We’re not talking about the Lakers going into San Antonio and handing the defending champs their first home loss of the postseason. We’re not talking about how LA is one win away from the Finals. Nor are we talking about how the Spurs are on the brink of elimination, again about to lose in their chase for that elusive back-to-back ring.
We’re talking about referees and conspiracy theories. After a great season and great playoffs, we’re sitting here talking about referees and conspiracy theories.
Conspiracy theorists saw this coming so they probably have shit-eating grins right about now. You know the kind that just scream ‘I told you so’ within .001 seconds of viewing it. I love a good conspiracy theory. I never think they are true, but I just love thinking them up in my head. The NBA isn’t rigged people and they aren’t blatantly trying to get certain teams to advance. If so do you think the Spurs would ever win a championship? Or the Hawks would have won a game against the Celtics? Or that the superstar-less Jazz would ever advance? Come on, you’re better than that.
I really don’t want to hear about this being a foul. I don’t. It was a no-call and a good no-call at that. San Antonio flat out lost and they are not crying about it one bit. Most coaches across the nation on any level will tell you that they never want the game in the hands of the referees. And they tell that to their players too. You never want to be in a situation where you are depending on the refs, too much room for error. However to entertain those who continue to talk about it (aka every talking head in the nation)
Let’s think about this. First off…why the hell did Brent Barry have the ball in the first place. He played extremely well last night, but since when can he create his own jumper especially in that kind of situation. We all know that referees tend to swallow their whistle in late game situations. This is fact of life in basketball. You can get away with a heck of a lot more in situations that will end the game. With that being said, there is no chance in hell that any referee was going to make that call. And not because Joey Crawford hates the Spurs or because Stern wants the Lakers to advance. No. Here is why there was no chance in hell that was going to happen. No referee is going to make a game-altering call that far away from the basket. Plain and simple. Unless it’s completely blatant and obvious, it just is not going to happen. As a player you know you’re not going to get bailed out 40 feet from the basket. Referees award the aggressor. Brent Barry did not make an aggressive move. He pump-faked, picked up his dribble and was in trouble. Fisher did jump forward but to bail Barry out at a time like that would cause the same uproar in the opposite direction. Come on people…Barry was closer to the Spurs logo than he was to the three-point line when the ‘foul’ occurred. Think about how many late-game situations there have been in these playoffs and think how physical it has been. Referees don’t want to decide the game. They for sure don’t want to decide the game from that far away. In these playoffs we’ve seen LeBron take it to the hole, in this same situation, get bumped…no call. That’s LeBron James, das wonderkid of the NBA and he’s not getting that call. So why would it make sense to give Brent freakin’ Barry that call when he’s damn near at half court. Anyone who really thinks that referees are going to give Brent Barry that call from that far from the basket is out of their mind.
And yes I hear the argument ‘a foul is a foul no matter who you are’. Good argument. However, Brent Barry does not have the reputation or respect level in that kind of situation to get that. Manu probably would have gotten that call (and not just because he would have sold it). It’s like if you’re just a regular college student playing pickup with the college basketball team. If you call a 50/50 foul, it won’t get respected until you’ve earned the respect. Brent Barry doesn’t have the benefit of the doubt in that kind of situation, thus no call.
The Spurs don’t feel bad for themselves and neither do I. We both know better. The real reason why the Spurs lost? They got nothing from Manu Ginobili. If Many plays decent they win this game. They lost by 2 and got 20+ from Brent Barry and 7 from Manu. Forget the no-call people, everyone drop it. Manu has stunk up the joint in this series and that’s why the Spurs are down 3-1. Not because of the Fisher/Barry no-call. The Spurs kicked away a 20+ point lead in the second half of Game 1…that’s why they are down 3-1. Not because of the no-call.
By the way…Kobe didn’t get to the line once. What?
Seriously…Brent Barry getting a call in the Western Conference Finals?!?! People are arguing for this? What’s the world coming to. I can’t believe I just wrote all that.
I need to stop before I go on an AI type rant. If you’d like to picture it, just imagine me repeating Brent Barry over and over again until you get the point.