The Knicks need to stop complaining, make some adjustments and win. Period.
The playoffs are like marriage: you can be right, or you can be happy. Which will the Knicks choose?
Section 9.3.4 of the Rules of the Game as authorized by the International Volleyball Federation reads, “DOUBLE CONTACT: a player hits the ball twice in succession or the ball contacts various parts of his/her body in succession.” The interpretation of this violation has cost me many games in my volleyball career. It seems like a straightforward rule. It is not.
When you’re a setter, a position I played through high school, college and now as an old man in rec leagues, you’re taught to set the ball without any spin on it. If there is even the slightest side-to-side spin – rather than topspin or backspin – the referee will call a “double contact” violation. You’re not allowed to catch or throw the ball in volleyball, so the act of setting is a quick flick of the wrist and fingers. Because of this, a referee who can’t always see if the setter made double contact will call it based on the spin of the ball.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had yellow cards issued to me for arguing with the referee about this rule. Once I was even given a red card and kicked out of the game. To this day I argue unless you see a player make contact twice in a row with each hand, you can’t make that call based on the spin. There’s nothing in the rules that says spin is illegal.
The stubbornness and righteousness I feel toward the interpretation of Section 9.3.4 is how the Knicks feel about the officiating that cost them Game 2 and potentially the series. There was a “huge discrepancy in free throws. Huge. Huge. I’ve got to take a look at that,” Tom Thibodeau said postgame. He said more.
“I really don’t give a crap how they call the game, as long as it’s consistent on both sides. If [Cade] Cunningham’s driving and there’s marginal contact and he’s getting to the line, then Jalen deserves to be getting to the line. It’s really that simple.” We’ve heard variations of this response from Thibodeau in postgame press conferences as often as I’ve gotten yellow cards in volleyball. I could sit here and type Homer-esque epic poems about how right and righteous myself and Thibs are in our interpretations of the rules. Here’s the thing: no one cares.
Brunson spent the first half of Game 2 forcing every action to pressure the refs into calling fouls. They didn’t. His response in the second half? To double down and keep doing it, to where he seemed more concerned with fouling out Ausar Thompson than winning the game. Congratulations, Thomas and Jalen! You made your point. You really are getting to the spot before your defender, causing him to make contact while breaking the vertical plane. And yes, we can confirm the Pistons are in fact infringing on the ballhander’s right to a straight-line path on every possession. The officials don’t care. “Did you see me hit the ball with both my hands independently or did you just see the ball spin a bit?!” Shut up, Drew! Play the fucking game!
As annoying as Brunson’s play was Monday, it was no isolated event. Complaining about Brunson’s whistle (or lack thereof) is a string Thibodeau’s been harping on all season. Monday it took up so much of their attention that it cost them a playoff game against a Pistons team that isn’t anything special. Maybe if Brunson isn’t getting calls, try something else? Karl-Anthony Towns had a mismatch the entire game on Tobias Harris. Maybe get him more than three shots in the second half? Thibodeau cited the rebounding differential as the biggest reason the Knicks lost. Maybe play Mitchell Robinson more in the second half instead of Josh Hart, who was completely ignored on the perimeter? Most of the best five-man lineups the Knicks played this year include Deuce McBride. Maybe play him more?
Fortunately there’s still a lot of series to be played, more than enough time to try a different approach or two. The Game 2 loss should be a wakeup call for the entire Knicks organization. Sometimes your Plan A that’s been highly successful just doesn’t work. It happens. You can either adjust or scream into the void about how right you are regarding NBA officiating’s lack of consistency. You can even put six fingers in the air to really hammer the point home on a foul call.
What do they say is insanity? Repeating the same thing over and over, expecting a different result? Thomas. Jalen. No one cares that you’re right. Try something else. Go win this series like you’re supposed to.
