To me, the fact that the ref made zero effort to get out of the way of the play was just as horrific of a referee mistake as an incorrect call would have been.
I'd like to see the video evidence that it hit him. Maybe I've missed it but I see nothing even close.
I saw 1 view where it looked like it hit him pretty clearly. Whats weird is the ref should have immediately made a call when it did, and there shouldn't have been a replay. Then, they should have been clear when they made the announcement that it hit the official out of bounds. All in all it was a poor job by the refs, even if it was the right call.
Don’t know how many times I yelled “move the ball” to my unsuspecting tv. The ball was sticking and too much 1 on 1. But oh well.
He blew the whistle well after Royce threw it.
To me it sounds like something they would say if they were looking for a reason to not change the call. That would also explain why they were hesitant to clearly explain it.
I’m still confused why he made zero attempt to move just a little.
It can be about Mitchell's performance AND the calls.
Exactly this. We suffered bad officiating in 97-98 and Dick Bavetta actually apologized for it later. This game for me called back those memories.
I feel like lately he's been taking more and more of the midrange shots. And these aren't late shot clock bail-out situations - they're early in possessions.
