Deciding the Game
Predictably, Bill Simmons doesn’t think that Rajan Rondo’s shot to the head of Brad Miller in the closing seconds of yesterday’s Game 5 – “about the most blatantly obvious flagrant foul you could commit”, John Hollinger calls it – was worthy of being tagged a flagrant. “That play shouldn’t have decided the game,” Simmons writes. “And it didn’t.”
Sorry, but huh? An inexplicably great play call leaves a man open for a potential game-tying layup, he gets whacked across the face, and then he has to try and make a pair of free throws with less than three seconds left. Oh, and he has to do it with his eyes glazed over and blood dripping from his mouth, since if his coach takes him out of the game then the opposing coach gets to choose a sub. Yep – in contrast to giving the Bulls a chance to tie the game with free throws and then win it with an unlikely last second shot, letting Rondo off the hook didn’t decide the game at all.
But heck, why stop there? After all, Miller is a pretty good free throw shooter, and it’s not as if the foul left him blind or paralyzed. So why even bother whistling the foul? I mean, couldn’t that have decided the game, if say Miller had made the first free throw and then the Bulls had slammed in a miss on the second? Or maybe they could have called a flagrant foul on Miller, since then the Celtics would’ve gotten two shots and the ball, in which case the play would have been really irrelevant!
As Simmons might predictably have put it had the call gone the other way, The NBA! Where game-deciding non-calls on career-threatening fouls happen!
Anyway, apologies to those of you who don’t care. But it’s my blog, dammit, and given the amount of whining the Celtics were doing after Game 4, I feel entitled to vent. Hopefully the refs will look the other way when I run onto the court in the final seconds of a close Game 6 and remove Kendrick Perkins’s head from his shoulders. Because, you know, we wouldn’t want to let that decide the game.
Filed under: sports
Thanks for posting this. I read Simmons every week and enjoy it, but he’s a *&!#ing idiot when it comes to anything involving Boston sports. The call was absolutely absurd, and so was the failure to eject Dwight Howard.
Thank you! I despise sports writers who insist that a player who breaks the rules in the last five minutes of a playoff game should be given a free pass. If you think the NBA should be more physical, change the freakin’ rules! If not, apply the damn things consistently. All this “playoff basketball” nonsense is driving me crazy.
On a related note, the worst response to this commonsensical observation goes something along the lines of “. . . well, the Bulls shouldn’t have let the Celtics come back.” Well, yes, but allowing an opponent back in the game is permitted! By the rules! Smacking someone upside the head, on the other hand, is not!
/End vent
First, let me preface this by saying I am a diehard Celtics fan.
OK. Now that that’s out of the way: whether the foul was flagrant or not (and it was) it does NOT mean the game would have had a different outcome.
Miller missed the first foulshot. Yes, Chicago would have had the ball back (assuming he makes the second,) but with 2.0 seconds on the clock. There was not guarantee this would have produced results.
You can argue theoretically – and I would buy it – that if the Bulls were to get the ball back due to the flagrant, Miller would have had less pressure on him to make both free throws, and maybe he WOULD have made both then. But that is doubtful, because they were still down by 2 and needed both to tie the score.
It was not an obvious flagrant at the time, either. If Miller does not come up bleeding, nobody even thinks to check for the hard foul. The wild shot did suggest something was awry, however.
Well, I think that there are SOME circumstances in which such an insistence can be legitimate. For example, Simmons mentions Miller fouling Ray Allen on a 60-footer at the end of regulation – the shot had basically no chance of going in, so whatever. Or suppose that Rondo hadn’t fouled Miller, who then made the layup and ran into Perkins in what conceivably could have been called a blocking foul. You know what? Don’t call that – he tied the game, now let it go to OT. But in this case calling a flagrant wouldn’t have decided the game, whereas committing the flagrant – as opposed to just fouling Miller in a “normal” way, which Rondo wasn’t in a position to do – was the only thing that saved the Celtics from a tie game (or two free throws from a non-dazed 80% shooter), after which they’d still have had a chance for a last-second shot.
The more I think of it, it’s absolutely one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen; the league should be ashamed.
You’re right – calling it a flagrant wouldn’t have guaranteed a different outcome. But that’s exactly the point! Because that just shows that calling it a flagrant wouldn’t have decided the game – at best there would have been an 80% chance of Gordon making both free throws and then a very small chance of a(nother) last-second basket when the Bulls got the ball back.
