The NBA Finals have lived up to their billing with two riveting games that saw the Oklahoma City Thunder roar back from double-digit deficits.
Marvelous play from both Kevin Durant and LeBron James have been overshadowed somewhat by more officiating controversy, however, which has set the Internet ablaze once more after the Heat eked out a 100-96 victory in Game 2.
It all began when Chris Bosh took a shot that Serge Ibaka seemed to block, only to have the officials rule it a goaltending. Announcers disagreed with that call throughout the rest of the game, but were they right? Here is a look at the play:
There are two key elements to this play that need attention: Kevin Durant's block and where the ball hit the backboard. Here are the pertinent rules regarding goaltending in this situation:
Section I-A Player Shall Not:
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d. During a field goal attempt, touch a ball after it has touched any part of the backboard above ring level, whether the ball is considered on its upward or downward flight.
e. During a field goal attempt, touch a ball after it has touched the backboard below the ring level and while the ball is on its upward flight.
Before we get to that, let us look at the part before the goaltend.
If you look closely at the play you will notice that while Durant did indeed touch the ball, Bosh maintained contact with the ball even after Durant's block. It was the first thing that I noticed when I saw the replay on television, and it still rings true today.
Because he does maintain contact, Bosh is able to spin the ball off the backboard with his fingertips toward the rim. He was the last person to touch the ball. If you consider Durant touching the ball a block, then you must consider the shot off the backboard to be a second shot from Bosh because he maintained possession for a brief moment.
The other argument that has been made is that the ball hit the backboard below the rim, meaning it cannot be goaltending.
Unfortunately, the angles provided in the replays make it difficult to decipher where the ball actually hit the backboard. It looks borderline, but it strains credulity that a 6-foot-10-inch power forward with a 7-foot-3-inch wingspan, having jumped in the air with his arm fully extended above his head, would not release the ball above the 10-foot rim.
Even if that were to be the case, that argument may be rendered moot regardless because of the rule—if the ball is on an upward trajectory at the moment, it does not matter where the ball hit the backboard. That, too, is difficult to tell based on the video. If Bosh did indeed release the ball below the rim then it had to be on an upward trajectory going toward the basket. If he released it above the rim, then it is goaltending anyway.
Did the officials see all of this and make mental calculations? No. They made a call on a bang-bang play that, in the end, seems to actually be correct. Serge Ibaka goaltended.
The second controversial call was not the one you might be thinking about: Kevin Durant's sixth foul that went the other way.
Unfortunately, no video exists of the play that I could find (surprise, surprise). The play came late in the fourth quarter as Durant drove into the lane to take a shot. Shane Battier was standing in the lane looking to take a charge, and he was in perfect position well outside the no-charge zone.
Durant ran him over, but Battier was called for the block. It was clearly a charge—if you do not think it was, spare me; Battier was set—but the officials gave that bang-bang play to Durant. He made one of two free throws, but more importantly he was able to stay in the game to make crucial plays in the final minute.
Was it a huge deal at the moment? Is this a complaint? No, but the bad call would prove to be a crucial one in the end.
Fast-forward to the very end of the game, when this happened:
Was this a foul? Yes, it was—James smacked Durant's leg as he went up. LeBron got the benefit of the doubt, but the foul was not egregious. Durant did not even entertain the question while answering them after the game, simply saying he "missed the shot" when asked about the non-call.
Is he merely being a nice guy? Perhaps.
What is more important is that Durant should not have even been in the game. Perhaps things would have turned out differently with Durant off the floor leading up to that point—the Heat might have put the game out of reach, or the Thunder might have made an even more improbable run to take the lead.
The point is this: if you are going to kick and scream about the ticky-tack non-call on LeBron, then you must be equally outraged that Durant was not called for his sixth foul earlier in the game.
I have said it before: Officiating is inconsistent at best. The Thunder were fortunate to even be in the position to potentially lose a game on a non-call. If they wanted a better chance to win the game, they would not have come out flat and fallen into a 17-point deficit.
It bears repeating that you should not bang your head against a brick wall complaining about the officiating. As it turns out, the Heat shot fewer free throws than the Thunder in that game, this coming after shooting just 18 free throws—a playoff low—in Game 1 of the Finals, but there is no use complaining about it. Nobody seems to highlight that fact, however, when complaining about one or two specific plays.
On to Game 3 of what is shaping up to be a special series.
Colton Gilies Justin Falk Robbie Eal Joe Callahan Bryan Allen Mark Cullen
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