Theoretically, the NBA Finals should have the league’s best referees working the games. The NBA, instead, opted to give Tony Brothers a Game 5 assignment.
The controversial official was having a quiet night (by his standards) for much of the Game 5 matchup between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors. But that all changed in the fourth quarter.
With Marcus Smart jockeying for position with Jordan Poole ahead of an inbounds pass, Smart flailed his arm in the general vicinity of Poole’s face. Replays would show that Smart never made contact, and the awfully delayed reaction from Poole should have been a giveaway. Brothers, of course, called the offensive foul on Smart.
Not sure about this foul call on Marcus Smart pic.twitter.com/zMf8lsKlDz
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) June 14, 2022
That just can’t happen in an NBA Finals game.
On top of that, Smart was called for a technical after that call. No wonder NBA fans were upset about that sequence from Brothers.