The Last Two Minute Report has turned four, and still it continues to be a bone of contention for National Basketball Association stakeholders. Conceived by the commissioner’s office as a means to promote regulation transparency and fan engagement, the review process that generates it is automatically triggered when scores are within three points of each other at any instance during the last two minutes — or, when applicable, overtime — of a given match. Unfortunately, the rules are so complex and contact between players occurs so often that determination of whether one is legal or not becomes subject and susceptible to bias. It’s why even the application of hindsight gets to be debated.
Considering how hotly contested the Warriors-Timberwolves tiff the other day was, not a few quarters looked forward to the L2M Report’s conclusions regarding two calls that affected the outcome. The first involved a foul on Keita Bates-Diop that was deemed committed prior to the act of shooting, this nullifying Kevin Durant’s three-point basket. Needless to say, the decision of referee Marat Kogut drew consternation from the blue and yellow, seeing as how the two-time Finals Most Valuable Player appeared to have taken the pass and released the ball in one fluid motion. The second was a push by the latter that official Leon Wood cited to send Karl-Anthony Towns to the line, with the ensuing free throw settling the set-to; the counter-argument noted that it should have been a non-call since the inbounds pass to the center was errant in the first place.
In the aftermath, the Warriors let loose a barrage of criticisms against the men in gray. Both Durant and Steph Curry pointed to Kogut as “the best player on the floor tonight,” and to Wood’s whistle as “a soft foul that should never have been called to decide the game like that.” From the vantage point of those behind the L2M Report, however, both calls were right. To quote: “Bates-Diop (MIN) places two hands on Durant (GSW) and makes contact with him prior to the start of his upward shooting motion.” Additionally: “Durant (GSW) wraps Towns (MIN) around the waist and engages with him, restricting his Freedom of Movement. The path of the throw-in has no bearing on the illegal action.”
In other words, the Warriors were wrong — which, in retrospect, makes all the criticisms they heaped upon the arbiters during and after the contest not only misplaced but downright disrespectful. Even as the L2M Report isn’t likely to disabuse them of their positions, the public setting of their grievances and the passion with which they made their sentiments known all but compel the league to take action against them. Even if they had cause to rant, the integrity of the institution remains paramount.
Interestingly, the NBA and the National Basketball Referees Association haven’t always seen eye to eye, but now find themselves on the same side, in regard to the validity of the review process. If nothing else, the latest affair underscores its relevance. The Warriors will continue to feel wronged, but the officials can at least claim vindication. They may not be right all of the time, but they’re motivated to be. And that, in the final analysis, is what matters most.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
