I said I was going to do work today. I don't need to write a blog for anyone. But I can only concentrate on work once I do this. I cannot stop thinking about this game.
List of People I feel bad for about the outcome of this game.
Jalen
Me
Large Gap
Precious
Duce
iHart
Thomas Thibs
Josh
Donte (even though he's okay, he doesn't care)
I had to break down why we lost this game, so I did. The NBA occasionally puts up the raw footage of the end of awesome games on YouTube, as it did here, with some notable omissions in time and game, which I need to figure out what happens in. Alas. So, to figure out why we lost this game, deep-dive with me. All the *** timestamps involve the refs.
First of all, Pop doesn't get T'd up, which I said out loud at the time, "I love that." So, I am not complaining. I am also curious about what Pop is screaming about, but I didn't look that far back in the game, so sue me.
END OF REGULATION DEEP DIVE:
With 4:43 left in the Fourth, the Knicks are down two. Duce finds Donte for a corner three. It's a great look by Duce. And you know who is really good at wide-open corner threes? The Knicks are up by one.
***4:25 => Wemby either (1) is so weak (which, legitimately, is possible) that he gets pushed over by iHart's left hand in the post or (2) feels iHart pushing him out of the paint and flops to get a call laying his hands on the wood. It is probably a combination of both, but it is undoubtedly a flop. iHart's hand doesn't have the leverage to make Wemby topple over like that, and just in general, as someone who enjoyed a good post-up, I used to do that flop all the time. The other classic flop is when you're battling for a rebound, hitting back and forth with another guy, and letting your body go limp, so on the next hit, you get knocked to the floor, and you get a call. This flop is similar to that. So, while not outcome-determining and not the worst call I have ever seen, it is a favorable call to the Spurs. Wemby goes one of two, tie game (yes, I just wrote a paragraph about one point).
4:10 Brunson hits an ethical and elite spinning banker on the right side, and the Knicks are up 2 (this one is worth watching again).
***3:50ish Spurs run the same action as before with Wemby coming across to the right block (for our purposes, right and left are from looking at the basket). iHart is less physical because of the last foul. Wemby dribbles towards the baseline, shoving iHart. Wemby gets ready to spin, iHart puts his hands on him, Josh tilts (shoutout JJ (Josh goes to double Wemby from the nail/free throw line)) and almost makes it to the ball in time by Wemby grabs it just before JOsh can get there.
iHart grabs Wemby's hip, which is a foul. Wemby then appears to travel, and the whistle is blown. The strange part comes after the first whistle, as the whistle blows three additional times as the ref, I guess, decides what to call. It just felt strange at the moment, and watching it back, it's a foul on iHart. Wemby makes both, and it's a tie game.
The YouTube clip skips until 3 minutes after this point, not for nefarious reasons.
3:40 left: Brunson is isolating on the right wing. The double team comes, Brunson splits both, and there is contact, but it seems to be equal contact by both players, and Brunson misses.
3:30 left, absolutely insane Spurs possession where maybe every Knicks player gets a deflection but can't get the ball, which ends up in a Keldon Johnson three; he misses it, and we go the other way. If this shot had gone in, it would have encapsulated this basketball game in one play.
We're back
3:00 Filthy Brunson possession, two-man game with iHart, leads to a pull-up free-throw line jumper. Knicks by two.
2:40 Wemby misses a jumper.
2:20 Brunson short on a three.
2:05 Nice Ball movement by the Spurs and Vassell (super talented player) gets a layup off a drive, tie ball game.
***2:00 Knicks run a set clearly drawn up by Thibs; you can hear him calling the set in the video, "Jalen go score, Jalen go score." This play's signature is having the four other Knicks on the right side of the floor as close to OOB as possible. Jalen crosses the shit out of Jones, misses a floater he makes in his sleep, Josh (who else) comes screaming in out of nowhere and gets the board. Keldon Johnson is fighting with Josh for this rebound and is called for a foul. To do some diligence here, it appears that Johnson shoves Josh with his right hand to go out of bounds, but I could see a Spurs fan being like "that shouldn't be called" and I think they are wrong. That should be called every time. But who am I? Just a biased writer. Josh makes both free throws, Knicks up 2.
