The Houston Rockets have some more ammunition for their years-long accusations that NBA officials are working against them.
The final 24 seconds of the fourth quarter in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 119-107 victory over the Rockets on Saturday at the Oklahoma City Thunder were as controversial as they were exciting. When Houston led by a point, James Harden and Chris Paul were put together before the ball was bound, and after the review determined that the foul was on Paul, Harden sent to the line for one free throw and the Rockets retained possession.
However, the next game is where the controversy lies. There was another tussle for the incoming pass, this time between Rockets guard Eric Gordon and Thunder guard Dennis Schroder. Both tumbled to the ground while PJ Tucker’s pass ran unintentionally.
No foul was called, resulting in an OKC possession that led to a go-ahead 3-pointer by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Rockets closed out the game and forced overtime, but were blitzed after Harden grabbed his sixth foul in less than a minute in extra time.
On Sunday, the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report ruled that there must have been a foul call over Schroder, that the Rockets would have thrown one free throw and given the ball outside bounds:
“Schroder (OKC) wraps his right arm over the front of Gordon’s body (HOU), which escapes him as he enters.”
Yeesh. When Gordon made the free throw, the Rockets were two with the ball up and left 24 seconds, putting them in a very good position to win the game in regulation and take a 3-0 lead in the series. Instead, they lost in supremacy, and the Thunder have new life behind 2-1.
“I hate to talk about it myself. Because as strong as I am, no one will throw me to the ground,” Gordon said when told of the verdict, via Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “Just had to keep going.”
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has focused in the past on the NBA setting up the Rockets. According to a report by Sam Amick and Kelly Iko of The Athletic, Morey and the Rockets made a formal, data-driven case after the league over their rival Golden State Warriors who are preferred by officials, especially in the 2018 Western Conference finals. Fan The Athletic:
And after the Rockets went through each line, matching all the missed calls for each team and adding the possible points lost along the way, it was not nice: The Rockets, according to the sources, had a bilingual point deficit in six of the seven games (and a small edge in Game 2). In all, sources say, they were damaged to the tune of 93 points. Game 7 was the worst, according to research, with the report released by the league indicating that they should have 18 more points. More specifically, two of the 27 consecutive missed 3-pointers who served them were judged to have missed foul calls.
According to the report, the Rockets also provided evidence that the more experienced officials of the league were less likely to make mistakes when a defender intruded on the landing space of a 3-point shooter, the so-called “Zaza Pachulia rule. “
For what it’s worth, Harden has led the NBA in free throw attempts in seven of the last eight seasons. However, since joining the Rockets in 2012, he has seen his free throw attempts drop from 10.4 per game in the regular season to 9.4 per game in the playoffs. During the 2018 contested playoffs, Harden averaged 7.8 free throw attempts per game.
Every team has conversations against them, and it’s sad when it happens, but that does not necessarily mean that the league has a vendetta against you. In court, the Rockets complain after just about every call or non-call, so it’s not much of a surprise that things have escalated to the level of collusion.
If they continue to lose this series to the Thunder, you better believe that Morey has something to say about it.
