NBA announces Barry was fouled

[WayOutWest]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3416412

League acknowledges Spurs' Barry was fouled
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: May 28, 2008, 9:52 PM ET

The league office on Wednesday reviewed the final play of the San Antonio Spurs' 93-91 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals and acknowledged that a two-shot foul should have been called on Derek Fisher for impeding Brent Barry.

After falling behind by seven points in the final minute, San Antonio sliced the deficit to two and regained possession with 2.1 seconds to play.

Barry then wound up with the ball in the center of the floor on a play called for Manu Ginobili and faked Fisher in the air but struggled to get off a 3-point heave at the buzzer after Fisher came down and bumped Barry.

"With the benefit of instant replay, it appears a foul call should have been made," league spokesman Tim Frank said Wednesday.

The miss sealed an L.A. victory that moved the Lakers into a commanding 3-1 series lead entering Thursday's Game 5 at Staples Center.

But the Spurs did not protest the non-call afterward, even though a foul called before the shot would have sent Barry to the line for two free throws and a chance to force overtime.

The non-call nonetheless generated more than the usual scrutiny because the closest referee to the play was Joey Crawford, with whom San Antonio has a contentious recent history.

"That play," Barry said, "was not where the game was lost."

The Spurs, in truth, wouldn't have had a chance to tie or win the game in the final two seconds if not for a fortuitous non-call on the previous possession.

Television replays indicated that Fisher's shot with 6.9 seconds to go grazed the rim before bouncing out of bounds off of Robert Horry's leg, meaning that the Lakers should have had a new shot clock instead of asking Kobe Bryant to hurry a fadeaway jumper after the ensuing timeout.

The new shot clock likely would have forced San Antonio to foul Bryant as opposed to getting the ball back off Bryant's miss to draw up a potential game-winning play.

"It wasn't a foul. ... I think it was a proper no-call from what I saw," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Fisher bumping Barry.

Added Spurs forward Tim Duncan: "You're not going to get that call. They're not going to make that call."

The Lakers were likewise adamant that no foul should have been called on Fisher, pointing at least in part to the fact that they didn't get a new shot clock on the Fisher miss -- and that Bryant didn't earn a single trip to the free-throw line despite attempting 29 shots from the field.

"Yeah, he bumped him," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of Fisher landing on Barry. "You know, games go like that."

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com.

[Lurker]

This IMO actually is worse than no acknowledgement.  Now the league is basically saying, "Joey screwed you.  Too bad."

The league replays the final minutes of a regular season game between Atlanta & Miami when there was an error.  But in a playoff game of much higher consequence all they can do is say "too bad...we were wrong".

[WayOutWest]

This IMO actually is worse than no acknowledgement.  Now the league is basically saying, "Joey screwed you.  Too bad."

The league replays the final minutes of a regular season game between Atlanta & Miami when there was an error.  But in a playoff game of much higher consequence all they can do is say "too bad...we were wrong".

I wonder why they did not address the shot clock mistake, I thought shot clock issues were reviewable.

[Lurker]

This IMO actually is worse than no acknowledgement.  Now the league is basically saying, "Joey screwed you.  Too bad."

The league replays the final minutes of a regular season game between Atlanta & Miami when there was an error.  But in a playoff game of much higher consequence all they can do is say "too bad...we were wrong".

I wonder why they did not address the shot clock mistake, I thought shot clock issues were reviewable.

Nope.  They can review a final shot to see if it was released before the buzzer.  They couldn't even review the play in Detroit where Billups was given a 3 pointer when the clock malfunctioned.

[WayOutWest]

This IMO actually is worse than no acknowledgement.  Now the league is basically saying, "Joey screwed you.  Too bad."

The league replays the final minutes of a regular season game between Atlanta & Miami when there was an error.  But in a playoff game of much higher consequence all they can do is say "too bad...we were wrong".

I wonder why they did not address the shot clock mistake, I thought shot clock issues were reviewable.

Nope.  They can review a final shot to see if it was released before the buzzer.  They couldn't even review the play in Detroit where Billups was given a 3 pointer when the clock malfunctioned.

That is BS.  The Billups shot was obviously a bad game deciding play.  They should have at LEAST done a "do over".

[Lurker]

This IMO actually is worse than no acknowledgement.  Now the league is basically saying, "Joey screwed you.  Too bad."

The league replays the final minutes of a regular season game between Atlanta & Miami when there was an error.  But in a playoff game of much higher consequence all they can do is say "too bad...we were wrong".