What’s missing from this discussion is the well-established fact that Bill Simmons is the stupidest person in the world.
[...] Schwenkler and I vigorously disagree on certain important topics. But we can both agree that Rajon Rondo’s foul against Brad Miller was flagrant, should have been punished as such [...]
Yeah, I would have been fine, even as a C’s fan, with the flagrant. It was a flagrant, inasmuch as the only way there’s a play on the ball is if Rondo has Go-Go-Gadget arms (or, perhaps, Tayshaun Prince’s arms).
Putting aside justice for a moment, I’m fine with it strategically, too. Gordon was having a relatively rough night, though not from the line, and I think the C’s could have held the Bulls down for 2 seconds. This is, of course, assuming that Tony Allen can manage not to foul people behind the three-point line.
Also, John, “career threatening”? I hope you were just channeling Simmonsonian (Simmonsesque? Simmonsian?) hysteria. I thought the blood made it look worse than it was, and assumed that was because Rondo raked his hand across Miller’s mouth. Howard’s hit on Dalembert, on the other hand, was clearly career threatening.
I’m not sure anything could count as “career-threatening” on Brad Miller at this point in time.
Okay, so I’ll grant that the “career-ending” remark was hyperbolic; I suppose I had in mind the concern that he could’ve fallen on his head or neck, but whatever.
More to the point, I agree entirely on the issue of strategy: it was a good foul, but that doesn’t change the fact that it was a flagrant one, or that whistling it as such wouldn’t have “decided the game”.
Oh, and PS – the rest of that Simmons column? WTF? He acknowledges that the foul was intentional and worthy of suspension, and then goes on to indulge that nutty Boston fan bullshit about Billy Kennedy’s Chicago-based crew and their Bulls jersey-wearing families in Game 4. I mean, are you f-cking SERIOUS?!
I agree that it’s ridiculous to worry about what gear the ref’s family and friends wore to the game in their hometown. But I also think it’s ridiculous, given what went down with Doc and Billy earlier this year, that Billy’s refereeing in this series.
[...] http://johnschwenkler.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/deciding-the-game/ [...]
I used to read him all the time, then I realized he writes the same columns over and over again, with the same jokes too. He’s not funny anymore.
Well Ray Allen – Ray “I play little defense” Allen – fouled out of the game with half the 4th quarter left to play. This was a game that Kendrik Perkins played like 1,973 minutes and didn’t have ONE foul? Kinda makes you suspicious.
I never want to see Tony Allen on a basketball court again, btw.
Matt C — Somebody has to pick up all the fouls that Mikki Moore isn’t getting.
Per your suggestion, I’m not going to read the column but take your word for it. But the picture on ESPN.com’s front page pretty much tells you what you need to know. At the moment of clubbing, Rondo’s outstretched arm was landing on Miller’s face (not shooting arm) – about 2.5 feet from the ball.
Yep. The league ruled, though, that he was making a play on the ball. I’d like to think of a snappy analogy, but I’m too sick of it all, really.
If I were from Boston rather than Chicago, I admit my feelings would be more Simmonsesque. But, seriously, this is going to start a grudge match. The simmering frustration of the Cs, watching a 20 y/o rookie and the Bulls keep pace in all three games at the Garden, finally boiled over. The last two games (yes, two) are going to be ugly. Bill Laimbeer ugly. You just can’t take this forever.
Speaking as a Boston fan, what’s frustrating about the series is that other than Rose in the first game and Gordon in the second game, nobody on the Bulls has been dominant. We’ve made dumb mistakes and we have no bench. I’m not saying the Bulls aren’t good (they are, and we should be seeing them in playoffs in the years to come) but we should be able to take them.
Re: Laimbeer ugly, I was thinking Rambis-McHale ugly. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Miller lay Rondo out tonight. The Bulls are killing us with their small line ups, so sacrificing some front court depth for catharsis wouldn’t hurt them.
