Scalabrine on hard foul: Heat play like that
Heat forward Caleb Martin undercut Celtics star Jayson Tatum while going for a rebound with one minute left in Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series Sunday, causing Tatum to crash to the floor on his backside.
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown confronted Martin and both players were issued technical fouls. Tatum did not seem to have an issue with the play after the game. But former Celtics forward Brian Scalabrine, an analyst for NBC Sports Boston, viewed it through a different prism.
Scalabrine created a stir during the postgame show as well as on his radio show Monday morning when he suggested Martin’s foul during Boston’s 114-94 win was the result of a directive from Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, referring to it as a “code red.”
But in a phone interview with the Globe Monday afternoon, Scalabrine clarified his position a bit. He stressed that he did not think Spoelstra told Martin to attempt to injure Boston’s star forward.
“People think I said that Spo said, ‘Go hurt Tatum,’ ” Scalabrine said. “I don’t believe Spo said ‘Go hurt Tatum.’ But I believe that Spo said, ‘We’ve got to send a message to these guys.’ I think people don’t know the league and think that Miami is going to lay down. Miami is going to go and do a play like that and get under the skin of the Celtics, which is exactly what they’ve done in years past.”
When these teams met in February, Brown was whistled for a flagrant foul when he clamped down on the arm of Duncan Robinson while trying to post him up. Scalabrine said he thought that was a dirty play, adding that NBA teams often seek retaliation.
“The Heat are not the type of team you want to do dirty plays to, because they’re for sure going to come back at you,” Scalabrine said. “I’m not saying they’re dirty; I’m just saying that’s who they are. They remember that stuff.”
He stressed that he does not think Spoelstra would ever instruct his players to attempt to injure an opponent, however. He simply believes they were told to show they will not back down.
“Probably a poor choice of words saying ‘code red,’ ” Scalabrine said. " I just can’t imagine something was not said.”