An NBA officiating crew blew a critical call at the end of a playoff game Sunday – you’re shocked, I’m sure – and the result was a “my bad” and … and …
AND?
Well, nothing. Maybe the crew in question, led by David Guthrie, will be barred from doing games for a time. Maybe the rest of the spring, even. But maybe not. And we will just move along, forgetting all about what occurred in the flood of games to come. And then another outrage will occur, and another.
Call me crazy, but merely saying “whoopsie” seems woefully inadequate. Seems like there ought to be something more. Seems like there ought to be a mechanism in place, beyond the clunky replay process, to correct an error like this.
To review, the Knicks held a 94-93 lead over the Pistons in Game 4 of their first-round series, but Detroit had the ball with 11.1 seconds left. Cade Cunningham missed a 15-footer, but Tobias Harris tipped the rebound to Tim Hardaway Jr., who had spotted up in the left corner, just beyond the 3-point line.
The Knicks’ Josh Hart rushed at him, and Hardaway pump-faked, then launched. Hart appeared to make contact with him, and the shot went awry as the buzzer sounded.
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff groused, to no avail. Knicks win, and take a 3-1 series lead.
According to the Associated Press report, Guthrie told a pool reporter the following: “After postgame review, we observed that Hart makes body contact that is more than marginal to Hardaway Jr. and a foul should have been called.”
Is it crazy to say that in cases like this, where the stakes are so high and seasons are on the line, there should be an option to replay those final, precious seconds? Not saying you replay entire games or entire quarters, but we’re just talking a fraction of a second. Just put Hardaway on the line, let him shoot three free throws and the chips fall where they may.
I mean, the officials admitted they were wrong. Shouldn’t that count for something?
And I say all this while understanding that NBA referees have an incredibly difficult job. These are some of the best athletes in the world, playing within (and above) a 94-by-50-foot rectangle. It’s not an easy task in the least.
(This doesn’t necessarily justify allowing blatant travels to go un-whistled, or the creative interpretation of what is and isn’t an illegal screen. But I digress.)
If the point of the job is to fairly interpret the rules, and there is a clear violation of those rules that leads to an incorrect result, shouldn’t there be a way to undo that? I mean, slice it up any way you want. Maybe make it so that mistakes in the last 30 seconds of one-possession playoff games can be replayed. But there ought to be a way to undo mistakes like the one that occurred Sunday. It just feels wrong. Feels cheap. And it gives those who hate on the NBA that much more ammunition.
In this specific case, it gives credence to the idea that the league gives preferential treatment to big-market teams. Not ideal. Better that the public trusts your product. Better that legitimacy is restored. Better that some tweak be made to erase mistakes like this one. I’m not talking every game. Not even talking about a lot of games. But for some — especially in the postseason — there oughta be a better way than just saying, “My bad.”