Celtics vs Heat ECF Redux Discussion Thread

benhogan

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Yes. There was a play halfway through the 4th I remember where he left Duncan Robinson to double Lowry as the latter was dribbling nowhere with almost no time left on the 24. Lowry finds Robinson for an uncontested three to make it 90-86.
Yes and there were another half dozen glaring plays like that. I've never seen Marcus so off his defensive game in a 4th Quarter

Jimmy dribbled right by him a couple of times with zero resistance, so un-Marcus like. That's his wheelhouse, grifting for charges when the other team's star puts their shoulder down

Wouldn't be shocked if Smart gets surgery in the off-season
 

JakeRae

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I think they called the hand in the back, because they had to cover their asses. Gutless and shit officiating.
This is also why the whining about the time in the media and by Heat fans makes no sense. Horford didn’t foul Butler on the arms, so the only foul that could’ve been called was the hand on the back, and that began at 3 seconds. At the latest the foul happened at 2.9 on the game clock, 2.8 on the TV clock because there was a half second difference at the time. I also think if we had 0.1 less, White’s shot would still have been good but it would’ve been incredibly close and people would be debating if it was off in time instead of it being clearly out of his hand with 0.1 left. It looks to me like if cleared his hand just a millesecond before the clock ticked from 0.2 to 0.1
 

NomarsFool

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It's kind of a weird rule, right? I don't see why grabbing the rim is worse than any number of infractions that result in either a tech or a basket, but not both. Maybe the idea is that players will try to sneakily alter the shot if this isn't appropriately punished.
Seems strange to me, too. Seems like it should just be a goal tend. There was nothing particularly malicious or intentional about what Bam did. Imagine if he had picked up a T earlier in the game and that play resulted in his ejection? Great for us Cs fans, of course, but seems silly.
 

snowmanny

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Seemed as if RwIII/Al on Butler on the perimeter was going to be a foul every time. They’d get a little behind and out of position and he’d just crash into them. Hope that’s limited Monday.
 

Eddie Jurak

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Yes. There was a play halfway through the 4th I remember where he left Duncan Robinson to double Lowry as the latter was dribbling nowhere with almost no time left on the 24. Lowry finds Robinson for an uncontested three to make it 90-86.
On maybe the next possession, Robinson beat smart on a back cut, too.
 

lovegtm

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Seemed as if RwIII/Al on Butler on the perimeter was going to be a foul every time. They’d get a little behind and out of position and he’d just crash into them. Hope that’s limited Monday.
The Jimmy and-1 was bullshit; Horford got into position and had his hands up. The 2nd call was also bullshit: weakass hand in the back, double dribble, and then all ball when Jimmy went up.

Al played great on D all game, and the basketball gods rewarded it.

Now win one more, and Jimmy can sit at home all summer with his bricked 2022 3 and grifted 2023 victory that was snatched from his hands. He's played like total dogshit for 3 games now, aside from that refball at the end, but at least he'll have some what-ifs to tell his kids about!
 

jmcc5400

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This is also why the whining about the time in the media and by Heat fans makes no sense. Horford didn’t foul Butler on the arms, so the only foul that could’ve been called was the hand on the back, and that began at 3 seconds. At the latest the foul happened at 2.9 on the game clock, 2.8 on the TV clock because there was a half second difference at the time. I also think if we had 0.1 less, White’s shot would still have been good but it would’ve been incredibly close and people would be debating if it was off in time instead of it being clearly out of his hand with 0.1 left. It looks to me like if cleared his hand just a millesecond before the clock ticked from 0.2 to 0.1
I don’t see a foul on the “three point shot,” and, really, only marginal contact before the “bobble.”

View: https://youtu.be/P4v9XJBEH-c
 

JakeRae

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I don’t see a foul on the “three point shot,” and, really, only marginal contact before the “bobble.”

View: https://youtu.be/P4v9XJBEH-c
That angle doesn’t show the right hand on Butler’s back that has to be what they called the foul on because his left arm action was clean and there wasn’t body contact. It was a cheap foul, and I’m not defending it as correct, just saying the position that the timing was wrong is driven from a misunderstanding of the only thing they could’ve called a foul on or how time is actually kept (i.e., not by TNT).

