D'Antoni continues to blame officiating for last year's Game 7 loss

[elindholm]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26634745/rockets-audited-18-game-7-say-finals-bid-taken

Nothing is ever his fault.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

That is somehow not even the most exhausting attempt at a correction:

With about 8:55 left in the third quarter, Kevon Looney rebounded a Klay Thompson missed 3-pointer. As Looney went up for a putback, Gordon made some contact with him that went uncalled. Looney missed. Looney jumped to try to tip the ball in, and Harden leaped to block Looney’s shot—making some contact with Looney’s arm and upper body. Again, no call was made. The loose ball ricocheted to Curry, who passed it to Kevin Durant for an open 3-pointer which went in.

The league cited Harden’s attempted block as a potential infraction—a possible foul, but one the league could not say conclusively was a foul even upon review, according to Houston’s analysis. Houston concluded that the non-call cost them two points

https://deadspin.com/the-rockets-are-only-embarrassing-themselves-1834393282

 

[Cheesebeef]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26634745/rockets-audited-18-game-7-say-finals-bid-taken

Nothing is ever his fault.

good lord... maybe if his team didn't choke by shooting like 3 for 300 from behind the arc, they might have won that game.

He's such a freaking baby and you can see that same tightness dripping from the coach on down to the players, bitching about the officiating, letting that take the team out of their game and winding them up so much that the team is ready to explode... just like we did against the Spurs.

 

[Yuma]

Well, I can say the Saints have a LOT to bitch about. Houston, not so much.

 

[Superbone]

I think it’s smart of D’Antoni to complain about it and bring it up now. It’ll make the refs think about calling those fouls going forward. The Warriors sure got some breaks on no calls for defenders crossing over the plane and landing under the shooters feet in game one.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

I think it’s smart of D’Antoni to complain about it and bring it up now. It’ll make the refs think about calling those fouls going forward. The Warriors sure got some breaks on no calls for defenders crossing over the plane and landing under the shooters feet in game one.

So did the rockets on at least 3-4 occasions. It goes both ways.

 

[Phrazbit]

Yeah Mike, it had nothing to do with your 7 man rotations or your total inability to make adjustments, it's all because your guys were not getting fouls called on three point attempts when they jumped into the opposition.

Granted, the Warriors do the same crap (and try injure the opposition's key players on top of it) but at least they can make adjustments... use depth... and don't whine a year after the fact.

 

[Russ Smith]

The NBA has basically said we have listened to the complaint and while yes there were missed calls, we don't agree with the methodology and basic premise of your claim so that's that. The Rockets are saying they accounted for missed calls both ways but if you read how they did it they used expected poitns and all sorts of things. There's one sequence where the Rockets got away with 2 fouls according to the NBA, the net result is the ball went out to Durant who made a 3 pointer. The Rockets say the refs COST them 2 points there because if the foul was called on harden, Looney would have made 1 of 2 FT's so 1 point instead of 3. Talk about cherry picking I'm going to predict they don't account for the extra fouls on players who would have had to sit or foul out?

It is interesting I think they should win this series but what he's doing is going to possibly distract his team from winning because they're all worried about the refs?

 

[StreetTruckinTitan]

Sure a lot of people bitching about Mike again but I'd take him back a heartbeat with what weve endured with the last 7-8 coaches since he's been here. Since he's been with the rockets his team has finished 2nd, 1st, and 1st in their division and made the playoffs all three years. Terrible! Who the F wouldnt want that?

 

[Hoop Head]

I think it’s smart of D’Antoni to complain about it and bring it up now. It’ll make the refs think about calling those fouls going forward. The Warriors sure got some breaks on no calls for defenders crossing over the plane and landing under the shooters feet in game one.

It will either do what you said and put more focus on those plays or it will backfire on them, with the refs allowing the Warriors to get away with even more. Neither the league or the refs like it when teams take their grievances to the public and I can't recall an instance where a team hired independent officials to look at the game film to critique the officiating and releasing a report of how the game should have been called.

