Will the Rockets-Warriors be defined by the officials?

Ask Olds, they'll tell you that the Warriors and Rockets ruined basketball. Golden State has formed an unbeatable top team, and Houston has created a very effective but slow attack, which some just do not like to look at. At the time, this disparity of competition never existed (except when it did), and the best teams were not that difficult to watch (except when they were). It does not matter if the super-teams have been around for decades, that the Warriors invented this list by intelligently recruiting and with smarter writing, that basketball programs evolve, as in any sport, with rule changes, or that Houston's strategy to compete with Golden State may be the solution. Solution to the grievance "no one can beat the warriors".

It does not matter these ever. Get on their lawns, and stay there all the series. Golden State and Houston will play the second round of the playoffs of the NBA. This is one of the best matches we will win in the playoffs. And for (hopefully!) Seven games, I hope these Olds will do something they have not done since the 90s: have fun. These teams do not ruin basketball, they give him a heart transplant.

But there is a way for warriors and rockets to spoil the fun: to make this series a referendum on arbitration. Both teams felt aggrieved by the referee in the first game against Houston, who lost 104-100. But the post-game reaction was much more than the usual coded words of the press conference we expect when a team has close contacts with officials. Detailed reports, months of planning, sub-networks and children's rebuttals followed. Here's an FAQ with everything you need to know about Ref Gate before the start of the second match:

What started all this?

Part of the Rockets brand laments. They have on average three run-ups on a match, six serious hands in the air and 10 cross looks. This season alone, Chris Paul has been fined for meeting with a referee; James Harden was fined for criticizing an arbitrator; P.J. Tucker was evicted for shouting after a ref. There are many more examples, including Sunday's first match.

While there was about nine seconds left and Houston lost 103-100, Harden tried a 3-pointer, which Draymond Green challenged.

At first glance, Harden blatantly lands in Green's space, though he is also advancing in his attempt to close. The NBA rules stipulate that a defender must leave a space for the shooter to "return to the ground safely." This works in Harden's favor because he jumps and lands unmistakably in different places. His selling trick – which no active player can reach to Harden's measure – is to land with his feet forward while holding his upper body slightly, creating the illusion that Harden has maintained his position .

But no whistle was given by a member of the officiating crew. Five seconds later, Paul was sent off after receiving his second technique of the game for arguing with a referee.

"Call the game as it is supposed to be called and that's all," said Harden after the defeat, "and I will live with the results.But above all we all know what happened a few years ago with Kawhi [Leonard]. It can change the whole series. Harden was referring to the opening game of the final phase of the 2017 Western Conference, during which Leonard had been injured due to an imprudent misconduct by Zaza Pachulia. Although Harden's involvement has some merit, she ignores the fact that her defenders rarely endanger Harden's landing points. It is Harden who tries to position his landing point to make a mistake. Much of Harden's game is based on the attack, and this season alone, he scored 95 fouls on 3-point attempts.

Harden's rancor on the podium also comes from what happened in camera in the middle of the match. By L & # 39; athleticsSam Amick, coach Mike D'Antoni and Harden claim that the referees approached them at half-time to admit they had missed four crazy calls on four separate 3-point shots. They were probably expecting a correction of the course, and when the match was decided by a non-call (which the "report of the last two minutes" of the NBA confirmed, that's correct), Houston decided to launch his animal project that lasts all season.

Sorry, Pet Project?

A.k.a report Morey. Amick reported on Sunday that the Rockets organization was monitoring the accuracy of the groundless calls for "long enough", analyzing the game-by-game report for every game played by Houston (the NBA will not release the reports). teams at matches). they were not involved) to determine if there were any calls to the officials, in one way or another. I have a few questions here, especially if analysts are being paid for overtime and they needed three years of FBI experience to qualify for the job.

Houston's theory – again, according to the NBA's own play-by-play data – turned out to be correct. (Surprisingly, since the team made the seventh goal in the regular season and Harden led all players with an average of 11 per game.) Crucial calls were missed. finals. Rockets lost to Warriors by nine; The report concluded that Houston deserved 18 extra points after 81 missed calls. Eighty one!

What are the warriors upset?

If the players are crazy calls that Harden draws from the perimeter, the Beard does not pay attention. Harden perfected his shimmy a long time ago, a mixture of skillful hesitation and well-soldered shoulder. Regardless, the defender never feels wronged and gets hurt after the match. Sunday was different because Harden's last shot was not a foul. So Green accepted the arbitrator's decision:

"When you land 3 feet in front of where you shoot the ball, it's really not my problem," Green said. "James has already made a mistake on a James 3 pointer before."

Golden State also felt that he deserved more rude calls, especially for Kevin Durant, who finished with 15 free throws, a top in the match.

Who made the biggest fool of himself in this saga?

Despite all the complaints of Harden and the excessive counting and obsessive line by line, Steve Kerr ended up having the worst aspect (for now, the series is young). Before responding to the Rockets' complaints at a press conference, he imitated a failure. Mature!

"In reality, you get, you lose," said Kerr, the same coach fined in 2016 for criticizing an officiating crew. "The referees do the best job possible and you move on to the next game."

What will happen next?

Do you remember the fine Harden I spoke to earlier this season? This is the result of his criticism of Scott Foster, a referee who, for Paul and Harden in particular, still seems to be at the other end of the controversy in Houston. Three of the four games Harden has played in the last three seasons have been in games Foster worked. After Harden's rant in February, the league did not place Foster in another Rockets game for the remainder of the regular season, but he happens to be working in the second game of the series.

It's not the NBA shooting in Houston; like Brian Windhorst of ESPN sharp out, the official referees are predetermined for the first four games of each series. But if Harden got up or if another rocket penetrated a blatant territory, nothing could prevent this match, and perhaps all this rivalry, from being demoted: a disappointing technical series.