Tyronn Lue didn’t quite mean it like that.
The Cleveland Cavaliers coach raised eyebrows after a physical Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals when he said the Boston Celtics were “gooning the game up.”
Lest he be accused of calling Boston’s players “goons,” Lue elaborated on those remarks Thursday after the Cavs’ practice.
“Physicality,” Lue said, via the Boston Herald. “Nothing bad. I like it. But physicality, hard fouls, into our body, into our airspace, and they’re just playing tough.
“It’s not a bad thing to goon it up. Like taking hard fouls and being physical, they’re playing playoff basketball. That’s all I meant by it, nothing bad.”
The Cavs coach still believes the Celtics committed some hard fouls, which some C’s fans may not appreciate considering Game 2’s hardest foul was committed by Cleveland’s own J.R. Smith, who dangerously shoved Al Horford while he was airborne during an alley-oop attempt.
Lue obviously isn’t condoning that behavior, but he would like to see the Cavs “goon” up their own style of play Saturday night in Game 3.
“Match it. Be physical,” he added. “Don’t let them run as freely. I thought we did it for spurts, but we’ve got to do it for a full 48 minutes.”
Lue’s clarification doesn’t fit as neatly on a T-shirt, though, so the “goon” moniker may stick with the Celtics throughout their postseason run.
