The NBA is lucky.
They’re lucky the Celtics held on to beat Miami. They’re lucky there were no additional injuries to someone pressed into service by this ejection. And they’re lucky they can correct this mistake.
We all knew at the time that this was a mistake. We all knew that what Isaiah did was typical swing-through move that every player does every day and that Justise Winslow got caught a little too close.
Foul on Thomas? Fine. Flagrant one on Thomas? In today’s NBA, I can accept that. Flagrant two on Thomas on the floor in the heat of the moment? I’d have hated that but, in the thick of things, it’s at least excusable.
But to have gone to the replay center and have multiple officials take a long time to review the play and STILL get it wrong? That’s unforgivable. It not only took a star player out of a tight game, it undermines the entire replay system.
How can we trust that officials back in Secaucus, New Jersey are adequately trained to review these sensitive calls? How can we trust that they’re capable of determining things beyond who touched a ball last or if a player’s toe was on the line?
Most of the calls made by the replay center use the cameras to determine clearly the outcomes of possessions that can impact the final score. However, in a few critical instances, replay officials are asked to slow the game down thanks to today’s technology and make judgement calls on a player’s intent.
If they can get things like that wrong while grinding the game’s momentum to a halt, why should we trust them at all?
Yes, I’m being overly dramatic about this to make my point. It’s not always easy to gauge a player’s intent. But that’s their job, and that’s what they are supposedly trained to do. The NBA has bigger issues in the grand scheme of things, but this is something that still needs to be addressed.
NBA games simply can’t be stopped for that long, in that situation, without calls being made correctly. If this isolated incident becomes part of a bigger pattern, the NBA’s replay system will need adjusting.
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