To Give or not to Give?… A Foul

On Saturday May ninth, Carmelo Anthony most likely all but put the Dallas Mavericks away with his one footed, off balance three point shot as time expired. Not only was this a tough basket, but it was a tough loss for the Mavericks who looked to gain momentum and captalize on finally making a good effort in the fourth qarter this series, where in the prveious two games they were gettting crushed. To add to the heart break, the real sadness comes from a foul to give that the officiating crew did not call and that even prompted the NBA to apologize about. From this controversy, there is one thing that we can learn, and one thing we can ponder.

What we can learn is that a player should not finish the foul until he hears that whistle. When the Dallas player groped Anthony, he got him hard, clean, and good, but the referee did not see it (perhaps). Anthony didn’t hear the whislte, and he played through the posession, got his shot, and hit it. Next time, don’t stop the press till you hear the refs.

What we can ponder is how now two straight seasons that an officiating crew led by Mark Wunderlich has had another controversial instance at the end of a playoff game that would have made a series competitive.

Last season in the Western Conference Finals between the L.A. Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, in San Antonio, Brent Barry attempted a three that could have potentially tied the series at 2-2. However, the refs failed to call an obvious fould by Derek Fisher, which the league once again apologized for, and would have send Barry to the line for three free throws. The Spurs went down 3-1, and lost their next game onward to elimination.

Maybe a coincidence, and probably so. But that’s what one bad scratch (i.e. Tim Donaghy) will do to you… create even more speculation.