Will NBA’s Ruling On Draymond Green’s Foul Of Chris Paul Affect Warriors vs Clippers Game 2? (Photo: Michael Robinson Chavez/Los Angeles Times)
The NBA took corrective action for a mistake made by officials in the Golden State Warriors’ 109-105 Game 1 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Despite ruling that a key review was, in fact, “administered correctly,” NBA President of Basketball Operations Rod Thorn also said in the statement that Draymond Green fouled Chris Paul.
The play can be viewed here.
Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group had the initial report locally:
The Warriors led 107-105 in the fourth quarter when according to the NBA, the foul on Green should have been called to give Paul a chance at the game-tying free throws. Instead, the Paul saw the ball go off his hand out of bounds with 18.9 seconds left to force the Clippers to foul. Harrison Barnes hit a free throw on the other end, and the Warriors went on to win 109-105 Saturday.
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“When the ball went out of bounds, I knew it was off me, but that it was a foul,” Paul said.
You can form your own opinion of events, but it seems unusual that the league would feel the need to correct such a minor missed call.
Certainly, the impact on the game was significant, but the contact between Green and Paul was determined to be incidental by referees during the game, and there’s no reason that original position couldn’t have stood.
In a sense, the league’s correction distinguishes a single perceived bad call from any other, and in this case, even undermines the Warriors victory.
This isn’t the first time it’s happened. The Warriors and Clippers received a separate correction for their Christmas game played at Oracle Arena.
After a number of physical altercations resulted in the ejection of Blake Griffin, the league rescinded one of his two technical fouls.
Steph Curry referenced the fact the Warriors seem to be on the adverse end of these corrections more often than not.
Curry: "I haven't read those decisions come down on many other teams. It's kinda weird. It's like the 3rd time I think it's happened to us."
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) April 20, 2014
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Green wondered what the point of that was. From Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports:
Green saw the NBA’s statement as an empty apology.
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“At this point it doesn’t matter,” Green said. “We won the game. I think refereeing is one of the inexact sciences in all of mankind. I’m sure there were other missed calls throughout the game.”
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The NBA has made a practice of being transparent on blown calls this season.
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“It doesn’t make me feel any better,” Rivers said. “But, I do think it’s a good thing to do. I think they take ownership.”
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Green doesn’t think the NBA’s policy helps anything.
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“The game is determined now,” Green said. “I’m not sure what anyone really gets out of it. I would say the same thing if it weren’t in our favor. I probably would be more upset if it went the other way because there is nothing you can do about it now. I’m not sure what anyone gets out of it.”
One concern this particular correction could lead to is an onus on the Game 2 referees to ensure a similar poor call doesn’t result in a second Clipper loss.
Perhaps that worry is unfounded, but it will be interesting to see if the foul-calling in the series shifts at all, especially after issuing a statement suggesting that refereeing might have cost the Clippers in Game 1.
In the end, nothing the NBA or the Clippers can do will take away the Warriors win, and it’s that bottom line that makes this statement easier to move on from.
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