I would’ve preferred a challenge of Tatum’s block of Butler a few plays before as I thought that was unquestionably clean on review. Horford had enough minor contact that the call on the floor was likely to be upheld even though it shouldn’t have been made (also because Butler had no control of his body at that point so shouldn’t get the benefit of a marginal call). All’s well that ends well though.
 

lars10

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Seems strange to me, too. Seems like it should just be a goal tend. There was nothing particularly malicious or intentional about what Bam did. Imagine if he had picked up a T earlier in the game and that play resulted in his ejection? Great for us Cs fans, of course, but seems silly.
What Bam did is rare.. he grabbed the rim but also got to the ball. I think the intent of the rule is to stop players from grabbing the net or the rim to get a ball to not go in because they can’t get to the ball. If you can grab rim you can basically move it so a layup wouldn’t drop if it were on the rim
 

m0ckduck

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What Bam did is rare.. he grabbed the rim but also got to the ball. I think the intent of the rule is to stop players from grabbing the net or the rim to get a ball to not go in because they can’t get to the ball. If you can grab rim you can basically move it so a layup wouldn’t drop if it were on the rim
Right— but why not just make it a goaltend, then? Why goaltend plus tech?
 

lars10

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Two thoughts I’ve had over this series:
-When did the whole ‘Miami Heat culture’ thing start?
-Why are they so bad at drafting? All of their best players are undrafted or free agents.. except for Bam?
 

slamminsammya

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What Bam did is rare.. he grabbed the rim but also got to the ball. I think the intent of the rule is to stop players from grabbing the net or the rim to get a ball to not go in because they can’t get to the ball. If you can grab rim you can basically move it so a layup wouldn’t drop if it were on the rim
It's also to not use the rim for leverage in trying to block the shot.
 

slamminsammya

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Two thoughts I’ve had over this series:
-When did the whole ‘Miami Heat culture’ thing start?
-Why are they so bad at drafting? All of their best players are undrafted or free agents.. except for Bam?
Herro was drafted by them. Achiuwa was a pretty good pick, traded him for Lowry.
 

BigSoxFan

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Two thoughts I’ve had over this series:
-When did the whole ‘Miami Heat culture’ thing start?
-Why are they so bad at drafting? All of their best players are undrafted or free agents.. except for Bam?
Herro was drafted by them and is their 3rd best player. Of course, they haven’t missed him at all given how Caleb Martin has been playing.
 

lars10

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Right— but why not just make it a goaltend, then? Why goaltend plus tech?
To keep people from grabbing the rim to force the ball out. It’s an unnatural move.. not part of the game. If you get to the ball.. fine.. it’s a goaltend… but you can’t move the rim to make the ball miss.
 

lovegtm

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They also dealt their 2021 unprotected to get Dragic from Phoenix back in the day. So the story is that they dealt a number of 1sts, and also hit on Bam and Herro. Pretty good drafting/development record overall post-LeBron.
 

m0ckduck

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To keep people from grabbing the rim to force the ball out. It’s an unnatural move.. not part of the game. If you get to the ball.. fine.. it’s a goaltend… but you can’t move the rim to make the ball miss.
Nobody is saying that grabbing the rim should be legal. The point is, most unnatural interference with a shot results in a goaltending call. But this particular version of goaltending— where the defender grabs the rim— mysteriously results in goaltending plus an extra free throw. Why?
 

Toe Nash

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Two thoughts I’ve had over this series:
-When did the whole ‘Miami Heat culture’ thing start?
-Why are they so bad at drafting? All of their best players are undrafted or free agents.. except for Bam?
New York/LA-based media has fond memories of Riley and Spoelstra is nice to them and both have been in place a long time, and they're never terrible or tanking. So they must be doing something right if they haven't been fired.
 

lars10

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Nobody is saying that grabbing the rim should be legal. The point is, most unnatural interference with a shot results in a goaltending call. But this particular version of goaltending— where the defender grabs the rim— mysteriously results in goaltending plus an extra free throw. Why?
I think it’s to keep people from JUST moving the rim or stanchion or backboard and not going after the ball. The T is added as a disincentive.
 

rodderick

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What’s aggravating about all of the calls Butler was getting is that he KNEW he was going to get them. His demeanor, his attitude, his facial expressions -- he was leaning into his reputation (and into all of his shots) and the refs were more than willing to comply. It’s infuriation.
It drives me insane how much respect a player of his caliber gets in that spot. Butler is not a superstar, he was at best the third best player on the court last night, but he carries this aura and mystique as if he were Jordan reincarnated. It's infuriating to see the refs get completely sucked in by it in crunch time. Dude's the most overrated player in the sport and gets no flak when he completely shits the bed as he has the past two games. Easy to build a legacy under zero expectations and people only remembering your best games.
 

slamminsammya

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It drives me insane how much respect a player of his caliber gets in that spot. Butler is not a superstar, he was at best the third best player on the court last night, but he carries this aura and mystique as if he were Jordan reincarnated. It's infuriating to see the refs get completely sucked in by it in crunch time. Dude's the most overrated player in the sport and gets no flak when he completely shits the bed as he has the past two games. Easy to build a legacy under zero expectations and people only remembering your best games.
 

