Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals series between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets has been marred by controversy, as officiating was once again heavily criticized for determining the outcome of the contest.
The Rockets protested for the missed calls, even pointing out that the NBA referees heavily favored the Warriors in Game 1. Houston has been determined to prove this claim ever since the ending of the Western Conference Finals last year, during which they lost to Golden State. In addition, the NBA's L2M report showed that there were three incorrect calls in the last two minutes of Game 1, all going against the Rockets.
There are already speculations about changes in terms of officiating in Game 2. In an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, Warriors center Andrew Bogut said that he expects more fouls to be called in the next game.
“I think it will be very, very tight, and I think there’s gonna be a lot of fouls called, and I think the game will go for about five hours probably. “So that’s kind of my prediction. A lot of pressure from you guys in the media, a lot of pressure from around the NBA, I see Daryl Morey commenting, Mark Cuban, a lot of people are commenting. And the league’s gonna see it, and I think both teams will probably be in the bonus in the first three or four minutes of the first quarter.”
Andrew Bogut seems to be joking here, but he has a good point. When the issue about officiating is magnified, especially in the playoffs, the league will certainly look into it and decide if changes should be made. The NBA won't favor anyone though, even if the Rockets have been telling them about these anomalies for almost an entire year.
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