This time it’ll be Michael Porter Jr.’s timely shot, block and rebound that’ll come up on sports talk shows, and not any ill-timed postgame comments. The 22-year-old from Missouri shared his frustration after the Clippers won Game 4, 96-85, saying: “We kept going to (Nikola Jokic) and (Jamal Murray) and I think they are two…
mazing players, you can never get mad at that, but I just think to beat that team we got to get more players involved.”
Porter finished with 15 points in Game 4, but got no shots in the fourth quarter.
The talented rookie forward was sidelined last season by a back injury that caused his draft stock to fall to 14th overall, landing him in Denver with the Nuggets, for whom he’s been a contributor this postseason, averaging 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds.
On Friday, Porter scored all seven of his points in the decisive fourth quarter as the Nuggets staved off elimination with a 111-105 comeback victory over the Clippers. Denver scored 38 points in the fourth quarter to deny L.A. its first conference finals berth in franchise history.
There may not be very many things that NBA fans of different teams can agree on, but one thing that has crystallized during the NBA restart in Orlando, especially in the playoffs, has been the general disdain for referee Scott Foster.
Actually, that goes back well before the advent of the bubble, but since this is the epicenter of the NBA at this point, Foster makes for an ideal bubble villain. And Celtics fans nationally are groaning over the fact that Foster will be on the floor as one of the referees for Friday’s Eastern Conference semifinal Game 7 against the Raptors.
FWIW, I don’t think Scott Foster favors Boston nor Toronto. What I do think is that his presence in a Game 7 gives the losing side a built-in gripe. He’s going to make some sort of controversial call at some point, and probably more than one.
Last week, Foster was on the floor for the Thunder-Rockets Game 7, which featured Chris Paul—a player Foster appears to have a personal beef with going back years. Foster made the unusual step in that game of whistling Paul for a delay of game—he was tying his shoe—that gave the Rockets a free throw. Paul also claimed that Foster reminded him before the game that he reffed the Game 7 in 2008, when Paul’s Hornets lost to the Spurs.
“That s*** don’t make no sense,” Paul said. “But I don’t know. That’s crazy. He just – I don’t know. We could’ve won the game, but that situation – the league knows. Yeah. They’re going to fine me. I said his name. Yeah. We already know the history.”
Thunder guard Chris Paul says referee Scott Foster made a point to tell him before the Game 7 loss to the Thunder tonight that he also reffed his Game 7 loss to the Spurs in 2008 when CP was with the Hornets.
Scott Foster’s History With Celtics–& Raptors–Has Been Controversy-Free
It’s not that Foster has a long negative history against either the Celtics or the Raptors. In fact, when the Raptors have had games with Foster and crewmate Zach Zarba, they were 10-0 in the regular season and 2-1 in the playoffs. The Celtics under the same circumstances were 4-2 in the regular season and 3-0 in the playoffs, according to Raptors beat writer Kevin Rashidi.
Officials for Raptors-Celtics Game 7 are Scott Foster, Zach Zarba, and David Guthrie. Raptors were a combined 10-0 during the season with Foster and Zarba, 2-1 in playoffs. Celtics 4-2 during season, 3-0 in playoffs.
Point is, Foster has gained a reputation as the most hated referee in the NBA because of his quick trigger with technical fouls and his tendency to make the final minutes of important games more about the referees than the players on the floor.
Four years ago, the Los Angeles Times surveyed NBA players and coaches for their thoughts on the best and worst referees in the game. Foster was voted the worst by a longshot—he had 24 votes, and the second-worst on the list (Lauren Holtkamp) had 14.
As one anonymous player told the Times, “You can’t talk to him. He’s never wrong. I like refs where they say, ‘You know what, I made a mistake. I saw it at halftime. You were right.’ But Scott Foster thinks he never makes a mistake.”
And you’ll forgive Celtics fans for not exactly having the warm-and-fuzzies when it comes to referees these days. The NBA’s Last 2-Minute Report on the Game 6 loss to the Raptors revealed that those referees missed two calls, both against Boston. That included Kemba Walker’s drive to the rim with 3.5 seconds left in regulation, a play that saw Walker get hammered without getting a foul call.
If Walker got the foul call, the Celtics likely would have won.
The NBA’s Last 2 Minute Report says two crucial calls were missed in last night’s 2OT thriller between the Celtics and Raptors, both against Boston.
The first missed call was that OG Anunoby fouled Kemba Walker on the arm on this potential game-winning shot attempt. pic.twitter.com/xUNFOA6QtH
By Tim Reynolds AP Basketball Writer LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — An exhausting, double-overtime Game 6 had just concluded and neither Boston nor Toronto would leave the floor. Marcus Smart had some things to say to the Raptors. Fred VanVleet had some things to say to the Celtics. The scrum decided nothing — just like the […]
It continued into Jaylen Brown‘s postgame press conference.
In double overtime games, there are always plays that could have swung the result in the other direction. One came late in regulation, when Jayson Tatum drove and passed… directly to Toronto coach Nick Nurse, who was standing near Celtics center Daniel Theis in the corner. Nurse was hunched over and touching the out-of-bounds lines – maybe even crossing them at one point.
“That was my fault. Can’t blame Nick Nurse. He’s not playing. It was my fault,” Tatum told reporters.
