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espn just did a story and they seem to think that the last 7 minutes and 50 seconds of the game has a decent chance of being replayed with the Rockets up 15, probably when they return to San Antonio on April 12th.
I'm pretty sure they are going to have to make some kind of an announcement on this one. The Rockets protested on the one basis that has a chance to succeed: misapplication of the rules.
First, the Rockets are saying that failure to count the basket is a misapplication of the rules. I think that one is doomed, as it is really just a blown call.
But the other thing is that D'Antoni is claiming that the refs first said that it was goaltending and he replied, "I want to challenge that." Then, he claims, they talked it over and said it was just a ball out of bounds on the Rockets, and he claims he said, "Well I want to challenge that." The key is him saying that he immediately said "Challenge" and they ignored it in favor of a discussion. That really would be a misapplication of the rules. I don't know if he did or didn't, but it's a pretty good story.
This is going to play out exactly like I said. If the league thinks they need to uphold the challenge (politically), they are going to say that D'Antoni did request a challenge in time, but then the refs went to confer and his challenge was never acknowledged. And they will say that while the second time he challenged was too late, the first one should have been honored. If Silver wants to take action, that would give him cover. There are a lot of people screaming about a game hinging on not counting a made shot. The good news for Spurs fans is that there are also a lot of respected ex-players and other commentator saying, "It's a blown call, like any other blown call. Move along."
Ultimately, this is going to be decided by which answer Silver thinks will do the least damage to the league in the long run. The biggest thing working in the Spurs' favor, IMO, is that Silver has to worry if upholding this protest is going to bring a wave of new protests, and expectations that they will also be upheld. No matter how he defines it, teams will try to say that their protest is exactly like the one he already upheld.
But to be honest, if he is going to discourage future protests, they should just get rid of the process altogether. They have replay, and now they have coaches challenges. They should just get the committee to agree that from now on all games will be decided on the night they are played, and pass it as a rule. Better for everyone in the long run.
espn just did a story and they seem to think that the last 7 minutes and 50 seconds of the game has a decent chance of being replayed with the Rockets up 15, probably when they return to San Antonio on April 12th.
Over four months later they replay 7 minutes?
Same refs? (How could they not be?)
Rain checks? (Is there some nonsense on the back of the ticket that allows this? Is there even the back of a ticket anymore?)
Stats? (Inquiring minds, and Lonnie's agent, want to know.)
Rosters? (Do the Spurs get to use guys they traded (or cut) months ago for another 7 minutes?)
I’m still skeptical of this. The game turned into one of the best of the whole season, and the NBA is not just going to erase it.
The houston rockets are the most baby-backed of a franchise in the history of the league.
I'd be embarrassed if I were a rockets fan.
I bet pop would just forfeit the game and I would totally back that.
I expect it will not be now thanks
Wishful thinking. ESPN
How is the missed call on the dunk any different than the missed back court that got rockets 2 points? They even themselves out, Rockets deserve the loss.
I would refuse to play the 7 minute game and every game against the Rockets, thereafter until the NBA decided to leave it alone. I learned that from congress.
Plus don't coaches have to make a hand gesture to signal a coaches decision? I doubt that pringles made those gestures (if at all) in the 30 seconds allowed.
"and will have to prove "clear evidence" that the outcome of the game was affected by the play in question to succeed"
So it's not going to happen. Good to know, let's move on.
Of all I've read on this, the bottom line is that the only argument for the rockets is that their challenge/ review was rejected against procedure. Unfortunately I don't think anyone is clear on what that procedure is; afaik, you can't challenge a no call (which this basically was since the refs didn't validate the basket or call interference); not sure if rockets had a challenge available as I've read conflicting reports; and again afaik, the green siren should have been on but it wasn't. So it's really difficult to say if they formally challenged the call or if they were even allowed to do so in these cir stances
If the issue were only that the refs had made an egregious error by not seeing the made basket, then logically, had the spurs lost they could protest that the game was tainted by the refs incompetenceI think at this point everyone understands that baskets have to be validated and are no different than out of bounds or over and backs, black and white rules that are still dependent on refs' eyes functioning properly, and that replaying on those grounds would be absurd and untenable.
So the issue here is that the challenge system has been poorly implemented, it's scope and procedures are not well thought out and teams, fans, media don't know what's what.
PS. Probably the most pertinent punishment/change I found suggested, is that the nets have to be properly checked before/mid game and that the spurs should receive a fine for the tightness of the net that whipped the ball back over. Personally, I think replay is ruining sports, there are always obscure limitations on what can and can't be checked and even when they do check they still make mistakes, I'd rather have a mistake, quickly, with the ref having the benefit of the doubt, than a drawn out process that makes it even more insulting when they get it wrong.
Can the spurs protest over the none over the back call end of the third ?
Rockets good spurs bad. Get with the program
Not happening.
One case for rejecting Houston's appeal is that their win probability was only affected a small amount by the blown call. They probably went from something like a 90% chance of winning to 89%.
The Spurs/Lakers replay, on the other hand, was a much bigger swing, as with other late-game replays.
I think replaying this would set a terrible precedent. The league should look into changing the rules so that something like this won't happen again, but replaying 8 minutes of a game is not the way to go imo.
I think the Spurs actually get to file a response as part of this, as I understand it. In which case, they can just submit the blown backcourt violation and point out the two points there that make it a wash.
Yes the Spurs better not be lazy about this, it could cost them if they don't bring this equally ty blown call to light.
Surely they will. Also there is a play where Harden was out of bounds on an offensive rebound in which they scored. So it was a 4 point spread in the Rockets favor along with the obvious backcourt violation.
Amen. D’Antoni has been a since day 1. OG Pop should say no. Bull .
The Rockets can prove it was a blown call, but they cannot prove it was decisive to the outcome of the game. I mean, they can't prove it was the primary factor in the Rockets' loss. Too much else happened before the end of the game.
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