Facts About Accusations On Eric Spoltera Asking His Players To Injure Boston Celtics Players Seen They ‘ve Lost.
Former Celtics player turned broadcaster Brian Scalabrine threw around some pretty dangerous accusations after Boston’s Game 1 win over Miami in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
He shamelessly insisted that head coach Erik Spoelstra ordered his players to injure their opponents after being blown out in the opening matchup.
The insinuation came after a very physical play under the basket with the C’s up by 16 late in the fourth quarter. As superstar Jayson Tatum leapt up to rebound a missed shot, Miami’s Caleb Martin undercut him causing him to fall hard on the floor.
It looked bad, and some would go as far as to call it unnecessary as it didn’t appear Martin was making a direct play at the basketball.
But intentional? Brian Scalabrine says so.
Here’s what he had to say in the postgame.
“I’m not trying to start nothing here,” Scalabrine said before indeed starting something. “Erik Spoelstra called a timeout with 1:30 left, down 16. Thirty seconds later, that play happens.
“Why is he calling a timeout, and then why is that play happening 30 seconds later?… [We call that] Code Red. Like in A Few Good Men… I’m just saying. Why would you see that play? I didn’t like that.
Brian Scalabrine, who played NBA ball for a decade, believes the foul was not only intentional, but it was a direct order from the Heat bench!
Many argued against that opinion, providing some pretty strong circumstantial evidence to disprove the allegation.
Firstly, that timeout Scalabrine alluded to was, in fact, not a timeout at all. Rather, it was a coach’s challenge from the Miami staff, who was questioning a foul call against its defense.
This came after the Heat pulled to within 14 points.
Now, some would argue that the game was out of reach, but it’s worth noting that Miami was attempting to make one final push after starting the fourth quarter down by 32.