by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Doc Rivers has spent much of his time with the media in the last 48 hours complaining about the officials. He whined about inconsistency, Paul Pierce’s inability to get going due to foul trouble, and accused Derek Fisher of being a flopper.
Apparently, that wasn’t enough for the C’s. One of their part owners reportedly got up in David Stern’s grill about the zebras following his team’s Game 3 loss.
From the Boston Globe:
A Celtics minority owner could face a fine by the NBA after a verbal confrontation with commissioner David Stern following the Celtics’ 91-84 Game 3 loss to the Lakers Tuesday night at TD Garden.
According to multiple sources with knowledge of the encounter, Jim Pallotta, angry at the officiating that included three reviewed calls in the fourth quarter, confronted Stern and apparently said the league should be embarrassed at the officiating in the series.
Historically, owners who have been publicly critical of officials have received six-figure fines. Stern told reporters at an NBA Cares event in Roxbury yesterday that it wouldn’t be Celtics-Lakers without complaints about the officiating. The NBA officially had no comment on the incident, while a Celtics spokesman said he was unaware of it.
“No comment” will obviously not be enough of a statement from the League; it’ll be interesting to see what they up doing about this reported incident, if anything.
The NBA Finals have placed an unfortunate spotlight on the officials. And stories like this certainly don’t help. Tonight’s game — and the way it’s going to officiated — will be fascinating, and undoubtedly frustrating for one side.