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SteveF

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Nobody is saying that grabbing the rim should be legal. The point is, most unnatural interference with a shot results in a goaltending call. But this particular version of goaltending— where the defender grabs the rim— mysteriously results in goaltending plus an extra free throw. Why?
Could be a moral component. It's an "unsportsmanlike" action unlike just regular goaltending where the player is just trying to block a shot. You hear that, at least, in the way people talk about it -- "well, he didn't really use the rim for leverage so why the tech?" "it was just accidental contact" etc.

The way the rule is written, grabbing the rim regardless of the intent is a tech, and touching the rim becomes an automatic goaltend, and it's likely done to prevent officials from having to judge intent.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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I don’t know how to post a tweet. But in this article here if you scroll down you’ll see a slow mo replay of the last Butler play.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/breaking-down-the-controversial-final-few-seconds-of-the-celtics-thrilling-game-6-win-over-heat/amp/

You see clearly that Butler is dribbling and tries to gather the ball to go up for a shot but then loses it, touching it with both hands, and the ball goes back down to the floor, whereupon he picks it up and tries to shoot, but gets hacked by Al. He didn’t “dribble one or two more times” after touching it with both hands as has been suggested.

By rule, still a double dribble but I can see how they let that go.
Here's the video (ignore the comments). The one thing that I don't know if it is reviewable is that Al's foot hits Butler's foot just before Butler lost the ball which means the foul occurred prior to the shot. But as I said, I don't know if the refs could make that ruling since it wasn't made on the court.

View: https://twitter.com/nbadaves/status/1662670784089686016
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Regarding the Celtics offense at the end of the game, here are the Celtics plays after they went up 98-88 with 4:56 left:

- Tatum missed a 3 with about 7 seconds left on the 24 while being guarded by Butler. Not really a bad shot at the time, although he probably could have passed it to White in the corner. Still, Brown's effort got him an offensive board.

- After the ensuing timeout, Smart took a difficult 3 instead of passing it to Brown. Not a fan of that play.

- Celtics up 98-90. Brown tried to feed Williams for a play at the rim, but the pass wasn't perfect and Williams had to come down first before attempting a shot from 5' out. Again, not a bad possession overall.

- Celtics up 98-90. White misses a midrange as the C's had difficult with the zone in that possession. But Tatum was fouled on the rebound and the Celtics still got 2 points.

- Celtics up 100-93. Tatum makes a perfect pass to Horford for what should have been an easy basket, but Al mishandles the ball and has to make a more difficult shot that misses.

- Celtics up 100-96. Tatum misses a drive that he was making all first half. Another case where the right play just didn't yield the desired result.

- Celtics up 100-97. Tatum attempts an open catch-and-shoot 3 that misses. But Brown's effort on the boards earns him 2 free throws, and to be honest a bit of ball luck Brown's should would have been an and-1. Then Brown misses the 2nd free throw so instead of 3 they get 1.

- Celtics up 101-100. Tatum gets by Butler but is bothered by Bam and misses both shots. Not a great possession.

- Celtics up 101-100. Heat are forced to foul Smart, who misses a big free throw. Doesn't really count as a "possession" in my book.

So there were 7 possessions and essentially 9 real chances that only netted them 3 points. Of the 9 chances, the Celtics probably got the play they wanted on 6. Of those 6, we had 3 missed shots by Tatum where at least 1 or 2 could have been expected to go in, a missed shot by Brown when he was fouled, and 2 mishandled passes that resulted in lower percentage shots. And one of the bad possessions ended up with Tatum shooting free throws.

