But what happened to Jrue Holiday? The Celtics leader has just committed a deliberate foul on Andre Drummond who did not have the ball. There are 7 minutes left to play in this match against the Bulls and the C’s are leading… by almost 30 points.
Twenty seconds later, the Boston leader, still in play with the other team starters despite the gap, does it again and the Chicago pivot continues his ordeal on the free throw line (1/6). Billy Donovan is not a big fan of the process and will say a few words about it to his counterpart, Joe Mazzulla.
The explanation for this unusual “Hack-a-Drummond”? The issue of the “point average” generated by the NBA tournament qualification system. Joe Mazzulla will explain to the Bulls coach that he is not very comfortable with the situation, but Boston was aiming for first place in a very indecisive Group C.
Winning pick for the Celtics
Annoyed, Billy Donovan lets go : “ I also understand the situation he finds himself in. He has to coach his team and do what’s right, but I think he put Andre in a difficult situation being 30 points behind. But this comes from the league. This is what the league did, by making this point differential possible. »
What would amount to a lack of respect, in a classical context, also appeared ” a little weird » to Jaylen Brown. “ But the end goal is to win and that’s what we did. It’s difficult because that’s not how the game is supposed to be played. You have to respect your opponents », adds the winger.
Targeting the opposing pivot, however, had favorable effects for the Celtics. The latter finished with the same record (3v-1d) as the Magic and the Nets. But the Massachusetts players owe their qualification, as first in the group, to their slightly favorable “point average”: +27 points for them, against… +22 for the Magic and +20 for the Nets. A minimal gap therefore, for which they had to fight until the end.
A “weird” feeling
The last two teams mentioned were also in the running to get a qualification, as best runners-up. But the Knicks won thanks to their big victory against the Hornets. An experience that Josh Hart found “ interesting “.
However, “ I don’t really like it. At the start, we were focused on winning. The last two minutes were weird. At some point, we start chasing points, doing all that. This disrupts the integrity of the game a bit. », Judges the Knicks replacement.
Similar feeling for Donovan Mitchell whose huge 40-point outing against the Hawks was not enough to qualify the Cavs, despite three victories for them too.
“ I have the feeling that we are all trying to score points, but also to respect the game. It’s different, especially when they brought out their starters. We try to balance things. But at the end of the day, we play to win. You play to go to Vegas, to participate in the tournament. But it’s really a bit weird “.