Jaylen Brown, via Hartwell:
“Things like that — sometimes things seem to go overboard at times,” Brown told reporters when asked about Tatum’s turnover. “Let’s keep it in check. Let’s keep it respectable, and let’s keep playing basketball. Grown men should be able to control themselves, especially coaching staffs.”
Tatum showed a lot of maturity with that answer. It is his responsibility to avoid a turnover.
But that play shouldn’t fall on him.
The NBA should crack down on coaches and bench players crowding the court. It’s not safe. It’s not basketball.
Doc Rivers often reminisces about his first sit-down with Lou Williams after the Clippers acquired the guy known as a professional scorer in 2017. The coach’s message then: “I just want to make it clear, when we’re bringing you in the game, we’re not bringing you in to be a defensive player, we’re bringing you…
Sign In Things between the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors have gotten contentious, to say the least. Especially after Wednesday evening’s Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series. The match went into double-overtime and ended with a verbal altercation between Celtics guard Marcus Smart and Raptors guard Fred VanVleet, that caused quite a commotion.…
Things between the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors have gotten contentious, to say the least.
Especially after Wednesday evening’s Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series. The match went into double-overtime and ended with a verbal altercation between Celtics guard Marcus Smart and Raptors guard Fred VanVleet, that caused quite a commotion.
But unlike most NBA Playoff series, where teams can go home at night and forget about what happened in the last game to clear their minds ahead of the next one, the Celtics and Raptors can’t escape each other.
“Personally speaking, from what I know, I like the guys. But right now, I hate them,” VanVleet on Thursday said during a Zoom conference from the Coronado Springs Resort at Disney World, via USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt.
And to make things more awkward, a number of Celtics players, coaches and staffers were seen walking by as VanVleet was doing his media availability.
“I don’t want to see them,” VanVleet said. “I don’t want to look at them. I don’t want to talk to them. It’s a little weird, but it’s just where we’re at.”
Fortunately after Friday, they won’t have to see each other much longer, as the result of Game 7 means someone is going home.
With the Milwaukee Bucks‘ season over, their focus turns to the future of Giannis Antetokounmpo. The reigning NBA MVP is eligible to sign a super-max extension with the Bucks this offseason, and multiple sources have been “adamant” that Milwaukee won’t trade Antetokounmpo if he doesn’t ink a deal, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. An Antetokounmpo […]
The reigning NBA MVP is eligible to sign a super-max extension with the Bucks this offseason, and multiple sources have been “adamant” that Milwaukee won’t trade Antetokounmpo if he doesn’t ink a deal, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.
An Antetokounmpo super-max contract with the Bucks could be worth approximately $220 million – roughly $80 million more than he could get from another team as a free agent in 2021. Those figures hinge on a projected 2020-21 NBA salary cap of $109.1 million.
If the Bucks don’t re-sign the superstar or deal him prior to next season’s trade deadline, they risk losing him for nothing as an unrestricted free agent in 2021.
Reports have circulated that the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors are considered front-runners to land Antetokounmpo if he leaves Milwaukee. Those two teams are currently forecasted to hold salary-cap space in 2021, but any trade involving Giannis would change that equation.
Antetokounmpo missed Milwaukee’s season-ending Game 5 loss to the Heat on Tuesday due to a sprained ankle.Tags:Basketball
The last that fans saw of Ivica Zubac on Monday night, the normally mild-mannered center was flinging a towel into the back row of the Clippers’ team seats, frustrated after fouling out with 4:07 left in the Clippers’ 113-107 victory over Denver in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals. Entering Game 4 on Wednesday…
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — In all the defensive schemes the Lakers have hatched this season, in all their looks and gimmicks, Anthony Davis has been at the heart of them. On some nights, he was the Lakers’ most physical shot blocker and rebounder. On others, he was among their best perimeter defenders, thrown onto…
This is essentially a love letter to Daniel Theis, because the Celtics center really doesn’t get as much love as he deserves. Especially not from the officials.
Serge Ibaka arrived at his media availability on Tuesday in a walking boot.
He sprained his left ankle midway through the second half in Monday’s Game 5 loss and is officially listed as questionable for Game 6 on Wednesday.
Ankle sprain puts Raptors’ Ibaka in walking boot, questionable for Game 6
Head coach Nick Nurse seemed to be suggesting the injury is not a serious one.
“I think we’ll certainly wait and see there,” Nurse said of coming up with alternatives should Ibaka not be able to go. “But just like always, we go to the next guy.
“Don’t know who that is yet. We’ve obviously played Chris Boucher some in this series. Could be Rondae (Hollis-Jefferson), could be somebody else, but we’ll just wait and see on that. Same as always: If he’s there, we’ll play him. I think there’s a good chance of that. If he’s not, then we’ll move on to the next guy and see if we can get him ready to go.”
Ibaka has been an underappreciated source of consistent production for the Raptors into this second round of the playoffs.
He’s Nurse’s first or second reserve off the bench and with starting centre Marc Gasol struggling to find his whole game — he’s still doing his stellar job on defence and passing the basketball — Ibaka has been more important than ever.
Through nine playoff games, Ibaka is averaging 12 points a night and just over eight rebounds.
Like Nurse, Fred VanVleet suggested he would be surprised if Ibaka is not in uniform Wednesday given his reputation as a guy who takes care of himself and his body better than most.
The view from left field 