On Christmas Day last year, the Warriors lost to the Cavaliers by a point after Kevin Durant failed to get a good last-second shot up off an inbounds play gone awry. In the aftermath, he noted that defender Richard Jefferson should have been called for a foul as he curled from the baseline to accept the pass, with the ensuing trip forcing him to stumble to the floor. “I was trying to make a move,” he argued. “I didn’t fall on my own.” And, as things turned out, he was right; in its Last Two Minute Report, then issued whenever scores are within five points of each other at the specific point of a given match, the National Basketball Association disclosed that the “foot-to-foot contact” he illegally absorbed affected his “SQBR,” defined as “Speed, Quickness, Balance, Rhythm.”
On Christmas Day this year, the Cavaliers lost to the Warriors by nine after LeBron James twice failed to score on Durant after drives gone awry in the crunch. In the aftermath, he noted that the reigning Finals Most Valuable Player should have been called for fouls as he made his way to the rim. With a minute and 12 seconds left in the match, he lost the ball as he was being hip-checked. And with a 25 and six-tenths seconds left, he again turned the ball over after an attempted dunk was foiled by an armbar. In both situations, the deficit was three points. The second case, though, was far more damaging; with time running out, the wine and gold were forced to foul and essentially gift Klay Thompson, an 88% free-throw shooter, with two points in order to regain possession.
Needless to say, Durant contended that he simply played great defense. “It felt clean,” he insisted. “That ain’t no foul.” Well, the NBA has begged to disagree. In its Last Two Minute Report, issued under a revised rule that now requires scores to be within three points of each other anytime inside the specific point of a given match, it acknowledged that he committed personals in both plays, and twice in the pivotal instance. Not that the admission of the mistakes will change the outcome; on the contrary, all it does for the Cavaliers, and particularly for James, is rub salt on open wounds.
Parenthetically, the Warriors will say, with reason, that referees will not always get calls — or non-calls — right. They will add, again with reason, that other more important factors contributed to the final tally. Nonetheless, there can be no disputing the value of continuous improvement, thus underscoring the very purpose of the Last Two Minute report. There can also be no underestimating the motivational worth of seemingly undeserved turns of events. And for fans, the good news is that the wait for the rematch won’t be long; how much the Cavaliers are amped will be seen in two weeks. The Q will be rocking, and the rivalry that keeps on giving should prove its generosity anew.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.
