NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees

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NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#1 » by RealGM Wiretap » Mon Dec 9, 2019 10:06 pm

The NBA has announced that Commissioner Adam Silver has denied the Houston Rockets protest of their 135-133 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 3, 2019, following receipt by the league office of submissions from both teams and the completion of its investigation.


In the protest, the Rockets argued that the officials misapplied the playing rules by failing to grant a Coach’s Challenge in connection with James Harden’s fourth quarter dunk, and that this error had a clear impact on the outcome of the game by depriving the team of two points. While agreeing that the referees misapplied the rules, Commissioner Silver determined that the Rockets had sufficient time to overcome the error during the remainder of the fourth quarter and two subsequent overtime periods and thus the extraordinary remedy of granting a game protest was not warranted.


In addition, the league announced that it has disciplined all three referees from the game for misapplying the Coach’s Challenge rule.


With 7:50 remaining in the fourth quarter and the score 102-89 in favor of Houston, Harden stole the ball and converted an uncontested dunk. The ball was dunked with such force that, as it cleared the net, the ball was propelled around the basket and upward, creating an initial appearance that it was not a successful field goal. Houston then called a timeout, and the officiating crew conferenced to discuss the play.


After deliberation, the crew informed the Houston coaching staff that a basket interference violation had been called on Harden, and Houston asked for a Coach’s Challenge. This request was denied by the officials because more than 30 seconds had elapsed from the start of the timeout. But the 30-second time limit for Coach’s Challenges only applies when the challenge arises during a mandatory timeout or a timeout called by the opposing team. Because Houston called the timeout in this case, it was entitled to challenge the basket interference call upon being informed of it by the game officials.


If the Coach’s Challenge requested by Houston had been properly granted, instant replay would have shown that Harden’s dunk was a successful field goal.


As a follow-up to the NBA’s investigation of this matter, the NBA will work with the Competition Committee to develop additional procedures to help prevent the situation with Harden’s made basket from occurring again.

Via RealGM Staff Report

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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#2 » by Dubious Kitty » Mon Dec 9, 2019 11:31 pm

"disciplined the referees" aka gave them all raises
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#3 » by alienpick » Mon Dec 9, 2019 11:48 pm

GOOD. Time to hold the refs accountable. That was a straight up embarrassment, just like the KD out of bounds no call. Bust their asses down to the D-League. If they can’t get basic calls straight.
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#4 » by IWishIWasHarden » Tue Dec 10, 2019 12:22 am

Adam Silver is wrong.

You cannot agree with the Rockets but then say you think the Rockets had sufficient time to overcome the disadvantage. No time period has any relevancy.
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#5 » by kenwood3333 » Tue Dec 10, 2019 1:04 am

Surprised that Silver did not fine the Rockets for conduct determent to the league's "integrity"
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#6 » by Vegeta10176 » Tue Dec 10, 2019 2:23 am

IWishIWasHarden wrote:Adam Silver is wrong.

You cannot agree with the Rockets but then say you think the Rockets had sufficient time to overcome the disadvantage. No time period has any relevancy.


If this happened in the last second of the game then it makes all the difference
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#7 » by Clyde Frazier » Tue Dec 10, 2019 2:48 am

While I'm enjoying rockets fans up in arms over this due to harden's entire game being based on exploiting the rules, totally agree the NBA got this wrong.
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#8 » by Monky15 » Tue Dec 10, 2019 3:47 am

NBA admitting that the the first 3 quarters of play are almost pointless.
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#9 » by deeps6x » Tue Dec 10, 2019 4:38 am

HOW were the refs disciplined?
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#10 » by dhsilv2 » Tue Dec 10, 2019 6:54 am

Vegeta10176 wrote:
IWishIWasHarden wrote:Adam Silver is wrong.

You cannot agree with the Rockets but then say you think the Rockets had sufficient time to overcome the disadvantage. No time period has any relevancy.


If this happened in the last second of the game then it makes all the difference


This is a pretty bad take by the league, not that it is wrong, but effectively they're saying the until the final few minutes of a game, nothing really matters. That's been a fan take for years, but for the league to effectively say that mistakes don't matter if a team has time to makeup for them is pretty darn bad, especially given the game was lost in multiple over times, clearly any error could have been enough to swing the game.
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#11 » by The Real Dalic » Tue Dec 10, 2019 9:15 am

To the people saying this was what lost the Rockets the game, they were up 13!!! They had waaaaaaaaayyyy more than enough time to put the Spurs away if they actually wanted to play a semblence of defense.