Amen to your first point. And that’s why Simmons’ hyperventilation about this Bulls teams’ future as a title contender (starting in 2010!) is pure homerism. He’s admitted that Boston doesn’t have a chance at the Finals this year, but he still wants to infer that since the Bulls are playing them to a standstill, they’re on the edge of being a title contender. Everybody said the same thing when they swept the aging (Shaq) and injured (Wade) defending champs in Miami too. That didn’t play out so well. And by the same logic the Hawks should have been penciled in last year as title contenders too, since they took the non-depleted Celtics to seven games and were (and still are) younger and more athletic. The Bulls are playing well right now, but at this point they still can’t beat the Cavs or Lakers, they might well lose to the Hawks, they would probably lose to the uneven Magic, they’d lose to the Rockets, most likely lose to the Nuggets, and I’d take Portland against them as well. Enjoy this series because it’s a great and competitive matchup, and Rondo is playing out of his mind, but by no means does it signify that the Bulls are ready to be title contenders, even in the near future. Yes, they’re young, but there is no sign that what they currently have in the frontcourt is ever going to be good enough for a championship. Tyrus Thomas as your premiere post scorer? I doubt it. They need another post player (Bosh?), or maybe they just need to hire Mike D’Antoni to unleash Rose’s game. THAT would be something to see. Can you imagine ‘seven seconds or less’ with all those athletic tools? Holy crap.
Obviously I’ll give you Cleveland and LA, Joe, but against any of the other teams you mentioned the Bulls would have a real shot. The Bulls split their season series with Houston and Denver, and combining the Bulls’ improvement since the Miller-Salmons trade with Portland’s youth and the way Orlando has played since the end of the season I think the Bulls would do at least as well against any of those teams as they have against Boston. I dunno, maybe I’m just a homer – and I’ll grant you that a real frontcourt scorer is needed, though the 06-07 and 07-08 versions of Luol Deng were clearly that. Oh, and Del Negro’s very much learning on the job, too. If the Bulls can resign Gordon (who really ought to be coming off the bench, but anyway …), Deng returns to anything like his old form, and Rose, Noah, Thomas, and Del Negro continue their natural development, there’s absolutely no reason why the Bulls shouldn’t be the second-best team in the East next year.
Um, yes there is: his name is Dwight Howard. Well, him and the collection of three-point shooters around him. Granted they’re not playing well right now, but they also lost their point guard, who had stepped up quite a bit. I’ll grant they would have a real shot against Atlanta, but the way that team is defending Wade makes me think they’d do better against Rose than Boston is right now (though to be sure Wade has zero support around him, so that could be skewing my judgment). I’m doubtful that the Bulls could defend Yao and score on the Rockets defense enough to win a seven-game series. Too much reliance on their guards for offense; Houston has Artest and Battier on the perimeter, and a frakkin’ giant in the middle. And they may have split the season series with Denver, but you have to recognize that Denver is super-hot right now as well – it’s not fair to factor in Chicago’s recent hot streak and nobody else’s. They have at least as much offensive power as the Bulls, and I really don’t see a good defensive matchup to put on Carmelo. Plus Denver’s frontcourt defense is better than Chicago’s. That’s important in the playoffs. I’ll allow they could very well beat Portland – it really could go either way depending on who acts more like the inexperienced team. Right now the edge on that has to go to Chicago. Fair enough.
Well there’s such a thing as being tied for second-best in the conference, isn’t there? If Orlando can get taken to the wire (or beaten) by Philadelphia, then there’s no reason why the Bulls couldn’t do the same; and as to the loss of Nelson, I’d say that Deng’s absence is pretty comparable, no?
As to Denver and Houston, I’m not saying that the Bulls would surely win, but only that it could be quite close. (Denver’s hot streak has been significantly influenced by New Orleans’s not having shown up, you know.) A title contender by 2010? Maybe not, though that has a lot to do with the fact that the top two teams are just SO good. But if a few things (re-signing Gordon, getting back a healthy Deng, and the natural progress mentioned earlier) go the right way, there’s no reason to think the Bulls incapable of putting a shock into one or both of them.
Holy crap I hope you’re watching game six.
JOAKIM NOAH WHAT??!? good lord this game is crazy
He dunked with authority. I cannot believe this game. The only thing that could possibly make it better is if Boston runs a play for Scalabrine.
Hell yes. Can anyone remember a first round series that was this amazing? Now I need to spend the next two days recovering.
I was following it on Gamecast and my mind was still blown. I absolutely cannot wait to get home and watch Sportscenter. Did Rose really block Rondo with 7 seconds left?
Nope. I wish it was best of nine instead of best of seven.
Holy crap. Can this series get any crazier? The game 7′s gonna go to quadruple OT at least.
It was beautiful. Rose is Chicago. (Cutler who?)
Yeah … holy shit … I just got back from the bar with Angela and Jack … I think I need a week or so to unwind …
Yep … check my most recent post – again, and again, and again.