the tables in postseason officiating gripes seem to be piling on the opposing team for the first time in a long time (if you ask Celtics fans, anyway), with defending champion Toronto Raptors making it known they are not happy with the officiating in their second-round series with Boston.
USA TODAY Sports’ own Mark Medina was on hand for their Game 2 tilt, and he shared his reaction to Nurse’s postgame presser.
“Raptors coach Nick Nurse,” began Medina, “he made a lot of veiled comments about the officiating afterwards. Jayson Tatum, the Celtics star, he had 14 free throws, and Nick Nurse said ‘they took care of him’ tonight.”
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The full quote is as follows:
“The only frustrating part of it is this; he shoots 14 free throws, as much as our whole team shoots; that’s the frustrating part. I think our guys were working hard on him and we were doing a pretty good job. He did make some good shots, they were obviously getting him the ball a lot, getting him in space. We could have helped a little bit better here and there, but they took very good care of him tonight.”
Medina reports that when the Raptors coach was asked directly about his opinions on the refereeing, Nurse demurred for fiscal reasons.
NBA fines Marcus Smart $5,000 for flop in Game 2 win over Raptors https://t.co/8EMYm5vkws via @thecelticswire
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) September 2, 2020
Whether you buy that the officials have had a significant role in Toronto’s travails against their Atlantic Division rivals, or attribute it to simply being a bad matchup in the matchup-driven playoffs, Medina’s assessment that the Raps’ season is in jeopardy is the correct one.
But it would also be foolish to consider their defending champs licked, as they came back from a similar deficit to beat the Milwaukee Bucks.
Toronto will need to find a source of reliable offense in a hurry even if it is as improbable that Marcus Smart will be hitting five 3s in a row again any time soon as it is the Raptors will be shooting around 25% from beyond the arc.
Otherwise, we’d recommend investing in broom futures.
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