If this were my Magic, everyone would just be saying "lolzers, just play defense, you bums." But it's okay for the Rockets to piss away a pretty significant lead in the 4th? Unreal. The Rockets lost because they refuse to acknowledge one side of the ball.
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#12 » by Perseus1966 » Tue Dec 10, 2019 11:30 am

deeps6x wrote:HOW were the refs disciplined?

Don't do it again ,go to your room.
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#13 » by mplsfonz23 » Tue Dec 10, 2019 3:08 pm

dhsilv2 wrote:
Vegeta10176 wrote:
IWishIWasHarden wrote:Adam Silver is wrong.

You cannot agree with the Rockets but then say you think the Rockets had sufficient time to overcome the disadvantage. No time period has any relevancy.


If this happened in the last second of the game then it makes all the difference


This is a pretty bad take by the league, not that it is wrong, but effectively they're saying the until the final few minutes of a game, nothing really matters. That's been a fan take for years, but for the league to effectively say that mistakes don't matter if a team has time to makeup for them is pretty darn bad, especially given the game was lost in multiple over times, clearly any error could have been enough to swing the game.


I disagree. It is VERY wrong, and sets a precedent that all games and calls should be subject to discipline. For the record, I think this should be the standard for every game. Refs need to be held accountable, but for ALL teams, not just the ones who cry the loudest.

And as many have stated, they blew a 15 point lead. But throw a tantrum, and get an apology.
Did anyone see the LBJ carry/travel right in front of the ref? That ref should be disciplined as well. Keep fining these refs, and pretty soon it won't be worth it to them, and we will be stuck with some HS ref wannabe's........(Like me) 8-)
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#14 » by mplsfonz23 » Tue Dec 10, 2019 3:09 pm

The Real Dalic wrote:To the people saying this was what lost the Rockets the game, they were up 13!!! They had waaaaaaaaayyyy more than enough time to put the Spurs away if they actually wanted to play a semblence of defense.

If this were my Magic, everyone would just be saying "lolzers, just play defense, you bums." But it's okay for the Rockets to piss away a pretty significant lead in the 4th? Unreal. The Rockets lost because they refuse to acknowledge one side of the ball.


Thank you.
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#15 » by dhsilv2 » Tue Dec 10, 2019 3:16 pm

mplsfonz23 wrote:
dhsilv2 wrote:
Vegeta10176 wrote:
If this happened in the last second of the game then it makes all the difference


This is a pretty bad take by the league, not that it is wrong, but effectively they're saying the until the final few minutes of a game, nothing really matters. That's been a fan take for years, but for the league to effectively say that mistakes don't matter if a team has time to makeup for them is pretty darn bad, especially given the game was lost in multiple over times, clearly any error could have been enough to swing the game.


I disagree. It is VERY wrong, and sets a precedent that all games and calls should be subject to discipline. For the record, I think this should be the standard for every game. Refs need to be held accountable, but for ALL teams, not just the ones who cry the loudest.

And as many have stated, they blew a 15 point lead. But throw a tantrum, and get an apology.
Did anyone see the LBJ carry/travel right in front of the ref? That ref should be disciplined as well. Keep fining these refs, and pretty soon it won't be worth it to them, and we will be stuck with some HS ref wannabe's........(Like me) 8-)


Missing a call is not a big deal. Failure to follow the rules in regards to a challenge where they have time to stop and discuss is a HUGE difference. Think about it in a more work focused situation. You send out something with a manual error, be it a report with a bad number, you're a cashier and you have a sticky new bill and you give out 10 bucks too much in change, you're loading soda for delivery and you put 3 cases of coke on instead of 4. That's missing a call in game. Do it too often and yes that's a big deal and you should be punished, but one or two mistakes over time is understandable and we move on. Now if you have a strict policy that requires you to take an action when someone asks for it and you fail to do that, that's a MUCH more serious offense.

Now my point wasn't about punishing the refs but about how to NBA is dismissing the value of plays that happen in earlier vs later in a game. If the league blows a game winning play, the team that lost on that play had 47+ minutes before that to have scored more points and failed to. The league is saying that it is ok if you didn't do something in the first 47 minutes, but a blown call with time left, well it's up to you to offset that after. This effectively says the first 3 quarters just don't matter at all. That's where I think they're setting themselves up for a bad precedent.
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#16 » by mplsfonz23 » Tue Dec 10, 2019 3:33 pm

dhsilv2 wrote:
mplsfonz23 wrote:
dhsilv2 wrote:
This is a pretty bad take by the league, not that it is wrong, but effectively they're saying the until the final few minutes of a game, nothing really matters. That's been a fan take for years, but for the league to effectively say that mistakes don't matter if a team has time to makeup for them is pretty darn bad, especially given the game was lost in multiple over times, clearly any error could have been enough to swing the game.


