Why The Dallas No-Call Sucks

Venture with me into an alternate reality, dear friends.

The officials yesterday, having been in this situation hundreds of times, make the obvious leap to conclude the Mavericks were intentionally fouling and make an obvious call. The Nuggets inbound with 2.5 seconds on the clock. Billups puts up a desperation heave that bounces off back iron. Here’s what you would have read and heard.

“Great performance by the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki. 16 rebounds for a guy often criticized for his lack of tough play. Brandon Bass was a beast. The Mavericks missed some opportunities down the stretch, but credit them with being smart enough to make the plays when they needed to and get this series back to 2-1 with Game 4 in Dallas.”

“Great job by the Mavericks of actually executing the foul to give and not letting the Nuggets get a clear shot. With Carmelo Anthony being one of the best clutch shooters in the league, you have to foul there and put them out of bounds. Great heads-up job by Rick Carlisle and Antoine Wright.”

“The Nuggets simply did not do enough to win this game. Their physical play was a hindrance today, and when it came to an ammo comparison, the Mavericks had more bullets.”

Instead we get treated to the ridiculousness of today.

“The Mavericks should have hit their free throws.”

That’s absolutely true. But they still did what they needed to in order to prevent the game winner. You’re not going to play flawless down the stretch. You’re going to make mistakes, they’re going to make mistakes. But it’s things like fouling with a foul to give that help win you games, on top of, you know, scoring more points than the other team.

“The Nuggets still would have had possession.”

Yup, but take a look at the Mavericks last possession. Those seconds are pretty vital. And the fact is, we don’t know. We should have been allowed to find out.  If they had that last possession and still drained it, there wouldn’t be any complaint.

“Wright should have wrapped him up.”

Yeah, and then Melo flops, flails, and the referees issue a flagrant foul, the Nuggets tie the game and get last shot. What, you don’t think that’s likely? Review what we’ve seen in the last week. Kobe Bryant elbows a guy, he gets nothing. Two weeks earlier, Dwight Howard elbows someone and gets a game. Derek Fisher gets ejected for a shoulder drive to the chest. Zaza Pachulia gets the same treatment for… TALKING. Ron Artest gets the same treatment for a play on the ball. You really going to tell me you trust the officials to not make a terrible call there, after what we’ve seen?

Wright made a really smart foul, when you watch it. He committed three fouls. He makes contact on the wrist. He reaches in. And he impedes progress. There were three violation in one act. Not severe enough to be excessive or unnecessary. Not light enough to be no-called. Well, logically, anyway.

And my least favorite.

“Wright should not have stopped playing. YOU PLAY TO THE WHISTLE!”

If Wright keeps playing, the odds of him getting tagged with a shooting or continuation foul skyrocket. Then he faces getting blasted by his coach, his teammates, Magic Johnson, Hubie Brown, and everyone else. Wright went in, made the foul before he had a chance to shoot, and then backed off. He did exactly what he was supposed to.  And he’s being punished for it.

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A few weeks ago, I made a plea for bloggers to not criticize the officials. Since then, the league office and officiating crews have done such a terrible, horrible job, I’m seriously thinking of rescinding that plea. It’s not just this instance. It’s everything from Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo getting away with murder, to Dwight Howard’s moving screens, to Ron Artest being unfairly singled out, to Kobe Bryant being excused, to Zaza Pachulia being tossed for talking. The league has established no credible line of consistency. They say that Bryant’s excused because he didn’t make contact above the shoulder. Kendrick Perkins makes contact above the shoulder. Nothin’. But Rafer Alston gives Eddie House a love tap and there’s no deliberation. How am I supposed to defend the offiicating and say we should concentrate on basketball when the league is making it impossible for us to ignore it? Every team in these playoffs has a legitimate gripe about how they’ve been treated. Well, except for Cleveland. Because they’ve killed everyone. But other than that, rampant inconsistency.

I don’t mind if the league goes to a soft line, allowing contact. And I don’t mind if the league goes hardline and says “No funny business.” But they need to be consistent. And right now, the only thing that’s consistent is that everyone feels screwed.

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In spite of all this…

NICE FREAKING SHOT, MELO.