spymeg wrote:
Well of course I have to come in here and defend the Thunder. Before I refute some of the claims in this video I will admit that a few of the calls were very questionable. I think its safe to assume that any time Joe Crawford is reffing a Spurs game that they are going to get hosed on a few calls. That said, a couple of points this video makes are just silly.
They make a point of saying Stephen Jackson got a technical foul for not doing anything other than staring down an assistant coach. That is true. What is also true is that outside of Ron Artest, no player was more responsible for the melee in Detroit a few years ago. That is one of the darkes days in NBA history and his role in it ensures he will be reffed differently for the remainder of his career.
The second point I'd like to refute is the one about Ginobli's charge call. While its true that his body does stop before making contact with Harden his elbow/fore arm whacks Harden right in his beard. He definitely fouls Harden, just not in the way that is traditionally seen on a charging call.
I can't make any excuses for any of the fouls they mention involving Westbrook but I'd like to mention that Ginobli is far and away the worst flopper in the league and has had plenty of calls go his way throughout the years that wouldn't have without the aid of his acting. Perhaps nights like game 6 are just the scales balancing a little closer back to even.
All that said, I'm sure the NBA preferred OKC in the finals to SA so they can promote the whole Durant vs Lebron angle. I also don't think they're above assigning specific refs to a game to help ensure the outcome they want. Conversly, every game has missed/bad calls. I imagine you could make a video like this for any game of the season if you looked closely enough.