NBA denies Sacramento's protest of the Memphis game

HndsmCelt

Hall of Famer
#2
Yeah saw that earlier, I can't say I am surprised by the decision at all. but the Friday news dump on Black Friday was a special kind of craven PR. One normally sees this kind of back bone in jelly fish.I hope in the future Silver can show a bit more courage than one normally sees in a barn possum.
 
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#3
Not surprised but all the evidence was there so they should just get rid of the protest process because it's obviously never going to have an impact.

This comment made me more mad than i would have been if we just never protested:

Marc J. Spears @SpearsNBAYahoo · 1h
NBA didn't mention Ryan Hollins' tip because the refs ruled he didn't touch it & replay review deemed no conclusive evidence that he did.

ohhhhh OK guys. Sure

:mad:
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
#4
Just as I expected - "judgment call, not a misapplication of the rules, protest denied" Gotta love the Black Friday/No Mention That The Call Was Actually Wrong release.

Go figure.
 
#10
Yeah, I didn't expect it to be overturned, so it's expected. But they really should just scrap the appeal process, as they're never going to come across a more clear-cut "debatable play" as this. The reason they're debatable in the first place is because it's a tough call even with replays. If they weren't tough, the call would be right after the replay on the court.

The appeal process apparently is there for no reason.
 
#11
Yeah, I didn't expect it to be overturned, so it's expected. But they really should just scrap the appeal process, as they're never going to come across a more clear-cut "debatable play" as this. The reason they're debatable in the first place is because it's a tough call even with replays. If they weren't tough, the call would be right after the replay on the court.

The appeal process apparently is there for no reason.
It's there for clear violations of the rules, or miscounted fouls, stuff like that. Not for judgement calls.
 
#12
It's there for clear violations of the rules, or miscounted fouls, stuff like that. Not for judgement calls.
In that case, our claim to protest should have been rejected outright immediately. Instead of waiting almost two weeks to hide behind a public holiday...


Not disagreeing with you, BTW. I'm sure you're right.

EDIT: Just as an add-on, and this isn't in disagreement with Chubbs as I understand the point made, but how is a debatable violation (such as a missed clear backcourt violation) any less of a "judgement call" than a missed tipped inbounds pass? They both rely on the judgement of the offical, and both can be corrected with the use of replays.

Essentially, the NBA is saying they're only dealing with extreme clock malfunctions. Everything else is a "judgement call" unless it suits them and public opinion.

In effect, I stand by my original opinion, that the appeal process is futile. Unless LeBron or a big market is involved, of course.
 
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#13
Not surprised really. Did Anyone expect Silver to be any different than his predecessor ? The NBA has already said with there words and actions that their officials are off limits and will not be held accountable for their actions. No matter HOW BAD the play calls, the NBA has decided to side with their Refs. That gives the NBA referees a complete shield against any recrimination. They can call what they want when they want without repercussions.

What is worse is that the Replay system is a TOTAL SHAM. It is a total charade that no one should be fooled by. The end result is that when they go to replay, all the replay facility in New Jersey does is PROVIDE ADDITIONAL VIDEO ANGLES of the play. There is NO RULING or DETERMINATION allowed by anyone other than the 3 BUFFOONS on the court who originally screwed up the call. Therefore there is no improvement or oversight WHATSOEVER. It is merely window dressing. The NFL and MLB have instituted a replay system that actually takes the bad officials who originally made the bad call out of the equation. League officials who are untainted by the emotions of the game REVIEW and make a DETERMINATION. Until the NBA does the exact same thing, having unbiased officials at the league office in New Jersey who are able to see the replays and make an unbiased and untainted call, the NBA officials will continue to be a joke. There will continue to be accusations of impropriety and corruption. And there will continue to be rumors of collusion and bias.

NBA officials are the LEAST trusted most criticized officials in ANY league. And the present setup is there to shield the NBA officials from criticism and ridicule by placing a bogus and ineffective replay system in the equation that does nothing to change the outcome. There is NO EMPHASIS on getting the call RIGHT. Only a system that insures the 3 retards wearing stripes are always right even when they are horribly wrong. And when a play comes along that is SO BAD that there is an uproar from the fans, the NBA will point to their "State of the ART" replay system and how the play was "Reviewed and the call stands". But that is total hogwash. The 3 officials on the court are still making the same bad call. Nothing changes. Just because the replay is in HD does not make their Replay System "State of the Art!" It's a TOTAL SHAM.
 
