Tsk, Tsk, Joey
The Vic Mackey of NBA officials (main character on FX’s ‘The Shield’), Joey Crawford, has been suspended indefinetly for his role in the ejection of Tim Duncan during the Spurs-Mavericks game this past weekend.
Of course, I was watching, and as a somewhat-biased observer, I could not believe the outcome. Throughout the years, I have seen Tim Duncan complain far worse than what he did this weekend (and, honestly, Timmy complains a lot). The ejection was completely uncalled for, and I even thought the first technical (and even the ticky-tack offensive foul) seemed absurd. Look, Joey has always had a quick draw on his technicals. I could not stand watching him officiate games, but actually feel like Steve Javey is a worse official.
The real problem was that Joey completely interfered with what was one of the best games of the late NBA season. With so many writers and media personnel attacking the NBA for the tanking by bad teams, the Spurs-Mavericks game was awesome to watch. Both teams were playing hard-nosed defense, but the crisp ball movement in the offensive sets were still leaving players with solid looks. And, unlike the dregs of the NBDL (they are still talented, but haven’t quite gotten a hold on the NBA game yet) that have been playing for the Bucks, Celtics and Hawks in recent weeks, the Spurs and Mavs were knocking down their shots. Both teams were shooting 51% through three quarters, yet both teams lead the NBA in team defense. It was awesome to watch. Then Joey’s whistle got in the way, and soured the game a little bit. You could predict what was going to happen from the ejection to the end. Without Duncan, the Spurs gave up a little too much to the Mavericks, resulting in the Mavs closing out the fourth quarter (with Dirk on the court, despite Avery Johnson’s pre-game plan to rest the starters). The game was still great, but I feel that we got robbed a little bit in the end.
Oh well, it looks like we won’t be hearing the quick T whistle from Joey this postseason, which means Don Nelson can rest easy. I’m just guessing here, but I think Nelly probably got more technicals from Joey Crawford than any other coach in the recent NBA history. Now if Golden State could only handle the Mavs in the first round.
Sidebar: I will post something later on this week that has my thoughts on tanking games. I am also working on an article discussing why Kobe Bryant CANNOT be the MVP this season, despite his amazing production late in the season. So stay tuned. For now, I will relish in the fact that I got my first ‘win’ today as a civil defense attorney. (Note: typing while patting yourself on the back is quite time consuming.)
