No-calls are the wrong calls
Item: Of course Derek Fisher fouled Brent Barry in the final second of the Lakers-Spurs game Tuesday night.
Barry faked Fisher into the air and the two collided as Barry tried to maneuver for a potential game-winning three-pointer.
Anyone who says it was not a foul is wrong. Fisher impeded Barry's progress and ability to take a shot by making body contact with him.
End of story.
Of course, just because a player is fouled in the final seconds doesn't mean it is going to get called. There is an unwritten rule in the NBA that games are not to be won at the free-throw line or by an official's call.
For instance:
* Michael Jordan pushes Bryon Russell aside and wins another championship.
* Karl Malone bear-hugs Clyde Drexler and John Stockton sends the Jazz to the NBA Finals.
* Pau Gasol pushes Memo Okur in the back, scores and the Lakers win pivotal Game 5 in their second-round series against Utah.
Personally, I think a foul is a foul is a foul, regardless of how much time is left on the clock or the score of the game.
This unwritten rule about officials not making calls in the final seconds of a game creates a huge credibility problem for the NBA because, when obvious fouls are not called, the officials are also deciding the game -- just in a different way.
They might not be deciding it by blowing their whistles, but they are deciding it by not doing their job, which is to enforce the rules and give each team a fair chance at winning the game.
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Item: Credit TNT announcers Marv Albert and Doug Collins for saying Fisher fouled Barry and suggesting that the blown call would likely be the major storyline of Game 4.
On the postgame show, however, TNT's announcers bailed out.
Reggie Miller said it was a "good no-call" because Barry failed to "sell" the foul to the officials. In other words, Barry didn't "flop" so he didn't desderve the call. Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith also criticized Barry for not leaping straight into Fisher and forcing the officials to call a foul. The implication: Barry made a soft play, one unworthy of getting to the foul line and possibly winning the game.
Memo to the TNT postgame crew: You lose credibility when you make up stuff like this. Just admit that Barry was fouled and the officials missed it, unless you are so worried about offending the NBA and protecting your high-profile and well-paying jobs that honesty with your audience is a secondary issue.
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Item: The Spurs circumvented NBA rules this season when Barry was sent to Seattle in an obvious wink-wink trade. Barry was quickly released by the Sonics and re-signed with San Antonio. So maybe there is such a thing as karma.
-- Steve Luhm
Barry faked Fisher into the air and the two collided as Barry tried to maneuver for a potential game-winning three-pointer.
Anyone who says it was not a foul is wrong. Fisher impeded Barry's progress and ability to take a shot by making body contact with him.
End of story.
Of course, just because a player is fouled in the final seconds doesn't mean it is going to get called. There is an unwritten rule in the NBA that games are not to be won at the free-throw line or by an official's call.
For instance:
* Michael Jordan pushes Bryon Russell aside and wins another championship.
* Karl Malone bear-hugs Clyde Drexler and John Stockton sends the Jazz to the NBA Finals.
* Pau Gasol pushes Memo Okur in the back, scores and the Lakers win pivotal Game 5 in their second-round series against Utah.
Personally, I think a foul is a foul is a foul, regardless of how much time is left on the clock or the score of the game.
This unwritten rule about officials not making calls in the final seconds of a game creates a huge credibility problem for the NBA because, when obvious fouls are not called, the officials are also deciding the game -- just in a different way.
They might not be deciding it by blowing their whistles, but they are deciding it by not doing their job, which is to enforce the rules and give each team a fair chance at winning the game.
---------
Item: Credit TNT announcers Marv Albert and Doug Collins for saying Fisher fouled Barry and suggesting that the blown call would likely be the major storyline of Game 4.
On the postgame show, however, TNT's announcers bailed out.
Reggie Miller said it was a "good no-call" because Barry failed to "sell" the foul to the officials. In other words, Barry didn't "flop" so he didn't desderve the call. Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith also criticized Barry for not leaping straight into Fisher and forcing the officials to call a foul. The implication: Barry made a soft play, one unworthy of getting to the foul line and possibly winning the game.
Memo to the TNT postgame crew: You lose credibility when you make up stuff like this. Just admit that Barry was fouled and the officials missed it, unless you are so worried about offending the NBA and protecting your high-profile and well-paying jobs that honesty with your audience is a secondary issue.
-----------
Item: The Spurs circumvented NBA rules this season when Barry was sent to Seattle in an obvious wink-wink trade. Barry was quickly released by the Sonics and re-signed with San Antonio. So maybe there is such a thing as karma.
-- Steve Luhm
9:45 AM
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3 Comments:
Hey Mr. Luhm, any other Jazz specific examples you'd like to present? Oh ya, you might a little biased in your reporting, my bad...Please take off your "Beat LA" shirt before writing such rubbish...
Seriously, tell both sides of the story...perhaps shed some light on all the missed calls that led up to that moment? Actually, I guess not, because that would be considered the fair and balanced approach, which appears beyond your strict journalism standard.
The bottom line is the refs missed calls on the two previous posessions that would have made Barry's non call moot. The "block" by Odom of Parkers layup which was incorrectly called a goaltend and the fact that Fisher's shot hit the rim therefore resetting the shot clock. any more complaints. Oh and go back and watch the film of game 5 of the Jazz series Gasol didn't touch Okur. That was a flop.
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