I wonder why they did not address the shot clock mistake, I thought shot clock issues were reviewable.

Nope.  They can review a final shot to see if it was released before the buzzer.  They couldn't even review the play in Detroit where Billups was given a 3 pointer when the clock malfunctioned.

That is BS.  The Billups shot was obviously a bad game deciding play.  They should have at LEAST done a "do over".

I agree.  The league keeps condoning bad officiating on key plays.  I wonder if they would do the same if the Lakers or Celtics were on the bad side of the call.  I guess if the Lakers win this year then they can add an asterisk to their title also.

[SPURSX3]

NO "*" - who knows if Barry would have made his free throws, if it would have gone to OT, if we would have won, etc...

Bad officiating, but what's done is done, it doesn't matter at this point, just keep it from happenning again..

[WayOutWest]

I agree.  The league keeps condoning bad officiating on key plays.  I wonder if they would do the same if the Lakers or Celtics were on the bad side of the call.  I guess if the Lakers win this year then they can add an asterisk to their title also.

Did I miss a strike?  I could have sworn they played 82 games this year.  If you don't play all 82 games and if you don't win 16 playoff games then I agree you should have an *.

[SPURSX3]

I agree.  The league keeps condoning bad officiating on key plays.  I wonder if they would do the same if the Lakers or Celtics were on the bad side of the call.  I guess if the Lakers win this year then they can add an asterisk to their title also.

Did I miss a strike?  I could have sworn they played 82 games this year.  If you don't play all 82 games and if you don't win 16 playoff games then I agree you should have an *.

You, know speaking of that.  I noticed that PJ doesn't talk soo much trash about us, I was kind of shocked hearing a more respectful tone from him...Before the series I was just waiting to hear what kind of stuff he would say about us.

[SPURSX3]

I agree.  The league keeps condoning bad officiating on key plays.  I wonder if they would do the same if the Lakers or Celtics were on the bad side of the call.  I guess if the Lakers win this year then they can add an asterisk to their title also.

Did I miss a strike?  I could have sworn they played 82 games this year.  If you don't play all 82 games and if you don't win 16 playoff games then I agree you should have an *.

You, know speaking of that.  I noticed that PJ doesn't talk soo much trash about us, I was kind of shocked hearing a more respectful tone from him...Before the series I was just waiting to hear what kind of stuff he would say about us.

  sorry just noticed WK was apperantly thinking the same thing and started a post on this...

[WayOutWest]

I agree.  The league keeps condoning bad officiating on key plays.  I wonder if they would do the same if the Lakers or Celtics were on the bad side of the call.  I guess if the Lakers win this year then they can add an asterisk to their title also.

Did I miss a strike?  I could have sworn they played 82 games this year.  If you don't play all 82 games and if you don't win 16 playoff games then I agree you should have an *.

You, know speaking of that.  I noticed that PJ doesn't talk soo much trash about us, I was kind of shocked hearing a more respectful tone from him...Before the series I was just waiting to hear what kind of stuff he would say about us.

  sorry just noticed WK was apperantly thinking the same thing and started a post on this...

Stupid Halo-Geek Texan! 

[westkoast]

This IMO actually is worse than no acknowledgement.  Now the league is basically saying, "Joey screwed you.  Too bad."

The league replays the final minutes of a regular season game between Atlanta & Miami when there was an error.  But in a playoff game of much higher consequence all they can do is say "too bad...we were wrong".

Why is it just Joey?  The other two officials did not make the call either.  I agree the statement was worded wrong.  I think it was the right idea to admit a mistake.  The problem is the wording.  Instead of outright saying that they missed the call it was "after viewing the replay it appears like it was a foul".

So Lurker should the league go back and re-run the play with Fisher as well?  Because if everyone is dead set that Barry hits both FTs to send it into overtime and the Spurs would win then I am pretty dead set on the fact Kobe hits 2 and ices any chance of the Spurs tieing the game as the Lakers would have been up 4.

[Lurker]

This IMO actually is worse than no acknowledgement.  Now the league is basically saying, "Joey screwed you.  Too bad."

The league replays the final minutes of a regular season game between Atlanta & Miami when there was an error.  But in a playoff game of much higher consequence all they can do is say "too bad...we were wrong".

Why is it just Joey?  The other two officials did not make the call either.  I agree the statement was worded wrong.  I think it was the right idea to admit a mistake.  The problem is the wording.  Instead of outright saying that they missed the call it was "after viewing the replay it appears like it was a foul".

