Just really quick

We'll get into this more in the morning but just so people don't go to sleep blaming the wrong people, it's the officials, and not the scorer's table, that controls the starting of the game clock.

Comments

[Amanda]

So is there anything the Raptors can say to the league to get them rewarded for the win?

Blogger's note: I'm sure they'll send the tape in but I don't imagine there's any recourse.

[jk]

How about the fact that we don't have a clutch All Star franchise player? Seriously, does no one notice that Bosh never comes up big when it really counts?? How is 5 rebounds acceptable or the turnovers and inevitable choke at the end?
This is a preview of the playoffs..
When are we going to get announcers who aren't unbearable idiots??

[K.Wright]

Dougie, my only question is, who can i complain to??????

Blogger's note: I dunno. Me? The league office?

[Jas]

Forget what the Raptors say, this is straight up simple, the clock started too early and Sam called them on it. IF the league says "yes you are right" what does happen? Is there any past experience that shows what they can decide? Can both teams get a win? Does Atlanta get a loss? I'm am in desperate search of an answer, cause a win today would have meant 4 of the last 5 which is a great start to getting into Playoff form mentally..

Blogger's note: At the moment, I have no answers, sorry. Maybe tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing that can, or will, be done.

[Kevin]

Sorry Doug, but you may not be right. The official who handed in the ball should be chopping in time when TJ touches it. In Atlanta, did the score clock operator follow the ref or go on his own.
I know the clock started early. I don't know if the ref chopped in time early or if it was the table.

[Cly]

What is up with the ATL last year they costed us a win, this year they screw over the heat, and now they've done it to us again. Can we get the score keepers fired?

[Kevin]

Actually this is an easy one.

The league reviews the play. The official admits the clock started early (either due to him chopping in time early or the scorer starting the clock early). If this were to happen you don't need to replay anything you just time the play with the appropriate delay. Atlanta cannot call a time out until the ball goes through (after time expires).
The call is easy. The problem is someone has to either admit the error or a finger needs to be pointed. Does the right thing happen this time in Atlanta?

[tim]

the nba needs to do an investigation ha, doubt it, jeez
we're in 2008, sensors or something in the balls man.

[jr]

Send your complaints here.
keep it clean!

referees assosiation.

http://www.probasketballrefs.com/Contac...fault.aspx

nba league office

http://www.nba.com/webAction?actionId=s...veyId=1511

[peter brown]

Two points.

1. Clock screwup at the end of regulation. If it's true that the refs control that, could they have even done anything about it? Do the video review rules allow them to judge whether or not the clock starting early affected the play?

2. We must be good Canadians who are always polite and never want to offend anyone. Chuck and Leo are the most wimpy, milque-toast announcers in history. How about sounding like actual home team announcers? It's not your job to bend over backwards to not offend the NBA and protect the sanctity of "the product". It's your job to act as the voice and advocate of Raptor fans, objectivity be damned. Any other team's announcers would have been frothing with that clock screwup. Boston's Tommy Heinsohn? His head would have exploded!! Chuck and Leo just want to play nice with everyone. To borrow one of Chuck's stock phrases, "SHOW SOME ONIONS, BABY, ONIONS!!"

[mike]

both of those links dont work

so if the league reviews it and admits it was an error...raptors win?

[Cindy W]

I believe NBA *had* implemented video review for the dying seconds of the game?

But now that the game is said and done, and Raptors lost in OT, I'd imagine the team would file a formal complaint to the league. What are the chances that the league say "it's our (referee's) fault" *and* actually award that goal to Raptors, thus forfeiting the OT?

I wish they would, but I won't bet on it.

[GM]

It's not a "chop" that starts the clock in the NBA. As Doug said, it's the refs. They have a gizmo attached to their belts to start the clock precisely for these situations. They goofed. Normally the league just says, "oh well, mistakes happen" because it's hard to play cause and effect. But in this case, it's clear that the shot would have counted had the clock not started early. I think the Raptors have a good case, if they decide to contest it.

But what about that trey Bibby hit? Was that a coaching error in not going for the foul? It's surprising how many teams don't. Just foul before the shot attempt and they only get two shots. Simple. The danger, I guess, is that the player might still muscle up an attempt and then get three easy free throws.

And not to start the TJ/Jose thing again, because they both played decently, but the Raps had a 7-point lead when Calderon went out. Just sayin'.

[Sal Lamberti]

I've got a better question: How do the Raptors go from being up by 17 points in the third quarter against a below five hundred team to needing a last half-second shot to win?

[Soul]

Okay, the Raps got robbed. But the differential was 0.1 seconds. Refs are humans. We're all that fallible. That's not an excuse -- that's reality.

[Stephen]

Thanks Doug for being quick on the draw. I was wondering as I waited for your blog page to load, if you would do a quick post regarding this fiasco, and I'm happy that I wasn't dissapointed. Good work.

[Sally]

here are the correct links to send complaints:

Referees Association:
http://www.probasketballrefs.com/ContactUs/tabid/63/Default.aspx

NBA League Office:
http://www.nba.com/webAction?actionId=surveyInitialize&target=/email_us/email_form_041027.jsp&surveyId=1511

[Anne MacKay]

I think it is really atrocious that an error cannot be made right!!!
I don't think it matters who made the mistake! A MISTAKE was made and the Raps won.

[Adam Glatt]

The clock started between 0.1 and 0.2 seconds early. The average reaction time is 0.2 seconds in an ideal situation, and watching a guy touch a ball 60 feet away is not an ideal situation. It's unfortunate the timing guy and maybe ref erred a bit in the Hawks' favor, but the error is inherent in a human system.

The real travesty here was the disappointing performances from key Raptors players. How about the third pick in the 2007 draft playing clutch and coming through in the deciding minutes of the game, while the Raptors' first pick in the 2006 draft warmed the bench? How about Raptors players simply missing important shots in those deciding minutes? This team is a stepping stone in the playoffs.

Couldn't the Raptors have traded their 2006 #1 pick for something useful? Too late now, I suppose.

[DH]

The NBA has already had a protest upheld this year Miami and lookie here Atlanta where the scorer got the amount fouls on Shaquille wrong. So there is a chance it will be upheld. But this is the second time the Raptors have been screwed in Atlanta. Something fishy going on there.

[H to the Immo]

Help me out here. TJ was either A) amazing or B) terrible at the end of that game. On my PVR it seems that he was terrible. But televisual hindsight isn't the same as actually experiencing the thing.

[brad]

This seems like an easier decision than the Miami game. The clock started too early, the basket therefore was late. It should have counted, the game would have been over, no chance for a timeout or another shot by Atlanta.

The replay of the Miami game was dumb and I didn't think was necessary. They opened Pandora's box with that decision, and therefore have to be consistent with this game as well. They've already set the precedent, if they do something different now then they're showing bias.

[Greg Doden]

If only Rob Babcock was here... he'd set the league straight on this one.

[Phil]

Shouldnt the point be, that we never should have needed that basket to win. We should have played better and not squandered our lead. A messed up call is annoying, but the game could have, and should have been locked up before then. The finger pointing should really only go in one direction here.

[Alex H]

Regarding peter brown's second point, the fact that Chuck goes nuts with his catch phrases only when the Raptors are doing well, disproves any notion that their announcers are objective. Chuck's as much a homer as you're likely to find in Canada and it can be nauseating. Objectivity in announcers is rare and should be cherished when compared with the alternative. There's nothing worse than announcers that make a big stink over blown calls that go against their team and barely mention blown calls that favour their team. Try watching a regional American feed of a baseball game on FOX and marvel at how the same pitch can paint the corner for one team and be way outside and a bad call for the other team.