So I don't really buy the argument that the Celtics "choked" down the stretch. There was indeed some shot luck that went against them; that Brown shot essentially rimmed out. There was admittedly one bad possession at a critical time with the Celtics clinging to the 1 point lead, but missing 2 free throws during that stretch was probably more critical to the end game situation.
Nice summary. In real time, I was shocked that the TL missed his 5 footer - he never seems to miss those. Was also surprised that JT missed the first layup. The Horford layup that turned into a jump hook was unfortunate but as you point out a good play by JB.
 

InstaFace

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This is well explained.

The one thing I'd add is that the bobble/double-dribble (however you want to term it) pretty clearly causes a change of speed that allows Butler to accelerate beyond Horford and draw contact with the arm. Horford was step-to-step with the dribbling Butler, but then the moment of dropping the ball and racing to pick it up left Al out of position.
The tweet in question:

View: https://twitter.com/johnhollinger/status/1662667222064726016
 

mcpickl

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Here's the video (ignore the comments). The one thing that I don't know if it is reviewable is that Al's foot hits Butler's foot just before Butler lost the ball which means the foul occurred prior to the shot. But as I said, I don't know if the refs could make that ruling since it wasn't made on the court.

View: https://twitter.com/nbadaves/status/1662670784089686016
Yeah this is wild.

I think you could call three fouls on Horford if you wanted to. As you said, Als' foot hitting Butlers' foot. You could call Al for getting his left hand on Jimmys' chest very early on, though that would be very ticky-tack. And it's hard to tell from this angle, but I think Al left arm may have hit Butler in the forehead as he's trying to gather.

But any of those fouls should have been two shots.

I was stunned they gave him three shots on this.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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bigq

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Good summary. I think a lot of us don't like to admit how much luck plays into our subsequent perceptions of events.

This wasn't Jaylen/Tatum isoball, or even the Smart 3s last year. NBA basketball is hard, and shit goes wrong sometimes.

Just ask Miami.
Yep that
100%. This angle also makes me feel better about Smart’s shot, it’s a much better look than I thought watching the broadcast. Miami can think they got unlucky with the rebound bounce but we were just as unlucky with the way Smart‘s shot rimmed out.
Yep that was a pretty good look all things considered. Smart was the almost hero nearly draining that shot.
 

SteveF

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How did they challenge the Brown hook that was not called?
"a. If an instant replay review of a called foul is triggered by a Challenge, the on-court crew chief will review the video to evaluate whether the foul being challenged was correctly called.
The on-court crew chief may also review the video to determine only the following other matters:

(1)Whether the correct player (including a player on the opposing team) was called for the foul;
(2) Whether a different foul proximate to the called foul should have been called;,"...

"NOTE: For purposes of Section III-a(2) above, the factors that will be considered in determining whether a prior uncalled foul is proximate to the called foul include (1) whether the players involved in the uncalled foul are the same or different players than the ones involved in the called foul under review, (2) the distance between the uncalled foul and the called foul under review, and (3) the time elapsed between the uncalled foul and the called foul under review."

So they can look at proximate uncalled fouls, with proximate being somewhat defined in the note.
 

Ed Hillel

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Yep that

Yep that was a pretty good look all things considered. Smart was the almost hero nearly draining that shot.
Otoh, if Smart’s shot went in, there woulda been 1 second left, Spo would have used his last timeout, and is there any doubt Butler hits a fall away 27 footer off the backboard to win it?
 

Auger34

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It drives me insane how much respect a player of his caliber gets in that spot. Butler is not a superstar, he was at best the third best player on the court last night, but he carries this aura and mystique as if he were Jordan reincarnated. It's infuriating to see the refs get completely sucked in by it in crunch time. Dude's the most overrated player in the sport and gets no flak when he completely shits the bed as he has the past two games. Easy to build a legacy under zero expectations and people only remembering your best games.
This nails how I feel about him. I honestly can’t fucking stand the guy. He gets calls like a star…. but because he’s not actually a star, he faces none of the media backlash when he blows ass during a game or series. He’s somehow found this perfect little niche where everything he does well is blown out of proportion and he never faces any sort of criticism
 

BaseballJones

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I like Butler as a player. Works his ass off. Is willing to do the dirty work and shoulder the load. Of course he has bad games. Everyone does. And I can’t be mad at HIM for the way the media and pundits view him (as @tbb345 rightly points out above). He’s the kind of player I’d love to have on the Celtics.
 

bigq

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Otoh, if Smart’s shot went in, there woulda been 1 second left, Spo would have used his last timeout, and is there any doubt Butler hits a fall away 27 footer off the backboard to win it?
Ouch this post caused an unexpected anxiety reaction. I’m so glad that did not happen.
 

