CALL SOMETHING:While the referees didn’t call a foul when Chauncey Billups (right) injured his left knee after driving to the basket against Jermaine O’Neal, there were a lot of calls officials failed to make over the first weekend of playoff basketball, says Peter Vecsey. (Reuters)
It’s like Roseanne Connor’s father-in-law told his son: “Work smart, Danny, not hard.”
Once upon a time, when the Knicks were winning and competing for championships, the coaches and players were celebrated for out-working and out-smarting opponents.
This current group needs canes for its brains as replacements for rubber crutches.
In unison, the NBA needs to commence replaying each and every call or non-call by referees.
Sadly, it’s too late to repair faulty playoff workmanship to the satisfaction of the injured parties in four series. Already the Knicks, Nuggets, Blazers and 76ers, visitors one and all, got royally stiffed.
I asked myself: “Could they have shoplifted their lid lifters had the whistle blowers not put them at a distinct disadvantage — with flagrant free-throw disparities (Blazers coach Nate McMillan got fined $35,000 for expressing displeasure) or egregious judgment?”
Without so much as a phone call, the league office was kind enough to answer. Yesterday it admitted officials neglected to notice Oklahoma City’s Kendrick Perkins tipping a missed shot by Russell Westbrook into the basket while it was hanging halfway on the cylinder.
Big smear! How does that make the Nuggets whole? The offensive basket interference (65 seconds to go) was obvious to every objective observer, ahem, except the three men that tend to matter most, and put the Thunder on top, 102-101, for good.
When in doubt, blame the refs! That’s the way I was taught to cover this game. Except in the above case studies there is no doubt. How could three sets of eyes possibly not have seen Glen Davis stumble backward with the ball early in the game? Who knows, maybe it’s cool to moon walk. That oversight was comical. Their blunders in the last 59 seconds were as staggering as those perpetrated by Mike D’Antoni and Carmelo Anthony:
Chauncey Billups was fouled by Jermaine O’Neal on the drive when he injured his left knee; Melo was fouled first by Paul Pierce, who had his arm draped over him before Anthony moved it with his arm; and Kevin Garnett avoided a two-minute tripping penalty for sprawling Toney Douglas as he tried to track down Ray Allen before he could deliver the Celtics from evil.
Granted, the Billups non-call at 82-82 could’ve gone either way. Garnett’s foot fault and offensive foul on Anthony were disgraceful.
Even if Monty McCutchen somehow failed to notice Pierce’s initial contact he should’ve ignored Anthony “brushing” him off; it was incidental contact, nothing remotely vicious.
A veteran referee worth his whistle would’ve let the two urban gladiators keep battling. There was no advantage gained by Anthony, who had his back to the basket 20 feet from paydirt. Instead, McCutchen fell for a flimsy flop with 21 seconds remaining in a one-point game.
Regrettably, the Knicks’ stupidity prevented McCutchen and two bunglers partners from getting the ‘detention’ they deserved for catching Z’s like dime-store air traffic controllers.
As the barber says: “Next!”
Did D’Antoni make sure his players knew they had a foul to give on the Celtics’ acclaimed last possession? Did they know they didn’t have any times out left? Do they have a practiced plan in place when they need a 3 or a two beyond, “Let’s get the ball to whoever’s open, Amar’e or Melo?”
The Knicks didn’t seem to have a clue. I realize a major part of that uncertainty was not having Billups available to un-complicate proceedings, handle the stress, and create a good shot. Still, it’s not like there wasn’t enough time (11 seconds) to get one better than they did.
Before turning on Anthony, what made D’Antoni switch from 6-foot-11 Jared Jeffries guarding the decisive in-bounds play to Douglas? The Celtics were forced to call a 20-second timeout when 6-foot-1 Rajon Rondo couldn’t see or find a teammate.
So, Doc Rivers had the 6-foot-5 Allen in-bound instead and D’Antoni substituted the 6-1 Douglas as frontage.
Get the picture? The Celtics’ inbounder got taller and the Knicks’ coverage got shorter. It’s like your neighbor erecting a second story on their house and you cutting your fence in half.
Again, I understand D’Antoni, like everyone else on Planet Stern, knew Allen would be the most likely to shoot after he found a receiver and ran through a multitude of picks; he wanted Douglas to start the chase in close proximity. Then again, after all these years of watching Allen run the same play and exploit legal and illegal screens, you’d think D’Antoni might’ve deployed someone to wait on the opposite side to deny him the ball. Ronny Turiaf did get within his vicinity, too late.
(League all-time 3-point champ aside, why hoist a three down one?)
As easy as it is to blame D’Antoni, Anthony won the Bomar Brain award, for the little dummy in all of us. Everyone who ever bounced a basketball and had it come back to them knew he should’ve taken the ball to the grail instead of stagnating and launching a trey.
The Knicks were down two, not three. The whole right side was cleared out and the Celtics were backtracking in transition. There were 6.5 seconds to do something constructive.
Not surprisingly, Anthony did the same thing he’s been doing since becoming a Knick, raising from 3 with the verdict on the line versus putting the pressure on the defense and the refs to give him, err, a makeup call.
Outpost accuracy might’ve paid off during the regular season but these are the payoffs. By now, you’d think Melo would adjust, but bad habits are tough to shake, especially when your coach doesn’t discourage such foolishness.