After game 2, the question has arisen: Do the referees understand the goal tending rule?
I don’t think they do.
Two situations arose in game 2 that would indicate the referees (at least Steve Javie, Monty McCutchen and Tom Washington) don’t fully understand how to apply the rule. In the first quarter, Dwight Howard when straight up through the rim and net to attempt to block a shot on Pau Gasol. That one should have been pretty easy, since he touched the net, the rim and altered the flight of the ball.
On the final play of regulation, Courtney Lee missed an attempted alley-oop, on which, Pau Gasol touched the rim and net. By rule, that should have been called goal tending. Despite the rule stating that what Gasol did was goal tending, Bernie Fryer, Director of Officiating for the NBA, said that it should not have been called goal tending, since it did not alter the flight of the ball.
Now, when the director of officials doesn’t understand the rule, how can we expect the officials to get it right? I know that you don’t want officials deciding games, especially in the Finals, but it would be nice if they would make the correct calls in these types of situations.
We can at least say the the refs were consistently bad in both situations. So that’s a start.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Even Phil Jackson admits that Gasol should have been called for goaltending. This series would look a lot different right now if he had.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4246830
Goaltending/Basket Interference
All rules disallow players from touching the ball on its downward flight toward the basket if it still has a chance to go in. Reaching through the basket to play the ball is also a violation.
Full article>>>
Dumbasses, touching the rim is not any part of goaltending.
Three parts of goaltending: 1)Ball has to be on downward flight 2)Ball must be above the cylinder.3)Ball must still have a chance to go in.
Where does it say anything about touching the rim? It doesnt.
Touching the rim is a part of basket interference, not goaltending. And for basket intereference there is nothing in there about touching the net. It only talks about touching the cylinder to interupt the balls natural flight. Get this shit right before you go smack talking on officials. Do players make every shot? No. So how can we expect referees to get every call right? Referees are just as human as the players are.