I don't think Miller should of been to the line either. As far as the call, I think it was a violation considering he was leaning so far in the paint. I just think free throws shouldn't even decide a game winner or not, especially considering the importance of the game. The refs made a bad call by calling a foul on Posey with time almost gone. The refs made up for that call, by calling a lane violation on them, they normally wouldn't call. It's not to say that their call was incorrect, but had the situation been any different they probably wouldn't of called it anyways. Secondly, Miller had a second FT attempt to try and salvage the first attempt, and still win if for the Clippers. I guarantee you, were the Rockets the ones at the line, and Francis was called for a lane violation on the first attempt, and missed the second one, damn near everyone on the BBS would make up an excuse saying how Francis had a second attempt to win it, but choked, and how the Rockets don't deserve to be in the playoffs. So no matter whether the Rockets win or lose, people will still find a way to b**** up a storm over our guys. That one play did not decide the whole game. The Clippers had other oppurtunities to seal the deal on the game, just as the Rockets had other oppurtunities to keep from being stuck in such a situation. Either way, that play didn't decide the game, and it was a good win for the Rockets. They showed more offensive consistency last night then what we've been used to seeing the last few games. I mean the scoring from the Rockets lately has been pretty meek, yet they showed up, and put up some good numbers.
I am not with Jeff on this one! If Posey was called in the last few seconds( A correct violation) a foul, then it was the duty for the Refs to call Millers violation, and it was a violation. He had been warned earlier in the Game, he still had a chance for a win but couldnt make the second free throw.I think all was in order except that the Refs dont usually call these violations during the last few seconds of a Game. The Rox will of course be grateful and take this turn arround in their fortunes as a go signal for future gutsy play and wins into the PLAYOFFS.
Well, I have got that ****-eating grin on my face since Rox went into OT last night. Heck, what a thriller !
Here's the thing, Miller does it ON EVERY FREE THROW. Why did they call it only twice? He went to the line 8 times. Why not call EVERY violation? He did it again on the last free throw. Why not then? It's about consistency. Look, the refs have a tough job. But, that was cheesy. If that was Yao up there or Steve, we'd all be screaming about the horrific call. I'm thrilled we got it to go our way, but it was still one of the worst calls ever made. Miller has been called on it 7 times this year out of 300+ freethrows, yet he does it every time. If you want to be consistent, call it 300+ times. If not, call it only when it is egregious and NOT when the game is on the line. In any situation like this, you cheer for it when it goes your way, but the worry should always be that your team won't get the call the next time down the floor or the next game. Bad officiating is bad for EVERY team.
What I heard was that he was called because his toe was on the line when he shot it, not because of his forward momentum. I didn't see it because I actually turned the game off cursing with 40 seconds to go (I should have known better).
Jeff - Something makes me want to disagree and say that the end of teh game is precisely when the correct and right calls should be made. Throughout the game the refs should be allowed to miss one or two here, but I disagree with Sean Elliot that calling things by the rules at the end of the game is taking it out of the players hands. If anything, the end of the game should be the time where a foul is a foul. That said, I understand the other mentaility and I understand the need for consistency. Usually, I'm happy if the refereeing is consistent on a game by game basis. I fully expect to see more contact allowed one game versus the other. I don't expect to see the more contact allowed by one team versus another within a game. The call last night was consistent for that game. Miller wasn't just having his hand cross the plane when he shot, he was leaning at quite an angle urging the ball to get there.
3 things- 1) Miller lost the game not the refs! He still had a 2nd free throw. 2) The refs set the tone. Basically, they let the teams play. That was a foul but it should not have been called. 3) LA lost the game! They should not be in that position anyways.
I think this is the one. I agree they should've just let them play out the game. Posey did foul Miller, but that shouldn't have been called, just let them play out the game. I think #3 that Mr. Clutch posted above is correct, that they tried to make up for that call with the lane violation call. But hey the referees are human, they make mistakes, and its not like the Rockets haven't been at the butt end of some bad calls.
It was a violation.. they ref called it as it was... they did the right thing... how can anyone possibly complain? The ref aren't consistent, but we shouldn't complain when they made the right call.
look at it this way. Had that violation not been called we would have been 1 1/2 or 2 games behind Phoenix right now!
I am unclear on the rule...Does your foot have to touch the ground before the ball hits the rim?? Or, do your feet have to break the plane of the line?? If the rule is the latter, then it was a correct call, yet still garbage (also that rule was made specifically for Shaq and Andre Miller). Secondly, I thought calling Posey for the foul (which it clearly was) was garbage considering Miller wasn't going to get off a shot. Either way, it is nice to get a little reimbursment for years and years of the Rockets getting screwed by the likes of Bavetta, Ed. F Rush, and Hue Hollins.
I believe the rule is that your body cannot cross the plane from the line on the court to the ceiling of the stadium and your foot cannot cross the line until the ball hits the rim or backboard. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.
Don't blame the ref for making a bad call with 1.1 seconds left in the game blame Posey for grabbing Miller when there was no reason for him to grab his shooting arm. The Posey foul on Miller was clearly a good call and should have been called. How many times have we seen last second prayers make it in the basket? Bad decision by Posey good call by the ref.
I always thought the rule was you can't step foot in the lane until the ball hits the rim. If that's the case, then it was not a violation.
No, I know there is a "sub-rule" that says no part of the shooter's body can cross the plane created by the free throw line. I remember someone getting called for that years ago.
That was the rule until just recently when they made the rule more encompassing. Now you can't lean in either. There is a big difference between the foul call on Posey and the lane violation on Miller. Even in the spirit of letting the players decide the game, the refs had to call the foul on Posey. It wasn't a dinky touch foul, it was a hack. Miller didn't even get the opportunity to throw the ball in the direction of the basket. It was a stupid hack-foul by Posey that should always be called. The lean-in by Miller though was less even than a touch foul. It is a technicality call; something that is ignored 90% of the time. The refs should enforce it but not with the game on the line; not if you're going to let the players decide the game. However, if you want to justify the call, here's my solution. As has been pointed out, Miller has taken hundreds of free throws and violates the lane on every single attempt. He's been whistled for it at least 7 times, reportedly, and still won't learn to correct his shot. If you whistled him for it every time to be consistent, as was suggested, it would certainly get the message across but it would be extremely laborious, would disrupt the flow of the game and make life tedious for fans. Obviously, this solution isn't realistically viable. So, how do you make him learn? You call the violation on an important end-game shot. I'm pretty sure his coach has him locked in a gym right now with the free-throw coach (if they had one) to fix his form and be sure it doesn't happen again. You have to make the punishment hurt while not antagonizing the fans. When the ref blew the whistle, he knew Miller still had a 80% chance of icing the game with the second free throw so it wasn't like he was taking the game into his own hands. He was just making sure that violation hurt.