I'm sure their plan was to get refs on their side but if I was betting on how the refs respond, either by calling the Warriors for more fouls or swallowing their whistles more I'd wager on the latter. If they really hoped for something to be done they should have released the information they gathered sooner.

 

[slinslin]

There's one sequence where the Rockets got away with 2 fouls according to the NBA, the net result is the ball went out to Durant who made a 3 pointer. The Rockets say the refs COST them 2 points there because if the foul was called on harden, Looney would have made 1 of 2 FT's so 1 point instead of 3. Talk about cherry picking

Doesn't seem like cherry picking to me and is actually a valid argument.

I didn't think the missed calls on Harden's last 3 or the made 3 by Paul that lead to his first technical mistakes. In both cases I thought it was the shooter trying to get the contact.

On another instance I thought Klay clearly made contact.

I don't know what the solution is, maybe the league should simply start handing out offensive fouls when shooters create the contact and that will help keep everything in check so that when shooters are more careful about seeking the contact the refs can go back to calling the fouls on the defense.


No sympathy for either team, the refs are screwing the Suns over way more than either of those teams.

 

[Russ Smith]

Doesn't seem like cherry picking to me and is actually a valid argument.

I didn't think the missed calls on Harden's last 3 or the made 3 by Paul that lead to his first technical mistakes. In both cases I thought it was the shooter trying to get the contact.

On another instance I thought Klay clearly made contact.

I don't know what the solution is, maybe the league should simply start handing out offensive fouls when shooters create the contact and that will help keep everything in check so that when shooters are more careful about seeking the contact the refs can go back to calling the fouls on the defense.


No sympathy for either team, the refs are screwing the Suns over way more than either of those teams.

Because if you read the report it says "potential infraction", it doesn't say Gordon clearly fouled Looney no call, harden clearly fouled Looney no foul, 3 pointer Durant. So the Rockets are cherry picking, if Durant missed that 3 I strongly suspect the Rockets would not have said we actually gained 1 point there because of the 2 no calls on the fouls of Looney. They only want to say they lost 2 points because Durant made the shot. That's actually precisely what the NBA said in response, we don't agree with your methodology in part because you don't understand ours. That is just because it says potential infraction does not mean they're saying we missed the call that was a foul, if that's the case they clearly say missed call. It's just like the 2 minute reports, they just extended it for a full game.

The Rockets are cherry picking. they would have a much stronger case if they hadn't missed 27 straight 3's in that game. They lost because Paul got hurt and because Ariza and Harden had terrible shooting games, not because they weren't getting fouls called when they fouled Looney.

I think the league needs to start retroactively fining when players flop and possibly issue T's. If the players get suspended after 7 T's and there's a threat that everytime Harden flops where it's a potentially dangerous one, then maybe he won't flop as much.

 

[Covert Rain]

This is classic D'Antoni. The team missed what 27 consecutive 3's in a row? That's why they lost. Not any missed calls. Remember all the games where D'Antoni failed to make adjustments? Remember all the times that he would go to the same play over and over with Nash at the top of the key even if it didn't work over and over again?

D'Antoni's philosophy has always been that his style of play can bend the other team. The guy was a horrible X's and O's guy because even if he had a good game plan he simply sucked at in game adjustments.

He was great at playing checkers but sucked at chess.

 

[Hoop Head]

Sure a lot of people bitching about Mike again but I'd take him back a heartbeat with what weve endured with the last 7-8 coaches since he's been here. Since he's been with the rockets his team has finished 2nd, 1st, and 1st in their division and made the playoffs all three years. Terrible! Who the F wouldnt want that?

This isn't his first job since leaving Phoenix. Look what he did in New York and Los Angeles. Who knows what he would do with the Suns if he was hired in place of Watson 3 years ago. What's clear is that we didn't have a potential MVP for him to rely on at that time and we also had 2 players who he couldn't get any production out of this year in Knight and Chriss. I don't think he's a horrible coach but I don't think he's some sort of coaching genius that is capable of turning around any team.

