in a sport where a few points are the differential, missed calls/made calls make play a huge rule in the outcome. My problems arent with the calls that are missed on us but more with the calls that the other team gets. They do the same thing, like the travels of tp, swiping of the arm.
I think the officials did a decent job. I think the Rockets however played out of control too much, and it cost them. DD
working last night so didnt see but those replays you showed, without replays are hard calls to make, period. Lee for instant is a hard call but it look like the guy was set.
I am prety certain that you don't have to be set to draw a charge, if the referee determines that the offensive player gained an advantage due to bulling in etc, he can call a charge. Courtney Lee has a long storied history of idiotic moves late in close games, he nutted up in San Antonio last year missing 2 FTs late..... The game just gets too big for him and he crumbles. DD
I've always felt that the blocking/charging call is one of the most consistently blown calls in the history of professional sports. A defender should never be able to plant himself in front of a ball handler and draw a charge after the ball handler has already picked up his dribble and started his move to the basket, yet, the officials consistently will give the call to the defender.
I have a hard time with the Charge call on Lee. Actually, I dont think you should be able to collect a charge on a fast break anyways unless you were already on that side of the court ahead of time. Its dangerous for the player going full sprint on a fast break to have someone run in front of them and take out their legs. Do not agree with the call there for sheer principle.
The game is over, and complaining on this Board about poor officiating won't accomplish anything. There was a huge disparity in FTs, but refs usually reward teams that take the ball into the paint and penalize teams that rely on jumpshooting. And the points in the paint discrepancy shows the Rockets again settled on the jumpshot. That said, at least two of the calls that the Rockets have their biggest complaints (the earlier tripping foul that led to the charge call, and the Lee charge call) were Rocket players trying to drive and were penalized (wrongly, IMO) for driving the basket. And in context (Spurs players like Parker and Duncan benefited by questionable calls going to the basket), it is hard to not come away from the game criticizing the officials. This ignores that the hand to Goran's face was ignored while the hand to the Bonner's face drew a call. Interesting to note... with his team safely up, and from all appearances his team benefiting from the officiating, it was the Spurs coach that was most visible in his complaints about the officiating. I suspect the Rockets organization will send a tape with complaints to the League offices with no effect, but I do think that it might help the team to be a little more direct and real-time in their dissatisfaction with how the games are officiating, whether having McHale drawing an angry T and expulsion, or a player making a hard foul on a flop, or Morey complaining to the media. Obviously being the "good citizen" hasn't helped (and it did seem that after Van Gundy was fined for his complaints the calls on Yao improved).
Unless there is a forearm or lowering of the shoulder by the offensive player, as long as I've played basketball the rule has always been the defender has to be set.
In part because the defensive player has to allow the offensive player the ability to avoid the foul.
All I know is the older I get the easier it is to walk away from this mess they call basketball. Normally I'm okay with the calls, but the 4 straight on Duncan soured me to no end. Stern lost me after that series.
THanks! THat must have been hard to rewatch. I'm surprised I didn't break my remote watching the it the first time ...
They had the two best and most experienced players on the floor, both of whom are accustomed to taking over much bigger games than this one. How is that not a huge advantage?
This game notwithstanding, I really think there might be a mandate from the commish's office to withhold foul calls on Kyle Lowry and Kevin Martin. I believe that they have a target on their backs. Maybe it was due to a reputation for flopping in previous years, but correcting one wrong with another wrong is not the right way to do it. Did you see that call where Kyle Lowry was driving, got hacked, and then got called for a charge against Splitter who was inside the semicircle? It's pretty clear that they just look the other way anytime Lowry decides to attack the paint. Basketball reasons.
Here's what the official rule book says on charge/block calls: Spoiler A defensive player is permitted to establish a legal guarding position in the path of a dribbler regardless of his speed and distance. A defensive player is not permitted to move into the path of an offensive play-er once he has started his shooting motion. A defensive player must allow a moving player the distance to stop or change direction when the offensive player receives a pass outside the lower defensive box. A defensive player must allow an alighted player the distance to land and then stop or change direction when the offensive player is outside the lower defensive box. A defensive player is permitted to establish a legal guarding position in the path of an offensive player who receives a pass inside the lower defensive box regardless of his speed and distance. A defensive player must allow an alighted player who receives a pass the space to land when the offensive player is inside the lower defensive box. A defensive player must allow a moving offensive player without the ball the distance to stop or change direction. The speed of the offensive player will determine the amount of distance a defensive player must allow. If an offensive player causes contact with a defensive player who has estab-lished a legal position, an offensive foul shall be called and no points may be scored. A defensive player may turn slightly to protect himself, but is never allowed to bend over and submarine an opponent. An offensive foul should never be called if the contact is with a secondary defensive player who has established a defensive position within a designated "restricted area" near the basket for the purpose of drawing an offensive foul. The "restricted area" for this purpose is the area bounded by an arc with a 4-foot radius measured from the middle of the basket. EXCEPTION: Any player may be legally positioned within the "restricted area" if the offensive player receives the ball within the Lower Defensive Box. The mere fact that contact occurs on these type of plays, or any other similar play, does not necessarily mean that a personal foul has been committed. The offi-cials must decide whether the contact is negligible and/or incidental, judging each situation separately. It comes down to how we interpret "establish defensive position". Does the defender have to be stationary? I think there is mixed opinion on this, but my understanding is that the defender does not have to be literally stationary. He is allowed to slide so long as he is not moving towards the offensive player. For example, if the angle at which the defender is sliding is perpendicular to the direction that the offensive player is taking, it can not be said that the defender is gaining an advantage. He's maintaining his defensive position relative to the offensive player. Thus, if the offensive player slams into him, that is technically a charge.