The Miami Heat gutted out a win in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Boston Celtics. With no Jimmy Butler in the lineup for the final two periods, the Miami Heat really had to show what they are made of.
On top of that though, they not only had to beat the five Celtics players that were on the floor at any given time of the game, but they also had to beat three extra guys that seemed to be rooting for the other team—the officials.
Though the officiating is rarely consistent, it was especially inconsistent in Game 3. To make that point, there are a couple of noteworthy instances.
The first is a Bam Adebayo foul on Marcus Smart early in the game. It was the play where Smart elbowed Bam Adebayo in the face, though organically as it occurred within Smart’s natural shooting motion.
That was a very questionable call, one where they usually call the offensive foul. The officials in Game 2 of the Warriors and Mavericks series actually did call a very similar play an offensive foul on Friday night, a layup attempt by Spencer Dinwiddie.
Miami Heat: They Were Playing ‘5 On 8’ With Celtics And Officials
On top of that, there was an open floor play in transition(at about 1:30 in the linked clip) later in the game between Caleb Martin and, you guessed it, Marcus Smart. Though not exactly the same as the others, a similar action took place.
Though it was fairly called an offensive foul on Martin, they had called it the other way earlier—in Smart’s and the Celtics’ favor. That, needless to say, is the first of a few head-scratching situations.
The next instance of note is something that has happened a ton already in this series but hasn’t been called. Jaylen Brown likely travels every single time he drives the ball.
Though the NBA doesn’t call it on the regular, there are some that are so egregious that they must be called. Take, for example, this awful no-call that was in the midst of a crucial Celtics run late in the game.
Brown, quite literally, took two more steps after making a hop-step. Even in the NBA, that should be called a walk.
How can it not be? Obviously, that must be right there beside Jayson Tatum’s forearm shiv that he does every time he touches the ball.
Miami Heat: You Have To Call The Calls When They Are That Egregious
Though there are a few more that can be called into question, here is the last instance and the one that really nails it all home. When you look at the free-throw totals for each team, it’s downright dastardly.
The Miami Heat shot less than half the free throws of Boston, 14 to 30. It only ballooned to 14 as the final moments turned it into an end-of-game type foul situation for the Celtics.
For much of the game, the Celtics had outpaced the Heat at the free-throw line by about four or five times. That’s no stretch, as at one point in the game, the disparity was 18-3.
The Miami Heat did the hard part already in taking the home-court advantage back. If they can get another, that would be marvelous but the Game 3 win was huge.
Even against eight men on the court for the opposing team, the Miami Heat were able to gut one out. You’d hope that the league office takes notice though of the atrocious officiating though.