1:30 Wemby tips a lob in (which the Spurs announcer said was played "as well as possible" by iHart), tie game.
***1:20 Jones' left hand clearly hits Brunson on the head (to be fair to Jones, big target). It's not called, and Brunson makes it anyway off the glass. I'll admit this one is closer than the one we have coming up later, but it certainly appears that Jones' left-hand hits Brunson's head before he pulls both his hands back, almost as if he knows he hit him on the head. I won't argue with you if you think this would have been a soft foul. I may even agree with you, but if a dude bops another dude on the head as he's shooting, I think it should be called. Knicks by 2.
Youtube Clip skips ahead to 30 seconds left, which is fair.
59.0 Wemby Bricks a 3.
40.0 Brunson bricks a step-back 2.
***24.0 Wemby goes across the lane right to left and throws up some shit but gets fouled. This is a foul. I believe the foul is on iHart's right arm hitting Wemby's left arm, and while it's hard to tell, the foul could have come on any of the shoves iHart gives here. I mean, there was a foul somewhere on this drive, and I'm fine with this call. iHart fouls out, Wemby makes both, tie game.
MY OWN NOTE: Thibodeau calls a timeout here which lets Pop design a defense around making sure Brunson doesn't shoot. Thomas does this . . . why? To draw up a play? To put our lights out shooter Boggi in? There was no play? Let JB cook? I love our good friend tom thibodeau, I think he's one of the best NBA coaches in the world, but I was perplexed by this decision.
Anywho Duce misses, OT
OVERTIME
4:45 Hart missed 3
4:35 Wemby missed 3.
4:20 Brunson doubled without dribbling, ends in Donte tough three, off backboard, Mitch is clearly hurt on the play.
4:10 Terrible pass by some Spur, Duce picks it off, Knicks ball.
3:50 Jalen missed lefty layup (should have made it, Wemby effect) great Wemby rebound over Mitch. Reading through this one last time and would like to note that I think Brunson missing these shots that he normally makes contributes to the frustration Knicks fans are having at this game. Like we can't blame the guy who had 61, and yet he missed a couple he normally makes, so we blame the refs. Just a thought.
***3:45 Vasell runs into Duce play. Called a block on the floor, Thibs challenges a play that is never getting overturned in this situation. I almost left it at that, but what the fuck is Duce supposed to do other than what he did in the play? Not mad, just disappointed on this one.
3:37 Tre Jones tough floater, Spurs by 2, might be the biggest shot of the game.
3:25 Brunson Doubled, Hart is open, refuses to shoot a little floater in the lane, and elects to throw it up to a hobbled Mitch (I think it's difficult to ask a different NBA player to realize Mitch is hobbled at that moment, but because Hart's value is tied to his intelligence on the floor I think that he should have known this) who misses and Johnson gets the rebound.
3:10 Donte fouls Wemby essentially intentionally.
3:05 Just a cool play, Vassell might legitimately miss an open righty layup long on purpose because he knows Mitch is behind him and if Mitch is following him, who is guarding Wemby on this rebound? Wemby tips it in, Spurs by 4.
2:50 Brunson missed step-back three, Mitch board, Wemby intentionally fouls him, one of two, spurs by 3.
***2:20 Josh does a Josh thing where he knows the ball is going to Wemby, and he just waits for it and steals the ball on the pass, leads the fast break with Brunson, who gets the ball, and the end result is an open Duce three, which he misses, but a tip in is good by Mitch. Oh wait, we have offensive interference. It was a good call, but it was a frustrating one.
***1:50 K. Johnson travels. It looks like a travel, but this is important to remember. 56 is the ref who called the travel. Keep that in mind. Weird to call a travel with 1:50 left in OT in the NBA.
***1:40 Brunson dribbles left, Jones pushes him with his left arm clearly impacting the shot and moving Brunson in the air, not called. Brunson makes it anyway. This was the one I yelled at my TV about. He clearly is riding him and shoves him to push him further towards the baseline. I want to hedge here, but I can't. This is a foul. Not called. Knicks down 1.
1:12 The stupid Wemby three. What a player. Game Over? Spurs by 4.
54.9 Brunson misses a lefty layup over help. Robinson gets the rebound and lays it up (have you noticed how many times I have said Robinson gets the board in this overtime?) Spurs by two.
