Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has been fined $35,000 for his post game comments regarding officiating in Game 3 of the team's Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Miami Heat, ESPN Chicago reported on Monday. "I see how things are going, I watch very closely," Thibodeau said after Game 3. "We're not going to get calls, that's reality."
Thibodeau, who had already spoken to reporters Sunday before the announcement of his fine by the league, said through a Bulls PR representative that he had no comment and was only focused on Monday's Game 4. The coach has been visibly angry over the calls that have been going against the Bulls throughout the series.
After center Nazr Mohammed was ejected for pushing Heat star LeBron James to the floor, Thibodeau implied that James might have been over acting.
"From my angle, I saw a guy basically flop," Thibodeau said of James. "I don't think it warranted an ejection. I understand a flagrant foul, I understand that, but ejection, no, nope."
On Sunday, James responded to the proposed flop allegations.
"It's kind of the same as when people said I was overrated, I have the same response," James said. "I don't need to flop. I play an aggressive game but I don't flop. I've never been one of those guys. I don't need to flop. I don't even know how to do it. So it doesn't mean much to me."
The series between Chicago and Miami has been filled with technical fouls and ejections. Both players and coaches believe that this is a trend that will continue into Game 4.
"Playoff basketball," Thibodeau said after Sunday's practice. "That's normal." Bulls forward Jimmy Butler shared the sentiments with his coach.
"Definitely," he said of the physical nature of the series. "I feel like that's what it's been from the very beginning. I don't expect it to change ... the last game, it's over with. But we're coming in and we want to be the aggressor."
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