Officiating elicits catcalls
There was just enough controversy from refs in Game 2 to make it something to watch going forward
The Raptors did not lose on Monday night because of the officiating. They were out of offensive rhythm all game, they were killed on the boards, and they missed open shots. So many open shots.
It was a game that the visiting Philadelphia 76ers controlled from close to the opening tip, playing the aggressive defence against Kawhi Leonard that the entire building knew was coming, and with the non-Kawhi members of the Toronto team unable to score efficiently at all, the Raptors were trying to dig their way out of a hole all night. They almost made it to daylight, but not quite. A Danny Green three-pointer in the dying seconds rimmed out, leading to a final score of 94-89 for the Sixers, as the series heads to Philadelphia tied at one game apiece.
And yet, the day after the officiating was the main focus of the aftermath of a Golden State win over Houston, there was just enough controversy from the referees in Game 2 in Toronto to make it something to watch going forward.
That the officiating at least became part of the story of this series — not the main narrative but one of the main subplots — was probably inevitable, given what has been going on in the NBA in this and recent seasons.
People in and around the league say that the animosity between the players and officials is at an all-time high, with outbursts from anguished stars that lead to the inevitable “Ref, You Suck” chants ringing out in the arena part of the routing experience of a pro basketball game today.
The Raptors had largely avoided becoming embroiled with the officials in the first round against the Orlando Magic, although they had their complaints. Leonard got in early foul trouble in Game 2 of that series, and Marc Gasol and Kyle Lowry each had moments where they went to the bench early after whistles went against them. Raptors coach Nick Nurse practised some serious diplomacy by making his complaints about the calls rather subtle in between games. “The hardest part has been that you just don’t deal with it in the regular season,” Nurse said midway through the Orlando series. “Like, you hardly ever are in foul trouble. Now here we are playing for the games that mean something, and we’re in deep foul trouble two games in a row. So it’s a little interesting.”
There are clearly other, spicier words he would have preferred to use than “interesting.” After a game in which Leonard had not been able to draw many fouls despite aggressive Magic defence, Nurse had noted that Orlando’s strategy against Toronto’s best scoring option had been to play him “very, very, very, very, very physical.” OK, maybe that complaint wasn’t terribly subtle.
But even though Toronto outplayed Orlando convincingly over those five games, the Magic still ended up drawing more fouls that led to more free-throw attempts, 111 versus 80.
But in a series against a much more talented Philadelphia team that is expected to be a lot more close, the officiating subplot threatens to become a central part of the story at some point. One only has to glance over at the Western Conference semis to see how that goes. The Golden State Warriors beat the Houston Rockets at home, 104100, in Game 1 of that series on Sunday, and the referees have been all anyone has talked about since. The Rockets beefed about several no-calls on Warriors who defended James Harden, especially when the reigning MVP did one of his signature moves, which involves rising up for a three-point attempt and then landing in the vicinity of the oncoming defender. Sometimes Harden splays his legs forward as he hangs in the air, a move that draws calls a lot when the defender inevitably makes contact — he led the league in free-throw attempts — and which has made him something of a villain. But, funny thing, he didn’t get as many of those calls against the Warriors, and by Monday there were multiple media reports that documented behind-the-scenes efforts by Houston to convince the league that they were not getting the proper calls, including in Game 7 of the West finals last year, which the Warriors won after the Rockets missed an unfathomable 27 straight threes. (The Rockets say some of those shots should have brought free-throw attempts.)
On Monday night, it was just one of those three-point attempts that caused officiating-related dismay for the Raptors. Jimmy Butler took the shot, Danny Green closed out with a jump and his hand in the air, and the two made lower-body contact. Green was called for the foul, he complained loudly, and was called for a technical foul. Philadelphia made the freethrow and the one for the tech for the exceedingly rare fivepoint play. In a game that Toronto closed to within a couple points at one point in the second half, those free throws weren’t meaningless. Late in the game, Gasol poked a ball away from Jimmy Butler in the lane when Toronto was threatening to tie, leading to more free-throws from the visitors. The “Ref, You Suck” chant in Scotiabank Arena was heated. The Sixers ended up hitting 24 free throws on 26 attempts, against 13 on 15 attempts for the Raptors.
We will see if Toronto’s officiating comments are particularly subtle in the coming days.