Tim Hardaway Jr. was clearly fouled in the final seconds of Game 4 against the New York Knicks, but he could have done a better job selling the foul.
The NBA has some issues that stand out against fans as issues that ruin games and products, but only three have been agreed: local TV blackouts, inconsistent justice, and foul bait or flop.
Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round Series between the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons was almost everything in the NBA today, but the game was broadcast nationwide on Network Television (ABC), so everyone across the country could tune for better or worse.
All series, all series, were less obvious than the last seconds Tim Hardaway Jr. hit Josh Hart on a 3-pointer in the game he missed, but they call him the Fouls in favor of the Knicks. Rather than getting the chance to win the game on the free throw line, the game was blown away and the league announced that after the game there would actually be a foul.
That’s a little good!
The league admitted that there was a missed call from the referee and Josh Hart himself said he would be contacted, but at this point he can’t do anything. The Pistons return to Madison Square Garden 3-1.
Fans complain about foul bait and floping, but Hardaway Jr. was attacked midway, but rather than blazing on the Knicks’ bench or falling on the Knicks’ bench, he was shot down and kept standing upright.
“We know how much we hate when players flop and sell,” Chandler Parsons said at Funder Elles. Please do so.
“This is why they do that. If Tim Hardaway could sell a little more of this, he might be more likely to get the call.
Whether they dislike it or not, fans have been treated to all series of that style of play, and Parsons quickly admitted.
“We’re always talking about Jalen Branson and we’re lengthening every series. Then Tim Hardaway doesn’t do that and doesn’t call,” he continued.
“It’s like rewarding floping to a particular point. It’s just not allowed. You can’t make this happen at such a pivotal moment in the game, at a critical moment in the series. That’s wrong.”
During two eras of championship basketball for the Detroit Pistons, they built a reputation as a physical, hard team. The “Bad Boys” of the 1980s and 1990s were totally dirty, and the “working” teams in the mid-2000s didn’t bother to play low-scoring physical games.
Though the pistons have returned to their roots this season, they often don’t respect a more established team than getting a more accessible whistle.
This season, the Pistons have committed the third most foul, averaging 20.7 per game. They led all postseason teams, earning 22.5 per game in the playoffs.
JB Bickerstaff has been furious with NBA officials this season, and so has his reaction to Game 4. As the Pistons move up their place in the upcoming season, they should get more respect from both their opponents and officials, but for now Parsons is right.
Detroit needs to create every possible advantage.