First off, let me put it out there that I am not a huge NBA fan. I am a basketball fan and when I hear people talking about something that happens in basketball, even if it is in the NBA, I find myself compelled to check it out. I did not see the game live and I wasn't exactly sure about what happened so I went into the situation with an open mind. I decided to not look into any other factors first, instead I just looked at the play involving Reggie Jackson and Matt Barnes as well as Doc Rivers' press conference.
Looking at that play, it initially does look like Matt Barnes fouls Jackson and Jackson loses the ball out of bounds. I didn't think there would be any question as to who the ball would be rewarded to, being the Clippers, but was surprised that it went the other way. The explanation from the referees didn't make much sense, as they said they found it was inconclusive evidence of who the ball went out on. With that being said, it seemed like Doc had reason to be upset. When I watched Doc's press conference he seemed like he was trying really hard to say that the team lost the game, but kept going back to the fact that the refs blew the call and that was the reason they lost the game. It doesn't matter when a play happens, one play does not decide the outcome of any game.
Thinking about the play I remembered the rule of the hand being a part of the ball when the player is making a basketball move to the basket, which Jackson clearly was. Another part of that rule is if the opposing player does hit the hand and that causes the ball to be lost and go out of bounds, the ball would stay with the team who had possession originally. That looked to be the case of what happened with Reggie Jackson and Matt Barnes. One could debate that Reggie lost the ball, tried to regain control, and hit it out of bounds. That wouldn't make the case so clear cut as Doc Rivers made it seem when he reacted the way he did after the game.
Doc started yelling at the Thunder owner, as if he had something to do with the final call. During the press conference he kept going back to the point that the Clippers were robbed because of that call, saying that it was clearly their ball and he already had a play drawn up to get the ball in bounds. Also, finding out that the Clippers had a 13 point lead with 4 minutes left made me feel even less sympathetic with Doc. He did talk about his team at times, but he would keep referring back to the fact that the refs blew the call.
In my opinion, this is one of the reasons why people consider the NBA game to be a joke anymore. The rules are changed so much that the players, coaches, referees, and even announcers don't understand them. The NBA referees who made the call in that game got the call right, but they had no idea why they got the call right. The explanation that they gave was a little off and it just seemed like they made the call to give the ball back to the Thunder because they thought there should have been a foul called on Matt Barnes. Doc Rivers showed a very immature and unprofessional side of himself that most people are not used to seeing, especially after games. I have heard that over these playoffs the Clippers have been whining and complaining a lot, but that is what you see from most NBA teams honestly.
I think it is time for Doc Rivers to apologize to the NBA, the three referees from Game 5, and the Thunder owner who he started yelling at after the game. The refs might have still missed a call, even if it was no where near as clear cut as Doc made it out to be, but that is what happens in sports. There are bad calls in every sport, and that won't change just because there are replay systems in place.
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