History says that he needs an MVP level guard to run his offense and at that time we had Bledsoe, who is not the sort of PG that flourishes in D'Antoni's offense. I don't know how many times I heard both Hornacek and Watson talk about needing to push the ball and run more but never saw Bledsoe actually do that for more than a possession here and there when he thought he could score an easy transition basket himself. He definitely didn't run to dish it to someone else, which is the primary job of a PG in D'Antoni's 7SOL system. Booker was nowhere near ready to run PG at that time either so he wasn't the answer either. Who knows how far along he'd be if D'Antoni was hired back then since D'Antoni doesn't believe it's his job to develop rookies. I think his shooting would have gotten him playing time but I don't think he'd be the player we see today.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Look up cherry picking in a dictionary and you will see a copy of that Rockets report.

It is utterly pathetic and silly and shows what a loser mentality the Rockets have. Here is a better idea, focus on the current 2019 playoff games. The team missed 33 three point attempts in game one...33! I am sure if they would've driven to the hoop or set their centers up for shots in the paint on 10 of those 33 attempts, they likely score 6 more points and win the game.

If your entire game plan (D'Anonti) or getting to the line (Harden) is contingent upon getting foul calls you are playing a loser's hand. At best the strategy has a 50/50 chance of working in a perfect setting, but factor in human error, angles, pace of game, etc. it's likely more of a 25/75 proposition. Adjust, take better shots and stop acting.

 

[SirStefan32]

I always think that I really dislike Warriors and that they are the biggest bunch of crybabies until they play the Rockets.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Another point, if the NBA followed James Harden's guidelines about "calling the game the way it is supposed to be called..." Chris Paul would be sitting out with at least a one game suspension for , " aggressively confronting and recklessly making contact with an official."

 

[Russ Smith]

Look up cherry picking in a dictionary and you will see a copy of that Rockets report.

It is utterly pathetic and silly and shows what a loser mentality the Rockets have. Here is a better idea, focus on the current 2019 playoff games. The team missed 33 three point attempts in game one...33! I am sure if they would've driven to the hoop or set their centers up for shots in the paint on 10 of those 33 attempts, they likely score 6 more points and win the game.

If your entire game plan (D'Anonti) or getting to the line (Harden) is contingent upon getting foul calls you are playing a loser's hand. At best the strategy has a 50/50 chance of working in a perfect setting, but factor in human error, angles, pace of game, etc. it's likely more of a 25/75 proposition. Adjust, take better shots and stop acting.

The big concern to me is we're one game in and already whoever wins this series people are going to be complaining about refs. I guarantee if the Warriors lose someone is going to say it's because Harden and D'Antoni complained. If the Warriors win someone is going to say the refs were punishing Houston for complaining.

It's why i hate all the flopping.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

The big concern to me is we're one game in and already whoever wins this series people are going to be complaining about refs. I guarantee if the Warriors lose someone is going to say it's because Harden and D'Antoni complained. If the Warriors win someone is going to say the refs were punishing Houston for complaining.

It's why i hate all the flopping.

I 100% guarantee the Rockets vert first shot of the game will Harden shooting his floppy three...

 

[JustWinBaby]

Sure a lot of people bitching about Mike again but I'd take him back a heartbeat with what weve endured with the last 7-8 coaches since he's been here. Since he's been with the rockets his team has finished 2nd, 1st, and 1st in their division and made the playoffs all three years. Terrible! Who the F wouldnt want that?

Thank you.

The morons on this board always seem to pick on D'Antoni whenever he says or does anything. I thought they were happy he was run out of town by Kerr. Why even comment on him? He is not our coach. Rocket fans love him.

Most of them think Koko got fired too soon. This is after winning 19 freaking games with little or no connection with the players.

The Rockets are fun to watch they play hard, they play defense and they share the ball. Kerr is the bitch in this picture. Somehow they loved Steve Kerr as our GM, yeah Steve Freaking Kerr who decimated our roster so that Mike only had at most 7 legit NBA players on the roster when we matched up to win championships. If we had Bob Meyers or Morey as our GM in the day. I expect the results would have been far better.

 

[Covert Rain]

Thank you.

The morons on this board always seem to pick on D'Antoni whenever he says or does anything. I thought they were happy he was run out of town by Kerr. Why even comment on him? He is not our coach. Rocket fans love him.