Auger34

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I like Butler as a player. Works his ass off. Is willing to do the dirty work and shoulder the load. Of course he has bad games. Everyone does. And I can’t be mad at HIM for the way the media and pundits view him (as @tbb345 rightly points out above). He’s the kind of player I’d love to have on the Celtics.
Thats really fair. I guess my problem is how he’s perceived. I don’t love his game either but I don’t hate it. He’s a grifter but so are most players at this point
 

Average Game James

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Thats really fair. I guess my problem is how he’s perceived. I don’t love his game either but I don’t hate it. He’s a grifter but so are most players at this point
It’s probably for me a little bit of “WTF has he done to deserve the calls he gets that our 2-time first-team all-NBA superstar hasn’t?” Draft pedigree? Nope. Personal accolades? Nope. Playoff success? Also nope. Basically, he’s not a superstar the way LeBron or Curry or even Harden is. Tatum arguably eclipses him in every conceivable way. Yet he gets treated like an upper echelon guy when our guy doesn’t…
 

rodderick

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I like Butler as a player. Works his ass off. Is willing to do the dirty work and shoulder the load. Of course he has bad games. Everyone does. And I can’t be mad at HIM for the way the media and pundits view him (as @tbb345 rightly points out above). He’s the kind of player I’d love to have on the Celtics.
I'd love to have Butler, would not love to have him as my best player and number one option. For all the talk of him carrying role players and UDFAs this series, he's been more often than not carried by role players and UDFAs making a ton of shots. He's a very good player, he's not "wow, Jimmy really deserves a ring, hope he gets one" tier as many people seem to believe he is. Not close.
 

BaseballJones

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I'd love to have Butler, would not love to have him as my best player and number one option. For all the talk of him carrying role players and UDFAs this series, he's been more often than not carried by role players and UDFAs making a ton of shots. He's a very good player, he's not "wow, Jimmy really deserves a ring, hope he gets one" tier as many people seem to believe he is. Not close.
I agree. If they didn't have Brown, I'd love a Tatum/Butler duo. Butler brings a certain toughness and - usually - clutch game to the table.

But....

I hope his season ends on Monday.
 

Auger34

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It’s probably for me a little bit of “WTF has he done to deserve the calls he gets that our 2-time first-team all-NBA superstar hasn’t?” Draft pedigree? Nope. Personal accolades? Nope. Playoff success? Also nope. Basically, he’s not a superstar the way LeBron or Curry or even Harden is. Tatum arguably eclipses him in every conceivable way. Yet he gets treated like an upper echelon guy when our guy doesn’t…
Yeah, I said that in my first post (I was trying to be diplomatic in the one you responded to, because I honestly can’t fucking stand Butler. He’s one of my least favorite players in the league so I probably have bias)

But the calls he gets are truly unbelievable. Whenever a Celtics player doesn’t get a call there’s a lot of “well, he’s just gunning for a foul, the refs don’t want to reward that”. I think there’s a strong argument to be made that that was Jimmys entire fourth quarter and he got rewarded every time down the floor
 

Marciano490

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Does anyone happen to know what the live odds on a Celtics win were before the final inbound pass?
 

Auger34

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I agree. If they didn't have Brown, I'd love a Tatum/Butler duo. Butler brings a certain toughness and - usually - clutch game to the table.

But....

I hope his season ends on Monday.
The thing about Butler is that, as a number 2, he’s kind of an odd fit on most teams because he’s very ball dominant and he’s not a good shooter. There aren’t a lot of players better than him that he meshes well with.
The only two that I can think of (right now) are the ultra malleable stars like KD and Curry (also two players that are veterans thag don’t really have any areas of the game where they will improve)

In this completely hypothetical scenario I’d prefer to keep Butler away from Tatum and let Tatum’s playmaking keep growingn
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Does anyone happen to know what the live odds on a Celtics win were before the final inbound pass?
It was +240 on DraftKings.

I sometimes throw a few bucks on my teams’ opponents when my teams are winning late as an emotional hedge. I took Heat +850 at one point and was delighted to lose. Anyway I was paying attention during the end.

Funny thing is that DK is way ahead of the tv and so before I saw the play I saw the Celtics score go from 102 to 104 then back to 102. Then the play happened on tv.