It was more of a matter of “when”, rather than “if”.
After Boston Celtics defensive menace Marcus Smart let loose on the refereeing of the team’s close loss to the Milwaukee Bucks regarding getting called for a charge in the game’s waning seconds, most fans knew the NBA would be handing down a chunky fine in response.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Young Game Changer will be down a cool $15,000 in his next paycheck for challenging the validity of the referee’s assessment.
When asked his feelings about the blocking foul assessed to the Texan that effectively ended the in what would have sent Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo to the bench with his sixth foul, Smart did not hold back:
“They say that the replay center said I was late,” opined the Oklahoma State product. “Frankly, I think we all know what that was about; it was Giannis’ sixth foul [and they] didn’t want to get him out. We’ll call a spade a spade — that’s just what it is.”
The fine — the first assessed in the Disney ‘bubble’ — is far from Smart’s first.
The passionate competitor has had a habit of coughing up a hefty chunk of change each season for the privilege of speaking his mind freely on their calls.
While there’s more an argument to in favor of this particular call over the inexplicable lack of a foul by Giannis vs. Daniel Theis a few plays earlier, the ‘Smart is fined for referee criticism’ moment is, perhaps more than anything, our most incontrovertible proof yet Celtics basketball is back.
