The point differential gives way to the next round of the NBA In-Season Tournament and generated a strange situation at the TD Garden in Boston..
With more than seven minutes left in an already decided Boston Celtics-Chicago Bulls game, controversy erupted. The best team in the NBA fouled Chicago‘s Andre Drummond after a direct order from coach Joe Mazzulla.
He was supposed to shoot personal shots, when it is well known his total insecurity from the free throw line. So far so normal… with the big difference in the score. Boston was leading by 30 and a strange situation took over the mythical TD Garden.
Because Drummond missed his free throws and Billy Donovan, coach of the Bulls, reproached the green bench. There was an explanation.
Mazzulla told him that they needed to win by more than 23 to ensure their qualification to the NBA In-Season Tournament. Which they did (124-97), helped by Drummond‘s total ineffectiveness.
The point differential is a factor that evens out ties and qualifies teams for the NBA Cup, but not everyone is impressed. Donovan, already upset, continued to complain after it was over.
“I felt really bad for Drummond in that situation,” the coach recounted. His Bulls are a ship adrift and the problems multiply with even the least important anecdote.
And while Boston came through, it didn’t sit too well with the proud Greens either. “It’s not the way the sport should be played.
I’d be upset too if Drummond was fouled on purpose for a whole quarter,” stressed Jaylen Brown, one of the Celtics‘ stars.
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