Mavericks-Timberwolves Final Play
 

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Announcer priorities.....
 

"It's criminal."

I wouldn't mind seeing another angle before I say definite foul.

The super-slow mo at :45 shows it well enough for me and confirms the replay from behind. It was a foul. It was missed.

So the more important question is, why was it missed? I would like to think T and L were both watching this play since it was the last second shot. L may have had a better look as it looked like T stepped too far out on the court to maintain his open look and ended up staring at the backside of Marion.

T missed it because he was looking at the feet to see if it was a 3- or a 2-point shot.

Been there; done that.

Definitely. But Lead is 5 feet away and misses it. Maybe he's looking at feet too?

As a general rule when a player swipes and the ball goes down the benefit of the doubt goes to him hitting the ball.

When he swipes down like that and the ball goes up it's usually a foul.

I think it's close b/c he looks like Marion could have hit the ball and knocked it loose from Love just as he's starting his shooting motion.

But I think they probably should have had a whistle there.

Honestly, looks to me like the ball is already slapped out when the arm contact is made. The timing is close, but the L is right there, looking straight at it. I'm not convinced either way.

I'm pretty sure the the lead (Ed Malloy) just ruled that the defender contacted the hand while it was in contact with the ball.

NBA admits officials missed foul call at end of Minnesota Timberwolves-Dallas Mavericks game

This is really a perfect storm of bad angles. Trail can't see through the defender's back and Lead doesn't want to guess on action that he assumes Trail can see.

I'm still not convinced it's a foul, either, despite the PR from the league. Way to throw their officials under the bus.

Seems to me the L has a great view on the contact. In regular speed, it looks like a foul to me. In slow speed, I think otherwise.

I'm not surprised the NBA wants this called a foul, though.

I should add I appreciate Love's reaction in the clip. Just smile and move on, calls get missed. Contrast that with Tom Brady's meltdown after they lost to the Panthers on a play he admitted he didn't even see.

Also, I agree with Rich. I don't like when the league (in any sport) announces missed judgment calls.

Yeah cuz if Love does that he gets fined 100k+. Brady got nothing.

Only thing I can see for certain in the video is Marion hitting Love's hand...which is not a foul when it is in contact with the ball. He may have hit the arm, but that isn't clear from the video.

I'm not even sure why that's the rule -- cause people want a foul called even if it's just the hand hit. I wouldn't be surprised if the NBA watched the slo-mo, saw the hand hit, and said "that was a foul."

I highly doubt that.

What we need to realize is the NBA league office is privy to many more camera angles than we we're fortunate to see from the TV crews.

Marion does hit the ball/hand. Is the contact on the arm after the ball is gone or not. Hard to tell.

I think the passed not because they ruled he only struck the hand but due to the fact they were both straight lined. IMO the T can't see through Marion and the L can't see because the contact was on the other side of the ball.

If the contact on the ball is blocked by the ball, that's a good indication that it's legal contact, IMO.

Judging by the camera angles we were provided, I have no issue with a no-call here....I see nothing that would warrant the whistle, however I would be interested to see if a similiar play earlier in the game was also a no call, or if a foul was called.

I'm watching the video in HD quality. At the 0:43 mark Marion's hand is actually on the ball.

I'm saying the contact on Love's hand and/or arm is on the right side of the ball. Looks like the ball itself is blocking the L's view.

IMO after seeing the replay I think the contact was with the hand.

Fair enough. My point was that if the ball is in the way here, the contact is likely on the hand or the ball, and thus legal.

I agree with BNR on this, though, I thought the initial contact was actually on the ball. Regardless, I think a no-call is correct here.

That said, if the hiring/assigning body wants this called due to the follow-through contact on the arm, then it should be called in their games.

I agree to all points.

Minnesota Timberwolves radio call

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It's funny that radio guys think the officials are horrible for not seeing a foul, but the radio guys didn't even see that Malloy was standing right there until they saw a replay.

Their eyes are not good enough to see a 6'7" official standing next to Love in real time.

I love 0:45. D'OH ED MALLOY!!!!!!!

From the angles we have to look at, the Trail appears to be straight lined. I have no issue with the no call from the Trail. As for the Lead, I cannot see his head angle/sight line so I have no idea whether he was even looking at the play or was looking off the play. He shifts out but looks like he is blocked from seeing the side of the play where any alleged foul would have occurred. I know it is a last second play but they all have areas of coverage. Based on what we have seen, I am good with a no call here. Sight angles are critical as we all know.

I see no foul.

What I can't stand, and you see/hear it in all sports, is when announcers don't know the rule and "go off" like the official is an idiot.

What rule didn't the announcers know in this case?

My post should have quoted somebody, which would clear that up. But here goes...

Some people here, and they have a point, brought up that the shooter's hand was on the ball... thus it's not a foul. I'm not saying I agree, as the video is not conclusive to me, but the way the announcers went off about the "missed call" is annoying.

And I hear announcers getting rules wrong quite a bit, yet they present it like anybody that's ever watched the sport knows.