Monday night’s Game 1 between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks was a wake-up call for the defending champions.
Despite holding a 20-point lead in the third quarter, the Celtics were unable to finish the job, with a night of historically bad outside shooting opening the door for the Knicks to storm back and steal the game.
Much was made of the Celtics’ shot selection, as the team put up a ton of threes that kept on missing, but both head coach Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics seemed to like the shots they took—they just didn’t make them.
When asked after the game if the physicality of the Knicks defense and lack of calls they were getting factored into the team not attacking the rim, Celtics star Jayson Tatum dismissed the idea with a bold pitch.
“That isn’t connected,” Tatum said. “It’s the playoffs. We probably should just play without the refs, with how physical it is.”
"It's the playoffs. We probably should just play without the refs, with how physical it is."
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 6, 2025
Jayson Tatum was asked about how teams are defending him this year and about whether he was frustrated about a "lack of calls" tonight: pic.twitter.com/5NMneUElXv
While some players would surely relish in a postseason without officiating—looking at you Draymond—obviously that is not how this story will end.
The Celtics host the Knicks for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday night as they look to tie the series at one game apiece.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jayson Tatum Says Playoff Basketball Is So Physical They Could Play Without Refs.
