Unwritten rules of the game up for debate in the NBA
Oakland, Calif. — Time was running out in a game earlier this season that Golden State was going to win by 10 points, and Andre Iguodala decided to take a 3-pointer instead of getting the Warriors charged with a shotclock violation.
The Warriors' opponent that night: Cleveland.
If an unwritten rule of basketball was broken, no one seemed bothered then. But in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, when Shaun Livingston took a jumper with about 3 seconds left in overtime and the outcome decided, the Cavaliers' feathers got ruffled and Tristan Thompson got ejected.
One can only guess how those emotions will affect things when the series resumes with Game 2 on Sunday night.
"I contested a shot that shouldn't have been taken," Thompson said.
"Whatever. Just play it to the end," Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. It's a thorny issue with no solution. Philadelphia and Miami jawed over late-game shot attempts in their playoff series this season. The 76ers and Cavs exchanged words over a Dario Saric dunk late in a blowout in March. The Warriors' JaVale McGee got shoved by Washington's Brandon Jennings while taking a late 3 in a rout last season. Toronto once sent about half its team to speak to Lance Stephenson after a late open layup in an Indiana win.
And now the rules — arbitrary as they may be — are up for debate in the NBA Finals after the Cavaliers took offense to the Warriors playing offense.
"I mean, it's like the unspoken rule in the NBA: If you're up by 10 or 11 with about 20 seconds left, you don't take that shot," Thompson said. "I made the contest, and next thing I know I was being kicked out for making a contest that we learn in training camp. I don't know why I got thrown out."
Referee Tony Brothers explained why postgame, saying he saw Thompson go into Livingston with his elbow high on that shot. In Brothers' eyes, that merited the assessment of a flagrant-2 foul and ejection.
"It's not affecting the outcome of the game," Miami center Kelly Olynyk said Friday from India, where he's appearing at a Basketball Without Borders event for the NBA this week. "It doesn't really matter to me. It doesn't really make a difference to me. It doesn't make a difference in the outcome of the game, win and loss record. If a guy wants two more points we'll give it to him and move on."
Thing is, the Warriors take those shots all the time. It's basically a team policy. Since the start of the 2016-17 season when facing such a situation — time running out, shot clock still on, game outcome clearly decided — Golden State has been charged with a field-goal attempt 38 times, while committing only five shot-clock violations.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr has a simple rule: Don't partake in any habit that leads to a turnover. His guys are listening. "That's our thing," Golden State forward Kevin Durant said. "It's no disrespect to any other team. It's just what we do. We don't want to take the turnover. We take the shot. So we've been doing that all year, since I've been here, too."