So Lurker should the league go back and re-run the play with Fisher as well?  Because if everyone is dead set that Barry hits both FTs to send it into overtime and the Spurs would win then I am pretty dead set on the fact Kobe hits 2 and ices any chance of the Spurs tieing the game as the Lakers would have been up 4.

Why just Joey...because it happened right in front of his face and the other officials will tell you it was his call to make.  The official under the basket should have been watching the players in the lane. Very seldom will you see an official make a call from across court when the official standing within 5-10 feet doesn't.

The difference IMO is that the "airball" was a very difficult call to make in real time.  Without the benefit of replay no one thought that was a horrible call.  In fact only after the obvious no call at the end did Laker fans start jumping on that missed call.  However, Fisher landing on Barry was such an obvious call that it has to be questioned why the official standing right there did not make the call.  Especially an official with an history against the Spurs.  So much for the homecourt theory...

[westkoast]

This IMO actually is worse than no acknowledgement.  Now the league is basically saying, "Joey screwed you.  Too bad."

The league replays the final minutes of a regular season game between Atlanta & Miami when there was an error.  But in a playoff game of much higher consequence all they can do is say "too bad...we were wrong".

Why is it just Joey?  The other two officials did not make the call either.  I agree the statement was worded wrong.  I think it was the right idea to admit a mistake.  The problem is the wording.  Instead of outright saying that they missed the call it was "after viewing the replay it appears like it was a foul".

So Lurker should the league go back and re-run the play with Fisher as well?  Because if everyone is dead set that Barry hits both FTs to send it into overtime and the Spurs would win then I am pretty dead set on the fact Kobe hits 2 and ices any chance of the Spurs tieing the game as the Lakers would have been up 4.

Why just Joey...because it happened right in front of his face and the other officials will tell you it was his call to make.  The official under the basket should have been watching the players in the lane. Very seldom will you see an official make a call from across court when the official standing within 5-10 feet doesn't.

The difference IMO is that the "airball" was a very difficult call to make in real time.  Without the benefit of replay no one thought that was a horrible call.  In fact only after the obvious no call at the end did Laker fans start jumping on that missed call.  However, Fisher landing on Barry was such an obvious call that it has to be questioned why the official standing right there did not make the call.  Especially an official with an history against the Spurs.  So much for the homecourt theory...

The entire Lakers benched jumped off their rear ends to complain about the call as they were pretty close.  So I think your assumption that no one thought it was a bad call is a bit off.  From the TV angle it was hard without aid of tivo/replay to see but to the people on the court apparently it was not.

[Lurker]

This IMO actually is worse than no acknowledgement.  Now the league is basically saying, "Joey screwed you.  Too bad."

The league replays the final minutes of a regular season game between Atlanta & Miami when there was an error.  But in a playoff game of much higher consequence all they can do is say "too bad...we were wrong".

Why is it just Joey?  The other two officials did not make the call either.  I agree the statement was worded wrong.  I think it was the right idea to admit a mistake.  The problem is the wording.  Instead of outright saying that they missed the call it was "after viewing the replay it appears like it was a foul".

So Lurker should the league go back and re-run the play with Fisher as well?  Because if everyone is dead set that Barry hits both FTs to send it into overtime and the Spurs would win then I am pretty dead set on the fact Kobe hits 2 and ices any chance of the Spurs tieing the game as the Lakers would have been up 4.

Why just Joey...because it happened right in front of his face and the other officials will tell you it was his call to make.  The official under the basket should have been watching the players in the lane. Very seldom will you see an official make a call from across court when the official standing within 5-10 feet doesn't.

The difference IMO is that the "airball" was a very difficult call to make in real time.  Without the benefit of replay no one thought that was a horrible call.  In fact only after the obvious no call at the end did Laker fans start jumping on that missed call.  However, Fisher landing on Barry was such an obvious call that it has to be questioned why the official standing right there did not make the call.  Especially an official with an history against the Spurs.  So much for the homecourt theory...

The entire Lakers benched jumped off their rear ends to complain about the call as they were pretty close.  So I think your assumption that no one thought it was a bad call is a bit off.  From the TV angle it was hard without aid of tivo/replay to see but to the people on the court apparently it was not.

Of course the Laker bench would argue that it did.   Duh!

You didn't hear the announcers say that but then they weren't as close I guess.  You didn't see any articles that said this happened...they all said "upon looking at the replay" this happened.  No one had to look at a replay to think Barry was fouled.  That is the difference.