So the match up between these two teams is shaping up to be a contentious and chippy game. How did we get to this point? Who is to blame? Are the Celtics mad because they have been called out as the worst 1st seed ever? Are the Bulls upset because they lost what looked like a easy upset of the #1 seed. Are there some underpinning of old wounds, Wade vs Celtics, or Rondo vs Celtics? Obviously we know there is some bad blood expressed between Smart and Butler. Hoiberg has not made matters any better by calling out the leader of the Celtics for cheating. It matters little what has caused this series to become so chippy, what matters is how the league deals with it. I will be surprised if the league has not already sent a memo to both teams to calm down.
Here is one thing I have seen happen in soccer that will probably never happen in the NBA. I have observed a soccer game or two where there has been huge tension between the teams scheduled to play, and what the referees did was gather the two teams before the game including the reserves and issue all of them a yellow card, basically indicating a no tolerance warning, and signaling that any rough foul would result in an automatic ejection. Needless to say, the games calmed down and there were no incidents. There were hard fouls during the games but the referee exercised discretion and I do not recall any ejections.
Any suggestions?