The Boston Celtics collapsed of their first-round playoff collection in opposition to the Philadelphia 76ers, squandering a 3-1 lead.
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown pins among the blame on the officiating. Following a 109-100 loss in Game 7 at TD Backyard in Boston on Saturday evening, he referred to as out the referees for giving 76ers heart Joel Embiid favorable calls.
Jaylen Brown calls out Joel Embiid for “flopping round”
“We did not actually have a solution for [Embiid],” Brown stated postgame. “We tried a bunch of various issues. He is an enormous physique. He additionally was flopping round, he bought some additional calls, and so they rewarded him for that.
“However that is the league we’re in. That is all I gotta say.”
Embiid, who scored 34 factors on Saturday, went to the road extra in Recreation 7 than he did throughout the common season. The 7-foot, 280-pound heart tried 11 free throws in opposition to Boston, changing 9. In the course of the common season, he averaged 8.8 free-throw makes an attempt per sport. He shot barely extra from the foul line within the collection in opposition to Boston, recording 9.3 makes an attempt per sport.
Nonetheless, that is the NBA, a league through which many star gamers flop to get to the charity stripe extra typically. Extra importantly, Boston has itself to blame for its postseason crumble, not the referees.
The Celtics’ lead slipped away due partly to abysmal three-point taking pictures. Per ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt, Boston went 49-of-179 (27.4 p.c) from three-point vary in its 4 losses. In Recreation 7, the workforce shot 13-of-49 (27 p.c) from three.
Star ahead Jayson Tatum — who averaged 23.3 factors per sport within the collection — lacking Recreation 7 due to left knee tightness solely worsened the Celtics’ issues. Brown, being a defensive legal responsibility, additionally did not assist. The guard scored 33 factors on Saturday however posted a plus/minus of -16. (Plus/minus is calculated by taking the distinction between complete workforce factors scored and complete workforce factors allowed whereas a participant is on the courtroom.)
“Clearly, we might have preferred to shut it out … however Philadelphia is an efficient basketball workforce, and so they’ve gotten higher because the common season,” Brown said (h/t ESPN’s Tim Bontemps). “It is the playoffs we knew it was going to be a struggle, and we did not anticipate nothing much less. Nothing to hold our head over. Obtained no regrets.”
However Boston actually needs it had discovered a solution to cease Embiid — who averaged 28 PPG within the collection — even when it felt he acquired too many whistles.
