Is the worst team in the NBA being choked by referees? It seems that Monty Williams criticized everyone and everything in vain
Nikita Biryukov February 28, 2024, 13:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Did you think the issue with Detroit and New York was closed?
Just yesterday the National Basketball Association regular season game between the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons ended. The end of the match was very controversial due to a controversial referee decision. So what happened? Who’s right, who’s wrong, and how did Detroit ultimately impact the NBA?
NBA – regular season
Tuesday, February 27, 2024. 03:30 Moscow time
The New York Knicks
NY
Detroit Pistons
detroit
New York Knicks: Brunson – 35, Hart – 23, DiVincenzo – 21, Bogdanovic – 13, Burks – 7, Hartenstein – 6, Achiuwa – 4, McBride – 2, Sims – 2, Toppin, Brown, Jeffries
Detroit Pistons: Cunningham – 32, Ivey – 14, Grims – 14, Fontecchio – 12, Duren – 11, Flynn – 8, Thompson – 7, Fournier – 7, Wiseman – 4, Evbuomwan – 2, Milton, Brown, Stewart, Muscala
The game between the Knicks and Pistons will be remembered by everyone for the refereeing error at the end of the match. Detroit led with a score of 111:110 and contained the rival’s attack. The newly arrived guest Osar Thompson intercepted the ball, but the home team’s offensive defender Donte DiVincenzo decided to block the Pistons player’s path with his body. The judges did not react in any way to the episode and the game continued. New York took advantage of the opportunity to go from defense to offense and Josh Hart converted a two-point shot with a foul.
A little about the match:
Video
A dramatic end to an NBA game in which the referees themselves admitted having made a mistake.
This was the end of the Pistons’ story. Pistons head coach Monty Williams immediately criticized the referees.
Monty Williams
head coach of the Detroit Pistons, currently the highest-paid coach in the NBA
“Absolutely the worst refereeing decision of the season. We did everything right: we called the league and sent a video. We are tired of hearing the same things over and over again. We had the opportunity to win the game. There was a fall at Osaru’s feet. And it is an abomination to leave it without a whistle. You can not lose this. Spot. I’m tired of talking about it, tired of explaining to our guys who ask me, “What else can we do, coach?” “This situation is an example of what we have faced all season.”
The refereeing team that worked on this match then admitted that they had made a mistake. In his opinion, Thompson first took control of the ball and then DiVincenzo committed a foul. But what is the problem in the end? The fact is that the NBA, after such a scandalous and controversial game, immediately announced an innovation. From now on, each league match will have a report of the last two minutes of the match. To avoid misinterpretations of moments and, in general, incidents of this type in the future. In the report of the Knicks game against the Pistons, there were many things hidden from attention.
The video can be seen on Chaz NBA’s YouTube channel. Video rights belong to NBA MEDIA VENTURES, LLC.
First, with 58 seconds left in the game, Pistons big man Jaylen Duren violated the rules by grabbing the wrist of Knicks player Isaiah Hartenstein. Then Detroit took possession of the ball, a mistake in favor of the Pistons. After that, 25 seconds before the final siren, the referees whistled for Düren again. This time, the Pistons basketball player violated the three-second rule in the paint, since he was not actively defending the opponent. Another error in favor of the visiting team. So New York could have taken advantage of those opportunities, and the score probably could have been completely different without the controversial Thompson-DiVincenzo play.
Detroit filed an official complaint with the NBA management demanding a replay of the game with New York. Any team in the league can file a protest against the referees’ work, and to do so they must pay $10,000. At the same time, in the last 40 years in the NBA, only one team has managed to force a replay, so the chances of the Pistons playing a replay against the Knicks are extremely small.
Not only Detroit suffered, but also Marco Piemonte, who is quite famous in the gambling world and likes to spend a lot of money. This time the American bet $90,000 on the Pistons’ victory in the game against the Knicks and could have won $810,000, but fate decreed otherwise. It must be very disappointing to lose such sums of money due to an incorrect refereeing decision, right?
Marco Piemonte’s fee
Photo: screenshot
Detroit, along with head coach Williams, blamed the league and everyone around them for their atrocious treatment, but they also received plenty of catcalls in their favor that could have given New York a several-point lead. The job of judges is an extremely difficult burden that only a few can handle. There is something to criticize in this case, and the two-minute report showed in black and white how many mistakes people made. The NBA will need to draw conclusions and improve the quality of the referees’ work, since the result depends on them, just like the players.
