It would be like blaming your dog for eating your homework, but instead of the teacher calling you out on your astonishingly unoriginal bologna, s/he decided you would be best served being told that your favorite uncle will see the electric chair as a result of your lies.
Does any of that make sense? Of course not. Neither did the end of Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, as some weird officiating down the stretch resulted in much hoopla the day after.
Basically, people want to know — specifically, those within the Cavs fandom bubble — if a certain block/charge/replay call cost LeBron James and company a pivotal road game to start the rematch of a rematch of a rematch.
Initially ruled a charge, following the refs viewing the replay, the call was overturned like some misguided NFL “what is a catch” decision on a Sunday afternoon in September.
Semantics out of the way first: Did that single play cost the Cavs Game 1? Not alone. J.R. Smith had a gaffe for the ages, there are so many possessions in each basketball game that singling out one play as the deciding factor is honestly comical, and there were still 36 seconds left on the clock when the entire debacle was over.
If you want to blame one play, by way of the officials, for costing Cleveland the game, that's fine. Just know that you're removing all other context — as well as every other play in the game — out of the situation, eliminating the countless variables that help decide which team comes out the winner.
There is umbrage to be taken here, though. Not with how it might have cost the Cavs the game, but with the overall quality of the officiating, coupled with replays eating up large chunks of time, ruining the viewing experience.
Everyone wants the games to be called as accurately as possible. Or, more accurately, at least that is what many claim. But all NBA fans want, those outside rooting interests in either Cleveland or Golden State, is an entertaining television product to consume.
Believe it or not, while disguised as a sporting competition, people watch the NBA not only for marvelous acts of athleticism, but for the big event feel — the overall vibe of viewing an unscripted, live television program. It is little different than turning on USA's Wednesday night science-fiction drama Colony, but instead of seeing the Bowman family battle aliens, we witness LeBron James attempt to take down the greatest roster ever constructed.
Oddly enough, despite having replays take the free-flowing experience away from viewers, this added layer of shenanigans only adds to the entire event. Sure, Game 1 ended in a strange and somewhat dissatisfying fashion, but now there's ‘even more' to our NBA television show.
A subplot to the main plot has been added. It was already James chasing the ghost of Michael Jordan and the Warriors attempting to lay another brick to their dynasty-foundation. But now, woo-whee, there's conversations that border on conspiracy theories, with some arguing the NBA is rigged while others swearing the refs ruined everything.
The officials did, to a tiny degree, but no soul trotting about the planet who already watches basketball will now tune in to watch Cop Rock instead. Also, RIP, Cop Rock. You came before your time. Everyone's time, really. In fact, you should have never had a time.
I'd apologize, but we should all suffer together. Eh, I digress…
Was it the wrong call? Should it have remained a charge instead of a block? I would argue, well, yes. LeBron James got there first, and while he did lean toward Kevin Durant, he appeared to have position to justify a charge being called — though, I much prefer a no-call in a situation where any would result in all the tomfoolery that's already unfolding.
None of that matters, however. It just doesn't. We can complain, write 1,000 word think-pieces about the great injustice that was the block call, and/or write our state representatives — the outcome of Game 1 of the NBA Finals is written in stone.
To continue to worry about such a thing would be like attempting to argue over other historical facts. You or I might disagree with whatever we learned about science, especially if it goes against our ideals or belief systems, but you'd have a better chance of winning a staring battle with the sun than proving an actual fact to be a falsehood.
Like it or not, right or wrong, that call will forever go down as a block. Talking about it for days or weeks won't alter that part of history, even if it is wrong in terms of what actually happened.
That's correct. Thanks to late-game replays, as well as some letter-of-the-law refs, the incorrect call has become the historically factual one. Admittedly it stinks, but just insert a giant shoulder shrug emoji here, because if you're losing sleep over that, as opposed to simply enjoying the entertainment, you might be living life wrong.
Anyway, in a few decades, all anyone will remember about this game is LeBron's beastly performance and J.R. Smith having the wherewithal of a hamster on cocaine. Lots and lots of cocaine. Otherwise, all in all, that was a fun Game 1 and great start to the 2018 NBA Finals.
Hooray, J.R. Smith, hamsters, and cocaine… or something. Likely something, but we need not worry about semantics.
Follow Us
Subscribe