I disagree. It is VERY wrong, and sets a precedent that all games and calls should be subject to discipline. For the record, I think this should be the standard for every game. Refs need to be held accountable, but for ALL teams, not just the ones who cry the loudest.

And as many have stated, they blew a 15 point lead. But throw a tantrum, and get an apology.
Did anyone see the LBJ carry/travel right in front of the ref? That ref should be disciplined as well. Keep fining these refs, and pretty soon it won't be worth it to them, and we will be stuck with some HS ref wannabe's........(Like me) 8-)


Missing a call is not a big deal. Failure to follow the rules in regards to a challenge where they have time to stop and discuss is a HUGE difference. Think about it in a more work focused situation. You send out something with a manual error, be it a report with a bad number, you're a cashier and you have a sticky new bill and you give out 10 bucks too much in change, you're loading soda for delivery and you put 3 cases of coke on instead of 4. That's missing a call in game. Do it too often and yes that's a big deal and you should be punished, but one or two mistakes over time is understandable and we move on. Now if you have a strict policy that requires you to take an action when someone asks for it and you fail to do that, that's a MUCH more serious offense.

Now my point wasn't about punishing the refs but about how to NBA is dismissing the value of plays that happen in earlier vs later in a game. If the league blows a game winning play, the team that lost on that play had 47+ minutes before that to have scored more points and failed to. The league is saying that it is ok if you didn't do something in the first 47 minutes, but a blown call with time left, well it's up to you to offset that after. This effectively says the first 3 quarters just don't matter at all. That's where I think they're setting themselves up for a bad precedent.


Yeah, but two things went on.
1, they had 7 plus minutes in the game, had an opportunity to challenge it, yet didn't.
2, they BLEW a 15 point lead.

I ask you this, if this was some low level team (no names need to be mentioned) do you think the commish would react the same. Don't answer, it was a rhetorical question to which the answer is F no.

When was the last time you heard a team cry foul and want to play the last 7 minutes over? They had plenty of time to win the game, and the fact that they even got the NBA to discipline the refs is downright disgusting.

This is a reason that fans are tuning out the NBA. I for one don't watch 1/4 of what I used to.
Again, where's the discipline for the travel on LBJ's OBVIOUS travel call?
(Wish I had skills to show the clip. )
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#17 » by dhsilv2 » Tue Dec 10, 2019 3:48 pm

mplsfonz23 wrote:
dhsilv2 wrote:
mplsfonz23 wrote:
I disagree. It is VERY wrong, and sets a precedent that all games and calls should be subject to discipline. For the record, I think this should be the standard for every game. Refs need to be held accountable, but for ALL teams, not just the ones who cry the loudest.

And as many have stated, they blew a 15 point lead. But throw a tantrum, and get an apology.
Did anyone see the LBJ carry/travel right in front of the ref? That ref should be disciplined as well. Keep fining these refs, and pretty soon it won't be worth it to them, and we will be stuck with some HS ref wannabe's........(Like me) 8-)


Missing a call is not a big deal. Failure to follow the rules in regards to a challenge where they have time to stop and discuss is a HUGE difference. Think about it in a more work focused situation. You send out something with a manual error, be it a report with a bad number, you're a cashier and you have a sticky new bill and you give out 10 bucks too much in change, you're loading soda for delivery and you put 3 cases of coke on instead of 4. That's missing a call in game. Do it too often and yes that's a big deal and you should be punished, but one or two mistakes over time is understandable and we move on. Now if you have a strict policy that requires you to take an action when someone asks for it and you fail to do that, that's a MUCH more serious offense.

Now my point wasn't about punishing the refs but about how to NBA is dismissing the value of plays that happen in earlier vs later in a game. If the league blows a game winning play, the team that lost on that play had 47+ minutes before that to have scored more points and failed to. The league is saying that it is ok if you didn't do something in the first 47 minutes, but a blown call with time left, well it's up to you to offset that after. This effectively says the first 3 quarters just don't matter at all. That's where I think they're setting themselves up for a bad precedent.


