Remember last year’s East semis? It was Game 5. The Celtics were going head-to-head against the Cavs, just one win away from clinching the series. During the closing moments of the second quarter, Jayson Tatum hit a step-back three over Darius Garland and fell hard on the floor. He immediately looked at Tony Brothers, hoping for a foul call, but the official never blew the whistle. A frustrated Tatum waved off Tony as he ran back on defense. He received an immediate tech.

That kind of sums up the on-court dynamic Tatum and Brothers have had over the years. Whenever Tony officiates a Celtics game, the hoop community has noticed that things do not go in Tatum’s favor. Something similar happened during tonight’s Magic clash. As the Boston team looked to close out the series at home, JT wasn’t particularly pleased with Brothers’ officiating, as he did not get his desired calls in the first half. So, the superstar took matters into his own hands.

During one of the timeouts, Tatum was seen indulging in a lengthy conversation with Brothers, seemingly discussing a call or non-call they disagreed on. JT was rather animated in his explanation as he put his point forward to the official.

Well, his concern was justified because the Celtics did not have a great opening half. They trailed by two points at the end of the period, and Tatum was the only player in double digits, with 16 points and six assists. So, JT could not risk questionable officiating affecting the eventual outcome of the game. An issue that was seen during the final play of Saturday’s Pistons vs Knicks encounter. Of course, Celtic Nation was also fed up with Brothers’ officiating.

NBA World urges Adam Silver to keep Tony Brothers away from Jayson Tatum’s games

Sure enough, several fans pointed out Brothers’ potential bias against Tatum after the way tonight’s first half was officiated. Comments like “Tony Brothers should not be allowed to officiate any Jayson Tatum games. It’s like Tim Duncan with Joey Crawford, they have issues with guys and do not call games fairly” and “TONY BROTHERS AGAIN” began flooding in.

Yes, some officials and players do not gel well together. A similar case has been documented with referee Scott Foster and Chris Paul.

So, fans urged Adam Silver to avoid such combinations that could affect the outcome of a game. Calls also began mounting against Brothers, as one wrote, “Tony Brothers has an ego problem too big to be a ref lmao” while another said, “My God, Tony Brothers, have some shame… #NBAPlayoffs.”

Moreover, Celtic Nation noticed a change in Tatum’s demeanor, seemingly due to the frustration caused by Brothers: “I hate how obvious it is that Tony Brothers gets under JT’s skin. I don’t blame him but his body language gets so bad in games he officiates sometimes. There’s already been like 2-3 times he didn’t run back on defense the way he should bc he was frustrated.”

Pointing out an instance of potential bias, one netizen highlighted a moment when Paolo Banchero yelled at Brothers in frustration after a play. “If Tatum was yelling in Tony Brothers’ face like Paolo just did, he would have been T’d up and ejected instantaneously,” the observer wrote.

Yes, Brothers has penalized Tatum for far less, but Paolo continued the game without any penalty. Do you think this is bias? Or just the way playoff games are officiated?