***35.1 Maybe I don't know the travel rule. I'll look it up in a second, but for now, here is my take. Ever single game I have ever played basketball in if you are dribbling fall over and slide with the ball it is a travel. So anyway, if you're still reading this I know you'll be down for a traveling deep dive.
So the NBRA has a little website where they talk about traveling and the rule for sliding is
Section XIII—Traveling
(e) A player who falls to the floor while holding the ball, or while coming to a stop, may not gain an advantage by sliding.
AH HA! I'm just wrong. This isn't a travel. You're not allowed to attempt to get up, but you are allowed to slide? I think I'm right. This is after research. I still have no idea what the "advantage" is to be gained by sliding. I think this is a correct no-call. So we now reach the pinnacle.
***35.1 NBA Youtube skips over the jump ball. Mitch gets called for a violation for not allowing the ball to reach its apex. This is a rule, and one that I have been called for in a prior life. Is it annoying that it happened in this game? Yes. Is it stupid? I think so. Should it have been called? I would need to ask a neutral party that question. Did the same Referee who called a close traveling violation on Keldon Johnson make this call? Yes, ref 56 made this call. NOTABLE! No way Donaghy makes that travel call if he has Spurs Moneyline. I think this clears ref 56's name.
One major annoying thing that happens because of this call is the shot clock goes from 4.2 to 14 because it's a violation on the Knicks. So instead of getting the ball back with about 29 seconds on the game clock (assuming a miss and a defensive rebound) instead of less than 24. This is relevant bc Precious (my king and hero of the Knicks season) gets the Offensive Rebound later with 3 seconds left and freaks the fuck out.
24.2 Vassell misses a 3, it seems like Wemby touches it last but you could have reviewed that one if I'm a Spurs fan. Knicks ball down 2.
***13.0 CLEAR FOUL ON BRUNSON!!!! How do you not see that?!?! I mean, I've been trying to be impartial this entire time and . . . oh wait, it was called? We're not in the bonus? Oh fuck.
12 Brunson step-back, misses.
3 Precious, my king and hero of the Knicks season, gets the O Board and jumps in the air. Precious, my king and hero of the Knicks season, you are not Haliburton. He tries to find Donte, throws it too hard, and the Knicks lose. You'd rather him just shoot the ball, but Wemby. I also thought in real time that he had Hart under the basket, but Wemby.
Knicks lose.
That made me feel better for some reason. Jesus I just wrote two thousand words on nine minutes of an NBA game on a beautiful Saturday. Let's write some more, shall we?
So what did I learn? I do not think the refs had Spurs moneyline. The Spurs made some shots, the Knicks (Jalen) missed some shots down the stretch they usually make, and we were down by twenty in the first half. If you want to write 20 thousand words for the rest of the game, I'll read it, but I'm pretty sure something notable would have happened in these nine minutes if this were to be a rigged game. So that makes me feel better.
The Five calls you could argue went against the Knicks were:
Wemby "flop" on iHart
JB Drives and gets hit in the head with no foul call but he makes it anyway
Duce charge/block
JB Drive gets shoved in the back but he makes it anyway
Mitch jumpball violation
This nets out to about five points because the Duce block led to a floater by the Spurs (plus two Jalen and ones and Wemby free-throw), but this is not game-rigging stuff we're seeing here. A few close calls and one weird violation that never gets called, but here got correctly called. I'm less mad about the refs than I was before doing this.
Wemby is special, sure, but Jalen Brunson is too. People online talking about the 47 shots like he shot a lot in a 60-point game aren't accounting for the fact that Jalen only shot six free throws, which means in total because I believe two of them were and-ones that Jalen shot the ball 49 times . . . wait that hurts my point.
Suppose you look at all the 70 and 60-point games this year (because lord knows I'm not doing it) and count the free throw attempts. I'm sure that the actual shots attempted for those games are around Jalen's number, just with a bunch of FGA not being there because the scorer was fouled, and when you get fouled and miss the shot, it doesn't count as an attempt.
I feel terrible for Jalen. I feel awesome about tomorrow against OKC at home. I'm done; thanks for reading. I feel better.
OMBF.
Go Knicks Go.
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