The Oklahoma City Thunder has made me a very happy man – though I’m not even a basketball batting person, and yes, I’m aware of the irony – by winning Game 2 of their series at San Antonio, tying the series 1-1. And to top it all off, Manu Ginobili got a chestful of elbow courtesy of Dion Waiters. Obviously, San Antonio are blaming the shameful 98-97 defeat at home on this supposedly controversial “no-call.”
Leave it to the Spurs to hold an innocent referee responsible for their own shortcomings. Why can’t they just accept that the Thunder were superior to them? Sure, it must be hard to be humiliated in front of your fans, but still.
Sadly, the Spurs reprehensible behavior does not end there. Coach Greg Popovich angrily stormed off the court while yelling at the officials. Hopefully he will be fined; any other course of action would be a travesty. Lead referee Ken Mauer was very clear when he told a pool reporter that they did not see a foul on the play. Even the alleged victim of this alleged foul Ginobili said that he doesn’t know what should have been called or if it should have been called anything. Personally, I think it should be called fragility on the part of Ginobili, who can’t take a little shove on the chest without falling backwards – it even reminds me of the Fingerpoke of Doom. Frailty, thy name is Ginobili.
The point is he was there on the court and he can’t even tell whether he was fouled or not. Magic Johnson wasn’t there, so his referring to it as the worst missed call in playoff history should be taken with a grain of salt. Same goes for Mark Cuban, whom nobody should take seriously. Ever. What’s more, Ginobili himself admitted that the play had no bearing on the outcome of the game, because they nevertheless got the steal, got a shot, and got an offensive rebound. It’s not Waiters’s fault that Patty Mills miserably failed the shot, or that LaMarcus Aldrige has butter fingers and lost control of the rebound. So if you’re betting on NBA, rest assured that the integrity of the game – such as it is – has remained pristine.
You certainly don’t see the Thunder complaining that Ginobili’s foot was on the line, or that a Spurs fan grabbed Thunder center Steven Adams’s right arm while he was struggling to get up after he tumbled into the seats along the baseline. What really matters is that Oklahoma has proven that San Antonio is not unbeatable, and if they lost one game, they surely can lose another three. Of course, the Spurs are still basketball betting favorites, but you know what? I believe in miracles, since you came along, you sexy thing.