The Boston Celtics were issued 25 fouls in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal. Most of which didn’t make sense and weren’t given much of an explanation. But this is playoff basketball in today’s NBA now, right?
A large majority of the fouls in this series have been questionable since Game 1. However, there wasn’t one more egregious than what happened in Game 4 between Payton Pritchard and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Pritchard, who stands 6’1” tall, was called for a foul when boxing-out Antetokounmpo, who stands 6’11” tall. Let me just say this. Despite the incredible size difference, Pritchard did a textbook box-out. I think the entire Celtics team was surprised to see Pritchard get called for a foul.
The most annoying part about it is when Pritchard turned towards the referee for an explanation, he got laughed at and waved off by the official in a way that says “you’re not worthy of talking to me.” That referee was Tony Brothers. Brothers looked right at Pritchard, snickered at him and pointed towards the other end of the court.
I don’t care that Pritchard is only a second-year player. At the end of the day, it was disrespectful and disgusting to see on TV. This is just another example of the piss poor officiating we’ve seen throughout the NBA Playoffs.
The Boston Celtics host Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal tonight at 7PM at the TD Garden. Be there!
Follow us on Twitter @CelticsFiles
The Celtics Files 