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Veteran Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has never been one to shy away from voicing his opinions, and, recently, he was found sharing some unflattering thoughts about the league’s referee team.
In response to the slanderous remarks made by Raptors star Fred VanVleet regarding the officiating from Toronto’s March 8 bout against the Los Angeles Clippers, where he suggested that he’s been specifically targeted throughout the season, the C’s stud chimed in on such a concept, stating that he has felt the same at times during his playing career.
“In my nine years, I definitely have had that where I’ve felt that officials had a personal vendetta, and numerous, too,” Smart said, as transcribed by The Athletic’s Jared Weiss. “They have bad days, just like we do. So, it’s only fair to notice and understand and have empathy in the fact that sometimes they’re gonna let their emotions get the best of them and make calls and judgment calls the way that they officiate. It happens.”
Smart and VanVleet are just two of several league members to have shared distasteful comments about some of the league’s refs.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla even went on to carefully choose his words to describe the officiating following a tough loss to the New York Knicks on February 27.
For his NSFW comments, the Raptors guard ended up being fined $30,000 by the NBA.
Smart Sounds Off on Celtics Toughness
Marcus Smart hasn’t just been bashing the league’s officiating crews as of late, as he also recently went on record calling the Celtics out personally for their lackluster play as of late.
In a recent sit-down with Abby Chin on NBC Sports Boston, when asked what the “points of emphasis” are for them to get back to the consistent winning ways they experienced earlier in the season, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year laid out a simple plan that he believes Boston needs to follow.
“Just play harder. You know, we got to play harder,” Smart said. “Teams are coming in here and out toughing us, you know, and that’s one thing we try to pride ourselves on. Especially early on in the season was, you know, being the tougher team, and right now we’re not and teams are coming in and out-toughing us. So, I feel fixing that will fix a lot of things. Having that tough mentality coming back in and, you know, throwing the first punch, and if you do get hit, hit back and get up and everything else will start kind of slowly coming back together.”
Since the All-Star break, the Celtics have gone just 4-4 while subsequently losing their spot atop the Eastern Conference standings. They have now slipped behind the Milwaukee Bucks and reside in the second seed with an overall record of 46-21.
Celtics Guard Questionable for Road Trip
Saturday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks marks game one of a six-game road trip for the Boston Celtics.
Though they may be heading into the stretch with momentum on their side following a triumphant win over the Portland Trail Blazers, unfortunately, they will be found at sub-full strength as Celtics reporter Brian Robb reported via Twitter on March 9 that third-year guard Payton Pritchard is questionable to join the team due to a nagging heel ailment.
“Joe Mazzulla says Rob Williams will be road trip but he’s unsure about Payton Pritchard,” Robb wrote.
The Athletic’s Jared Weiss reported that Pritchard sustained the injury on March 6 during the closing seconds of regulation against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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