NBA Finals: Frank Vogel sweeps umpiring after Lakers lost Game 5

Before the Lakers lost Game 5 of the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat, head coach Frank Vogel was asked if he had ever ended up buying coffee from Jimmy Butler, who sells $ 20 mugs of his own personal brand. “Big Face Coffee”. in the NBA bubble.

Vogel had previously admitted that Butler had tried to sell him a mug, but Vogel never followed up, saying he didn’t want to buy coffee from a potential opponent. He also wanted to save money.

“$ 20 is a lot for a cup of coffee,” Vogel said.

It is clear, however, that Vogel was feeling much less frugal after the Lakers lost Game 5, because his spiel about umpiring at the end of his team’s 111-108 loss is sure to cost him a lot more than $ 20.

“It is a tough defeat. No doubt about it. We were very close. I felt like two bad decisions at the end put Butler on the line, ”Vogel said. “That is unfortunate in a game of this magnitude.”

Vogel’s complaints were about two of the last plays of the game. With 46 seconds left, Anthony Davis fouled Butler at the basket. Then, after Davis responded with a bucket at the other end, Butler was sent back to the line when Markieff Morris was fouled at the rim with 16 seconds remaining. Butler made all four free throws, giving the Heat a 1-point lead in final possession for the Lakers.

The Lakers still had a chance to win the game – a missed three by Danny Green and a horrible loss by Markieff Morris on offensive rebound ensured they wouldn’t, but in one game they lost by three points with a title on the line, Vogel didn’t. I was happy.

“They gave them four free throws and they gave us an uphill battle. Very disappointed with that aspect of the game, ”Vogel said.

LeBron James didn’t go that far, and he’ll probably save some money as a result, but he wasn’t happy either.

“I thought AD made a great play at the basket. I felt like I was chest to chest with Jimmy, which made him change the trajectory of his shot and the decision didn’t go the way we wanted, ”James said. “At the time, I think it was a difficult decision, but they made the decision.

“We still had a chance to win. But we feel like with AD, and with him on the rim and him fighting things like that, we could have (gone) our way. But it was not like that “.

Did the Lakers have a point? Kind of. Ironically, the play they seemed most upset about, the foul on Davis, actually appears to be the most obvious violation. Yes, Davis had his hands up on Butler’s drive, but he’s clearly not moving up when contact is made.

Now, is it a difficult decision in such a close game? For sure. But by the letter of the law, it’s a foul, so it’s hard to believe Vogel is going to find a receptive audience with the league office. Even if he called the play “perfect verticality,” you should know from his Roy Hibbert and Indiana Pacers days that it wasn’t.

On the second play, Vogel said Morris “had his hands on the ball” and that an explosive play at the rim like that “should be a play.” In this case, you are somewhat correct, as this may very well not be a fault. If so, it is not much of one.

If you take a screenshot here, does Morris appears to touch the ball before Butler’s arm, but he’s close, and in real time it’s a somewhat understandable mistake by the referees.

However, in the end, refereeing is not what matters here, at least not for this game. The Lakers still had a chance to win and they blew it. That is up to them, not the referees.

What could make a difference here is the method by which Vogel let the league know he was unhappy. After each game, the Lakers, and all other teams, send calls that they disagree with from the previous contest to the league office, who then reviews the tape and sees if they need to point anything out to their officials. Vogel has referenced these “proper channels” once already in the playoffs, and once earlier in the regular season, when he was disgusted with umpiring.

“I’ll just leave it like that and keep my money,” Vogel said the first time he mentioned them.

But, evidently, Vogel has stopped saving, making his concerns public in a Phil Jackson-style attempt to sway umpires before a crucial Game 6 of the NBA Finals. It’s going to be significantly more expensive than a cup of Big Face Coffee, but it could also offer Vogel a lot more for his money if the Lakers get a couple of extra calls next game.

Either way, Vogel is confident his team can bounce back and he won’t let a game he felt was taken from them (in part) keep them from closing this series on Sunday.

“Our group is fine. We will recover strong. We’ll do better in Game 6, ”Vogel said. “We have to play better during the 48 minutes leading up to that last minute.”

If they do, perhaps the Lakers can take the bottom line of the game out of the umpires’ hands entirely.

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