The Miami Heat defended their homecourt with ease, defeating the Boston Celtics in the third game of the series. With this win, the Heat are up 3-0 as Boston is on the verge of facing elimination. However, NBA legend Charles Barkley very conveniently shifted the blame onto the officials for the game being so lopsided, prompting the NBA community to swiftly deliver a reality check.
The Celtics dropped the first two games on their home court. The team?s performance was a flat-out disappointment, especially considering the prime chance Boston had to gather some much-needed momentum. Yet Barkley believed their performance wasn’t the biggest cause for concern.
Charles Barkley tries to defend Boston’s poor performance
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The Miami Heat took a 3-0 lead against the Boston Celtics, winning Game 3 with a final score of 128-102. The Heat roster was locked in from the start as they finished the first half with a score of 61-46.
The Inside the NBA crew was in attendance for Game 3 between the Heat and the Celtics. So, the performance put up by both teams was right in front of them, yet Barkley chose to ignore the team’s disappointing display and instead placed the blame on the referees.
During halftime, Charles Barkley said, ?The refs are flat-out awful, they’ve been brutal.? However, Sir Charles did not have much of a base for his argument. While Boston had 8 more fouls than Miami, the Heat only shot four more free throws. The Celtics shot an abysmal 26.2% from beyond the arc as opposed to the Heat shooting 54.3%.
As for the team?s field goal shooting, the Heat were again in the high fifty?s whereas the Celtics shot below 40%. Barkley probably did not pay attention to the Celtics having a huge advantage in rebounds or their high turnovers either.
Fans slam Barkley for defending Jayson Tatum and the Celtics
Charles Barkley blaming the officials for justifying Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics? disappointing performance seemed a little favored to fans. Barkley?s comments immediately triggered the NBA community to troll him on social media.
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Some fans were clearly not happy about this “hypocrisy” on Barkley’s account.?
What a hypocrite cause Celtics are losing!!! The refs been terrible all season in the playoffs not just this game.
— NikkiBlue💜💛💜💙🤍🖤 (@nikkiphoenix23) May 22, 2023
Can’t blame the refs for the Heat winning by damn near 30
— Niko Jenkins (@neekojenkins) May 22, 2023
While some fans gave the 60-year-old a subtle reality check.
He’s not entirely wrong but I only saw 2 questionable fouls
— venomfate96 (@venomfate96) May 22, 2023
https://twitter.com/CHRISTO48953399/status/1660462660746465280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1660462660746465280%7Ctwgr%5E154b4ec739f970a7c2328bda68509709b50b70fa%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.staging.essentiallysports.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D1761994action%3Dedit
Others straight-up called out Sir Charles’ on his denial to accept the obvious.
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Charles Barkley when the Celtics are up and the refs make questionable calls…. pic.twitter.com/V9LEovfaFe
— igb.theo ☆ (@TrioW3) May 22, 2023
Dude letting his pockets talk for him 😂
— Joseph (@Jospitta) May 22, 2023
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While some agreed with Barkley, many were quick to slam the former MVP. So, the question that arises is whether Barkley is in the right for blaming the officials or not. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.