Yeah, but two things went on.
1, they had 7 plus minutes in the game, had an opportunity to challenge it, yet didn't.
2, they BLEW a 15 point lead.

I ask you this, if this was some low level team (no names need to be mentioned) do you think the commish would react the same. Don't answer, it was a rhetorical question to which the answer is F no.

When was the last time you heard a team cry foul and want to play the last 7 minutes over? They had plenty of time to win the game, and the fact that they even got the NBA to discipline the refs is downright disgusting.

This is a reason that fans are tuning out the NBA. I for one don't watch 1/4 of what I used to.
Again, where's the discipline for the travel on LBJ's OBVIOUS travel call?
(Wish I had skills to show the clip. )


1. They did challenge it and the refs incorrectly said they could not challenge it. This is a procedural failure as the refs incorrectly told the rockets they could not challenge when they had the right to do so.
2. Game is 48 minutes, the winner is the team who scores the most, doesn't matter when the points are scored, which again is the point of what I'm saying. The nba is saying that when you score matters with this decision which goes against the integrity of the sport and the message the league should be sending, especially given fans already have a habit of only tuning into games in the 4th quarter.

To your question, yes, yes he would.

As for lebron, I already went over why they're different. One is a failure to follow company policy, the other isn't. Completely and utterly different.
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#18 » by mplsfonz23 » Tue Dec 10, 2019 4:00 pm

dhsilv2 wrote:
mplsfonz23 wrote:
dhsilv2 wrote:
Missing a call is not a big deal. Failure to follow the rules in regards to a challenge where they have time to stop and discuss is a HUGE difference. Think about it in a more work focused situation. You send out something with a manual error, be it a report with a bad number, you're a cashier and you have a sticky new bill and you give out 10 bucks too much in change, you're loading soda for delivery and you put 3 cases of coke on instead of 4. That's missing a call in game. Do it too often and yes that's a big deal and you should be punished, but one or two mistakes over time is understandable and we move on. Now if you have a strict policy that requires you to take an action when someone asks for it and you fail to do that, that's a MUCH more serious offense.

Now my point wasn't about punishing the refs but about how to NBA is dismissing the value of plays that happen in earlier vs later in a game. If the league blows a game winning play, the team that lost on that play had 47+ minutes before that to have scored more points and failed to. The league is saying that it is ok if you didn't do something in the first 47 minutes, but a blown call with time left, well it's up to you to offset that after. This effectively says the first 3 quarters just don't matter at all. That's where I think they're setting themselves up for a bad precedent.


Yeah, but two things went on.
1, they had 7 plus minutes in the game, had an opportunity to challenge it, yet didn't.
2, they BLEW a 15 point lead.

I ask you this, if this was some low level team (no names need to be mentioned) do you think the commish would react the same. Don't answer, it was a rhetorical question to which the answer is F no.

When was the last time you heard a team cry foul and want to play the last 7 minutes over? They had plenty of time to win the game, and the fact that they even got the NBA to discipline the refs is downright disgusting.

This is a reason that fans are tuning out the NBA. I for one don't watch 1/4 of what I used to.
Again, where's the discipline for the travel on LBJ's OBVIOUS travel call?
(Wish I had skills to show the clip. )


1. They did challenge it and the refs incorrectly said they could not challenge it. This is a procedural failure as the refs incorrectly told the rockets they could not challenge when they had the right to do so.
2. Game is 48 minutes, the winner is the team who scores the most, doesn't matter when the points are scored, which again is the point of what I'm saying. The nba is saying that when you score matters with this decision which goes against the integrity of the sport and the message the league should be sending, especially given fans already have a habit of only tuning into games in the 4th quarter.

To your question, yes, yes he would.

As for lebron, I already went over why they're different. One is a failure to follow company policy, the other isn't. Completely and utterly different.

They had 30 seconds to challenge it, and the time had pasted.
But either way, the NBA seems to have different rules for crying ass stars. That's all.

When has ANY ref been disciplined for ANYTHING? Why start now?
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#19 » by t-rexCity » Tue Dec 10, 2019 7:35 pm

Perseus1966 wrote:
deeps6x wrote:HOW were the refs disciplined?

Don't do it again ,go to your room.

It's possible they were spanked but need sources to confirm.
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Re: NBA Denies Rockets' Protest But Disciplines All Three Referees 

Post#20 » by DoctorDunc » Tue Dec 10, 2019 9:46 pm

Why don’t they discipline the refs for LeBron James walk in the park and palm violation last week. That was such an ugly look in a professional sport with three refs.

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