#15
They protested the tip by Hollins, as well. Unless I missed something, they protested both the tip and the clock
The NBA's statement said nothing of the tipped ball. "The basis for the Kings' protest was that Courtney Lee's game-winning shot should have been disqualified as having been made after time expired. Under league procedures, each team has an opportunity to make submissions in support of its position, and the protesting team is required to establish a misapplication of the official playing rules that had a clear impact on the game's outcome."
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#17
Eh, we had to protest, even though we knew going in that we weren't going to receive a satisfactory ruling. And there was no question that they were going to uphold their decision, so no surprises there. I do share in the annoyance at the gutless decision to lay in the cut until 'Black Friday', so that they could announce their ruling when nobody was 'looking'.
 
#19
Eh, we had to protest, even though we knew going in that we weren't going to receive a satisfactory ruling. And there was no question that they were going to uphold their decision, so no surprises there. I do share in the annoyance at the gutless decision to lay in the cut until 'Black Friday', so that they could announce their ruling when nobody was 'looking'.
I honestly don't think anybody was looking anyway. It was a forgone conclusion what the verdict would be. I just wish there was more of an uproar over the gutless joke of a replay system that amounts to doing absolutely nothing new. The NEW "State of the Art" replay system that relies on the same 3 blind mice who blew the call initially to look at replays from supposedly different angles to change a call they already made. No oversight whatsoever from the league. Only thing "State of the Art" is the spin they put on to justify their new additional layer of protection they have to shield their refs from any recrimination.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#20
My point was that nobody was 'looking' in the sense that the day after Thanksgiving is a date that is notorious for no significant coverage of anything; it may be the second-slowest sports day of the entire year. And, not only are all of the 'A teams' off today, but all of the 'B teams' are, too. So, even if somebody was 'looking', there's nobody of consequence on duty to say anything about it.
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
#22
As an NBA fan this is business as usual. But it's factually true that the ball was tipped and thus its also factually true that we won the game. I think I'm more offended as a philosopher than I am as a sports fan. I'm not going to pretend like an arbitrary judgement call changes reality.
 
#23
NBA denies Kings! Seems like we never get a break on any court controversy no matter how solid the case from powers on high running NBA. We definitely knew this highly likely outcome going in but still doesn't make it a fair hearing nor something we should just roll over, always take with no questions asked. Ok, NBA make it up to us by awarding Sacramento the all-star game for 2017-18:)
 
#24
Since the formal protest was unsuccessful, can we file an informal protest? Or better yet, how about strenuously protesting like Commander Galloway did in a Few Good Men so they take the time to reconsider?
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
#25
The NBA's statement said nothing of the tipped ball. "The basis for the Kings' protest was that Courtney Lee's game-winning shot should have been disqualified as having been made after time expired. Under league procedures, each team has an opportunity to make submissions in support of its position, and the protesting team is required to establish a misapplication of the official playing rules that had a clear impact on the game's outcome."
The tipped ball really does probably get wrapped up in the "time expired" argument - if Hollins tipped the ball, then time would have expired. Of course, that's a judgment call that the officials made, and they reviewed it and upheld their judgment call on the basis of the review, and that's pretty much that. I know Hollins tipped the ball, you know Hollins tipped the ball, the NBA knows Hollins tipped the ball, and by this time the entire city of Memphis knows that Hollins tipped the ball. But that's a judgment call made by the officials, which is NOT a misapplication of the rules.

But, yeah, I guess the NBA pulled a pretty slick one to issue a statement that didn't address the fact that their officials definitely blew it.

The most interesting thing out of any of these press releases is the fact that our challenge was at least partially based on the fact that the officials did not count frames during replay to see if Lee got the shot off. We argued that since it is their duty to count frames and they did not, that was a misapplication of the rules. The NBA also didn't mention that, oddly enough, in their press release.

Weasels.