Perception can be a funny thing. And that is certainly made clear with a glance at Monday night’s game, when the Golden State Warriors lost 103-102 to the LA Clippers. My perception, in the immediate aftermath
of the game, was that the officiating had been so poor that I broke from my routine and gave the zebras a paragraph — and an “F” — in my player grades.
In fairness, that was really over one horrible call — or missed call, as the case may be. The refs missed a blatant goaltending violation, which led Steve Kerr to a double technical and an ensuing ejection (after the game, the refs admitted that they got the call wrong). The other stuff was a little more academic. The call that first upset Kerr and Steph Curry — when Curry was fouled but it was deemed on the floor, wiping out a potential three-point play — was (to me) clearly called correctly, it was just such a late whistle that it was infuriating. And, yes, Curry does keep getting mauled with limited fouls called.
All of this is to set up the following: on Tuesday, the NBA released the Last 2 Minute Report for the Warriors – Clippers game, as they do for all close games. And while we’re sitting around complaining about how the officiating screwed the Dubs over, the league arrived at a different conclusion: after combing over the action from multiple angles, the league announced that there were three missed calls in the final two minutes of the game. And they all benefitted the Warriors.
Don’t worry; it gets even funnier! Remember on Saturday, when Draymond Green got ejected for throwing a fit when the Utah Jazz weren’t called for a three-second violation? Not one, but two of the missed calls where three-second violations that should have been called, but weren’t.
And yes, it gets even funnier: in both instances, Green was the offending party. At the 1:23 mark and the 54.9 mark, the league flagged an incorrect non-call for a defensive three-second violation by Green, stating in both instances that “Green (GSW) is in the paint for longer than three seconds without imminently actively guarding an opponent.”
The first missed three-second violation (the penalty for which is a technical free throw and retained possession) greatly benefitted the Warriors. The Clippers led by four points at the time and, a few seconds after the missed call, John Collins clanked a three. Gui Santos grabbed a rebound and, against a scattered defense, Curry drained a three to pull the Warriors within one.
As for the third missed call, it was also an incorrect non-call — a case of the refs not blowing the whistle when they should have. And Green was also the offending (or non-offending, as the whistle blows) party. At the 1:40 mark, the officials believe they missed an illegal screen set by Green on Kris Dunn, stating that “Green (GSW) turns into Dunn’s (LAC) path and delivers contact during the pick.”
That one also had a huge impact for the Warriors, as Curry used the non-called illegal screen to fire off a three, turning a seven-point deficit into a four-point game.
Of course, the Last 2 Minute Report only covers the last two minutes (truth in advertising!), so this is hardly the refs stating that they called the game in favor of the Warriors. But it’s a bit funny, and a tad ironic.
