Bulls vs Celtics

[Nevadaref]

Just the 1st quarter while I was preparing to go out for dinner.

I saw the highlights of the 3 OTs on SportsCenter.

I have only two comments about the officiating.

1. I thought that the guy who was the trail and jumped in between Rondo and Hinrich did a tremendous job of stopping that situation from escalating.

2. I also thought that it was amusing and strange to see Joey Crawford grabbing a Celtics player by the jersey and wrestling him away from one of the Bulls. I make that comment without attempting to pass judgment upon his actions. I know that there are many who advocate never touching players, but there are also some top-notch people who have said that sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Fortunately, it worked out well for Crawford and we aren't discussing a player punching him or vice versa today.

[btaylor64]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

Just the 1st quarter while I was preparing to go out for dinner.

I saw the highlights of the 3 OTs on SportsCenter.

I have only two comments about the officiating.

1. I thought that the guy who was the trail and jumped in between Rondo and Hinrich did a tremendous job of stopping that situation from escalating.

2. I also thought that it was amusing and strange to see Joey Crawford grabbing a Celtics player by the jersey and wrestling him away from one of the Bulls. I make that comment without attempting to pass judgment upon his actions. I know that there are many who advocate never touching players, but there are also some top-notch people who have said that sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Fortunately, it worked out well for Crawford and we aren't discussing a player punching him or vice versa today.

I agree with the Crawford comment and "doing what you have to do". In fact we are trained how to deal with these confrontations and "face to face" confrontations. We are taught not to grab arms cause that, then makes a player defenseless and if he gets swung at, he is unable to protect himself. So you either grab jersey or around the waist.

[tomegun]

Ben, can you define we?

Pro-Am?
D-League?
Camper?

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by btaylor64

I agree with the Crawford comment and "doing what you have to do". In fact we are trained how to deal with these confrontations and "face to face" confrontations. We are taught not to grab arms cause that, then makes a player defenseless and if he gets swung at, he is unable to protect himself. So you either grab jersey or around the waist.

I've heard the same thought expressed. I've never found it convincing. The problem with that technique is that it leaves the upset individual still able to punch you while you attempt to restrain him, but at the same time not restrain him.

[amusedofficial]

The sports station in Boston actually was handing out compliments to the officials. In a game its team lost.

Cornbread Maxwell, the ex-Celtic who is now a color commentator for radio, was high in his praise of the crew in general and Crawford in particular. He said outright "Joey Crawford took control of that game" and spoke of how the officials drew a line, allowing the teams to play physical without letting the game getting out of hand.

He also made the point that the Hinrich Rondo tussle was well handled to the point where it defused a situation that could have plagued the game going forward, and suggested that the trail originally had a Flagrant 2 on Rondo which was knocked down to a Flagrant 1 after they reviewed the tape -- and that the penalties of a F-1 and a T were enough to put the lid on, while a Flagrant 2 might have resulted in festering hostilities (although he also correctedly noted that Dr. Glenn Rivers ripped Rondo a new one during the game delay which made it clear that the team had to avoid being drawn into incidents that could lead to ejection or disqualification.)

It was rather insightful commentary, given NBE standards,and others on the same program joined in showing appreciation for the officials work which, no matter what our prolific pontificators might think about the crew's work, struck me as quite unusual, especially in the losing city.

I wonder what Obama thought.

[btaylor64]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

I've heard the same thought expressed. I've never found it convincing. The problem with that technique is that it leaves the upset individual still able to punch you while you attempt to restrain him, but at the same time not restrain him.

Well thats the decision you have to make. You can either allow them to square off and handle everything afterwards or you can step in and try to avoid ejecting anyone by getting in there so no one throws a punch. Its totally up to your descretion, but most in the league feel like if they can get between the two and remove the "retaliator" not the "instigator" from the frey then things can calm down and order can be restored a lot quicker.

[grunewar]

I once had an evaluator/trainer tell me that if a fight breaks out in a game it's because we as officials let the game get out of control or missed something we should have caught. While I agree in principle, I told him don't believe this is an absolute. Thoughts?

[bas2456]

There are only 6 eyes to cover 10 players...no way we can see everything. Fights don't always come out of physical play. We don't have bionic ears either.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by grunewar

I once had an evaluator/trainer tell me that if a fight breaks out in a game it's because we as officials let the game get out of control or missed something we should have caught. While I agree in principle, I told him don't believe this is an absolute. Thoughts?

[Nevadaref]

To add another strange item to this series there was a scoring mistake on a basket in the first quarter (a 3pt was recorded as only a 2) which was just fixed with 5:44 remaining in the 4th quarter!