You might have a case if we are talking about Finley stripping the ball from Jon Barry with both feet out of bounds, but that call (which took away the 3) was a legit foul, with or without flopping. Also, the whistle was blown before the 3 was even launched.
Again, I give the Rockets FULL blame for blowing opportunities at the line, rebounding, making shots. But the call was made AT THE END of the game. The Rockets missed free throws, didn't rebound or make shots, yet they were STILL in the game. They hit their 3, but it was waived because a flop was called, despite the ref not even SEEING the play happen. I don't see how the ref is not to blame in this case? Despite missed free throws, lack of rebounds, and missed shots, the Rockets were in position to tie the game in crunch time.
did the refs make the Rockets lose every loose ball? did the refs make the Rockets miss point blank layups? did the refs make Luther Head suck?
not even SEE the play? the ref was RIGHT IN FRONT of it. sure, it was a critical moment in the game, but if the Rockets took care of business early, it wouldn't have come to that.
I was at the game, and at the end, everyone around me left with a sour taste in their mouth. From Kirilenko's illegal pick to open up Okur for a halftime buzzer-beater three-pointer, to Deron Williams not getting called for an offensive foul when he basically kicked Jackson's ass, to the miraculous erasure of our game tying three with about two minutes left in the game, the whole game was horrifically called. Did the Rockets have shortcomings tonight? Of course. Free throw shooting in particular needed to improve. Bobby Jackson needs to stop doing his best Steve Francis imitation, dribbling around aimlessly then jacking an off balance three as the shot clock expires. But overall, I give tonight's win to the refs. It's tough to play 8 on 5. Maybe the calls were equal in number, but the Jazz routinely run illegal picks and screens, grabbing, poking, prodding, and elbowing to the extent that many are simply not called so that the game can continue without constant interuption. I can't stand this "style" of basketball, and I can tolerate even less referees who will reward it. We lost. That in and of itself is not the problem. I can handle being beaten by a superior team. But to lose in this manner is unconscionable. I feel like I am just done with the NBA for now. If anyone could send me a copy of the game, I'd love to go through it play by play, marking various fouls and whether or not they were called (for each team), and chart this out, and I'll post everything here on clutchfans.
The question being discussed is what effect the Refs had control over. So if you're done asking pointless questions--that would be great. The refs made bad calls that potentially cost the rox the game. When you're out your Star 5 and serviceable 1, you can't afford to have the refs ****ing things up.
Nope. However, the point is that DESPITE Rockets' mistakes, they were in position to win the game. The refs blew it.
Everybody knew that the official blew a lot of BS calls on Scola. It just simple fact that he is rookie. If you listened to the 610 after the game they talked about that. Of course that was not the main factor but it contributed the lost tonight. That calls at the end decided the game. Las Vegas was the one that got the last laugh and someone in the NBA.
But it DID come to that, despite the Rockets shooting themselves in the foot. The ref's job is to make clear calls. He didn't do that in this case. I know that because if he was watching the whole play, he wouldn't have called that flop. As a matter of fact, the sideline ref was probably watching the pick since he had a better view. The sideline ref didn't blow the whistle. That flop whistle was so faint, no one heard it. The replay showed that the ref's eyes were SQUARELY on McGrady's feet when the contact between AK47 and Scola happened.
My point stands. You are asking ridiculous questions as to whether or not the refs made our role players perform poorly. That is a waste of bandwith. My second point is that when you're missing Yao and Rafer against a tough jazz team, the refs making bad calls is particularly impactful on the outcome of the game. I never said that the rox would win the game minust the AK flop, however in a close game that is essentially allowing the refs to help dictate the results of the game and not the players. Now, I am done talking to you b/c you can't reason with a closed-mind.
Whatever happened to the old saying that when it's a close game at the end, you swallow your whistles........ The Jazz keep hammering the Rocks all night, yet they call that? come on...