Most of them think Koko got fired too soon. This is after winning 19 freaking games with little or no connection with the players.

The Rockets are fun to watch they play hard, they play defense and they share the ball. Kerr is the bitch in this picture. Somehow they loved Steve Kerr as our GM who yeah Steve Freaking Kerr who decimated our roster so that Mike only had at most 7 legit NBA players on the roster when we matched up to win championships. If we had Bob Meyers or Morey as our GM in the day. I expect the results would have been far better.

Who you calling a moron!? Did you even read what people said which can historically be proven facts or did you go into instant defense mode like he has naked pictures of you tucked away!?!?

 

[Russ Smith]

I sure hope they show the pre game interaction between Kerr and Harden again. Last game Kerr told him Arizona is better than ASU. Kerr at a presser I think yesterday "flopped" into a reporter and then joked she fouled him.

The other day he was asked if he'd ever seen a player have a better scoring run in the playoffs than the one Durant was on and he said "Michael something or other, i can't remember the last name but he was pretty good too."


I don't think he's a great coach, better than Jackson but not great, but you gotta love the guys personality, sense of humor etc. And he's not afraid to poke the bear either, there are coaches who wouldn't do the flop thing because they don't want to anger Harden and he goes for 50, I think kerr said it best in the first game. That guys the MVP last season, might win it again, no matter who guards him he's going to get at least 30 tonight, just don't make it easy on him, make him make contested shots, you know he'll take them make him make them don't give it to him.

 

[Hoop Head]

Thank you.

The morons on this board always seem to pick on D'Antoni whenever he says or does anything. I thought they were happy he was run out of town by Kerr. Why even comment on him? He is not our coach. Rocket fans love him.

Most of them think Koko got fired too soon. This is after winning 19 freaking games with little or no connection with the players.

The Rockets are fun to watch they play hard, they play defense and they share the ball. Kerr is the bitch in this picture. Somehow they loved Steve Kerr as our GM, yeah Steve Freaking Kerr who decimated our roster so that Mike only had at most 7 legit NBA players on the roster when we matched up to win championships. If we had Bob Meyers or Morey as our GM in the day. I expect the results would have been far better.

Let's see how Rockets fans feel about D'Antoni when he fails to make adjustments in this series and the Rockets get sent home early, again.

I'm sure you'll ignore that like you do reality because your whole post is filled with such revisionist garbage that it's not even funny. Almost everything you wrote is wrong.

You ignore that D'Antoni was GM here, no one ran him out of Phoenix, he still runs a 7 1/2 man rotation in Houston, and he can't win without an MVP guard he can run into the ground in a quest to win 50 some odd regular season games and fade when games matter in May.

 

[AzStevenCal]

The big concern to me is we're one game in and already whoever wins this series people are going to be complaining about refs. I guarantee if the Warriors lose someone is going to say it's because Harden and D'Antoni complained. If the Warriors win someone is going to say the refs were punishing Houston for complaining.

It's why i hate all the flopping.

The league has a real problem and I just don't think Adam Silver has the strength/power to do anything about it.

I was watching The Jump today and they were all talking about Scott Foster and his unwillingness to let players talk to him. Paul Pierce agreed wholeheartedly and he said something like "the Captains and the superstars have to be able to have conversations with the refs and Scott won't cooperate". Since when did it get that far, that the players not only know they can get away with it but actually believe it's the stars right to bitch non-stop?

I've said it many times but the league has to get tough on all forms of ref baiting and referee disrespect. The Players Association has too much power to come down on the individual players as necessary so take them out of the picture. Heavily fine the organization each time a post game review indicates it's happened (whether it's a player or a coach). Increase it (double it each time) so that by the time a team has been hit a half dozen times, the fine will be so prohibitive that teams will start benching their players (or firing their coaches) if they don't shut up and start playing or coaching basketball.

Give every penny of these fines to NBA supported charities except for whatever funds they need to start a program designed to teach our youth the proper way to conduct themselves during a game. It's embarrassing the message they are sending around the world and to every age group. And it seems like it's getting worse each season. Now get the hell off my lawn!