I don't think we're in disagreement over what a ref's job is. The point is, he made a judgement call, which means you can argue his judgement. I'm saying it wasn't good judgement, which is what Mobley is saying. You're acting as if the ref knew he was correct. That's not possible, which makes it a judgement call. That is the players' job. But the players didn't know that the shot was late. You make it sound as if the defense was about to block the shot, but then heard the ref's whistle and decided against it. What's in dispute here is whether the whistle should have been blown. The decision to call the game was a judgement call. The decision should be made when it's obvious the game is over. It clearly wasn't obvious that the game was over. Just like a foul should only be called at the end of a game when it's an obvious foul. Where is the cutoff for calling a foul at the end of a game? Is it when a player is breathed on when he shoots? A touch foul? When he's raked across the arms? When he's tackled? It's the same situation. They shouldn't, when it's clear the game is over.
Exactly. That just shows how close the call was. It was clear to no one that the game was over, yet the ref decided it was. Upon further review, you are correct.
Freak, I don't understand your logic at all on this one. In the thousands of games NBA refs work, many games come down to the last shot with little time left. What makes you think they are just guessing. I'm not an NBA ref, but I can tell you right now that if I were reffing a game in such a situation, I would try to position myself to where I could see the shooter and the red light on top of the backboard. This could be done most of the time if it was your focus. You already mentioned that refs generally swallow the whistle at the end of the game, so they wouldn't be concentrating so much on watching for fouls and should be instead concentrating on the shooter and the red light. This team has won 16? games. This is a pathetic argument for such a team. If the shoe were on the other foot, I'm sure everyone would be howling if the refs allowed a basket after the game had ended.
