Lee didn't give him any room he went in saw gasol and zbo... could've threw to the corner 3, but he did his usual foul bait play where he sticks his arms out and it didn't work. The ball was still down on the floor basically, He would've got the all if he was at least making a play towards actually shooting the ball.
I actually thought of this theory. They didn't want to call someone who is a "notorious flopper" (bull**** statement) for a foul to win the game. They had no problem giving LeBron the free throw attempts though. Yesterday was add clear of a foul as you can get besides if someone laying out Harden. Harden made a move, likely a game winner, a Memphis player fouled him to a degree that made it next to impossible for him to get the shot off. To top it off they credit Marc Gasol with a freaking block. We should have won that game.
Just want to point out that the five free throws last night by the Rockets was the lowest total Memphis has allowed all season.
It doesn't matter what tactic he was doing to make the shot. If he gets his arms held down to the degree where he has no freaking chance to shoot then you call a foul. Not a no call. It's a damn foul
This information is useless to me unless you show me footage of plays which would have resulted in free throws but didn't.
Well the obvious one is the Harden foul, but just before that was a foul where the defender who was on Tjones literally climbed his back and fell over him. That's 4 more free throws right there without even going to the tape. The referee (Karl Lane) in question for last night's game also has some interesting trends. Teams attempt fewer free throws in games he officiates than the league average AND he, despite the popular referee narrative, favors the road team in terms of calls.
I'm not saying it wasn't a foul. It was clearly a foul. But my thinking is the refs didn't want to essentially hand the Rockets the game by giving Harden 2 FTs(no way he bricks em both like LeBron). Had the game not been tied and had the Rockets been down a point, maybe they do make that call. Had they been down 2 points, they absolutely call it. I think that's part of the reason LeBron got the whistle on Sunday. Because the Rockets were leading by a point. That and he's LeBron of course. Psychology is a factor in the way a lot of refs call games. They don't want the heat of deciding a pivotal game on a late foul call. I think they were determined to not have FTs(especially by Harden) be the difference in the final score. But it backfired spectacularly when Memphis got the ball back and Gasol won it in regulation. Now their fingerprints are all over this one.
Clearly we're not seeing the same thing the refs are seeing. We're lucky they didn't call Harden for a flagrant 2.
I think we can all agree that we just want consistency. Its amazing how the other team was allowed to do whatever they wanted to stop is from scoring at the end even when it's against the rules. I hope the team takes offense, reports bad ref performance, and comes out with a chip on their shoulder next game
Much respect! But it wasn't just that ONE call. How do you explain that Harden only gets fouled ONCE in the entire game? A big part of Hardens offense is getting to the line by getting fouled! He is the Mozart of getting players to foul him, that why he leads the league in free throw attempts and free throws made! How do you explain that the Grizzlies got 3x the amount of free throw attempts that the Rockets got yet both had similar points from the paint? How do you explain that a Leading MVP player doesn't get an obvious call but a role player ( Courtney Lee) does at the end of the game? I've said it several times already today, and I'll say it again, IT SMELLS LIKE FISH! You are correct though, we ARE better than the j*zz/Mavpricks fans!... ....... ....... .......
i'd like the league to remove whistles for technical fouls. if NFL officials can hack getting yelled at all game long without penalizing a team, so can the NBA officials. the fact that they can literally give points away just because someone looks at them the wrong way is ridiculous.
If players continue to miss open dunks and layups, they typically aren't players very long. Can the same be said of referees?
Here, here!!!& the NBA refs are just as competent! So since the NBA is entertainment with crooked refs, take the NBA reporting off the sports channels & put it on Entertainment Tonight or Extra! I much rather watch Nancy O'Dell or Clarissa Thompson than Chuck & Shaq anyway! :grin:
I've said before how unhappy I was with the officiating. But my father pointed out that the Rockets had all game to win, and they had a good lead going. Yeah we can blame the refs for some poor calls in the final minutes of the last two games, but the guys have 48 minutes to get it done - not just 2. Let's take ownership of these blown leads.
Agree with all of this - the refs suck. I'm just saying there's nothing we can do about it. We gotta just play through it. And as a fanbase, we have to let it go and move on. The refs suck - this is true. But I don't think it's part of some vast conspiracy against James Harden and/or the Rockets. And it's off-putting when I see otherwise knowledgeable Rocket fans suggest that there is. Now, this actually makes some sense. Maybe let them keep the technical fouls, but don't award free throws to the other team. After 2 techs, you still get kicked out of the game....but no free throws. That is a good deterrent, but doesn't directly affect the outcome of the game.
