After the New York Knicks stunned the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night with a furious comeback that may have been assisted by the referees swallowing their whistles, Philadelphia announced that they would be filing a grievance with the NBA over the officiating.
But, according to NBA writer Marc Stein, the 76ers decided not to follow through with that threat.
“The admissions, however, were not the result of the 76ers' widely reported plans to file a grievance with the league office about the officiating witnessed during the first two games of the series.
Reason being: Formally filing such a “grievance” is not an option for NBA teams.
The errors were listed Wednesday in the league's standard Last Two Minute Report that is circulated after any game. No such mechanism exists in the NBA's by-laws for a general team grievance to be filed over officiating matters.
The 76ers did have the right to protest the specific outcome of Monday's Game 2. One source close to the situation said Thursday that the Sixers have indeed “expressed [their] concerns to the league regarding officiating,” but I am told there was no official protest filing before the deadline of midnight on game night.
The window for filing protests is 48 hours during the regular season but is shortened to the same day during the playoffs.”
Stein goes on to explain why the 76ers likely had no chance at a successful protest.
“The league's protest process is rarely engaged and likewise rarely results in success because it does not overturn incorrect or missed calls. It was conceived to repair specific misapplications of the NBA's rules.
The NBA constitution stipulates that a protest must be filed against the result of a game in writing to Commissioner Adam Silver — within 48 hours of the final buzzer during the regular season. Games can only be protested by a team's governor, alternate governor, general manager or head coach and require a $10,000 fee that is only refundable in the event of a successful protest.”
76ers look to get back into series against Knicks
Despite being down 2-0 in the series, the 76ers have a chance to get back into the swing of things by taking care of business on their home court.
To do so, the 76ers need to continue to limit Jalen Brunson in the halfcourt, but also prevent the Knicks from getting out on the break. Philadelphia's transition defense has been below par through the first two games of this series.
The 76ers hope that Joel Embiid can battle through his knee pain in order to continue his dominance on the court. While Tyrese Maxey has been stellar for Philadelphia, the team needs both players at peak effectiveness if they hope to advance.
Game 3 between the 76ers and Knicks is set for Thursday.
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