Excellent post from Henry over at TrueHoop regarding the late game put-back from Pau Gasol that clinched the Game 5 victory for the Lakers. Like Henry, while watching it happen live, I thought Gasol pushed off, and was shocked there was no foul called. Not "angry" shocked, mind you, just "relieved" shocked, because I was rooting for the Lakers. But shocked nonetheless, because it appeared that Gasol used his forearm to shove Mehmet Okur in the lower back to be able to get the position to grab the rebound.
A big time Laker fan I know who was at the game texted me immediately with "Gasol pushed off!" That's how it looked live, and I guess that's how it looked in person. I mean, heck, Okur did go flailing under the basket, so he must have been fouled, right? Watch the video a few times though, and I think you'll see that Okur clearly exaggerated the contact, and it looks like the refs made the proper no-call.
Gasol's forearm begins placed on Okur's back, sure. But Gasol doesn't push off, he just jumps. And if you watched Pau play all night, you could make the argument that he's not even strong enough to cause Okur to go flying like that.
The Lakers did get the benefit of shooting 10 more free throws than the Jazz (14 if you count the four in the final 10 seconds that the Jazz gave intentionally), but that's to be expected at home. Back in Utah, the Jazz shot 20 more free throws than the Lakers in their overtime Game 4 victory, so that goes with the territory. But on this play, there was no favoritism for the home team: Okur flopped, and the refs got it right.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-15-2008 @ 1:25PM
Chip Crain said...
As a long time Memphis Grizzlies fan, and therefore follower of Pau Gasol, there is no way that Pau would shove PeeWee Herman that far much less Mehmet Okur. I say this as a person hoping the Jazz would win the game. I don't dislike Gasol now that he is with the Lakers but simply because I have hated the Lakers since the 80's when I lived in Dallas.
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5-15-2008 @ 1:25PM
Rob Mahoney said...
Absolutely correct.
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5-15-2008 @ 1:34PM
frank said...
LA is a very clean team;
Push and shove is not part of their style;
Boston, Spurs and Utah are more like it( dirty style)so is funny that they are the one complaining about it;
Carlos Boozer is as dirty as they come and he looks like a terrorist so is Okur , in fact Okur is a muslim so you wonder???
What is a Muslim doing in Mormom Land????
The botton line LA practices clean basketball from way back and especially Gasol they do not come as clean as that;
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5-15-2008 @ 2:23PM
Craig W. said...
frank,
We don't need slurs on the blogs. It is much more fun - and informative - if you talk about the game and not players supposed backgrounds.
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5-15-2008 @ 2:36PM
Sandy said...
I'm so glad to see how tolerant and loving LA fans are!!! LOL
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5-15-2008 @ 2:37PM
frank said...
Sorry;
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5-15-2008 @ 2:39PM
Adam Jacobi said...
frank's comment is genius.
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5-15-2008 @ 3:35PM
Spilkshake said...
I'm a big Jazz fan so obviously speaking with some bias. But there were some amazing disparities in the calls made last night. Several phantom fouls, and Kobe gets a foul call if anyone is within 10 feet of him. Lakers are a great team, but they get more help from the refs than any team in the NBA. It is a frustrating fact that any small market team has to accept. Still a great pleasure to watch a close series, and the Jazz had many opportunities to win and couldn't convert. So Kudo's to LA, even though it's frustrating. Maybe the Jazz can figure out a way to get it done this year, but if not, they have many good years coming.
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5-15-2008 @ 7:37PM
Don said...
Sorry Spilk, but the Jazz are a foul-happy team. The physicality with which they play is one of the reasons they are in the playoffs, but it's also the main reason they'll not win an NBA championship until they clean up their act.
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5-15-2008 @ 11:01PM
grover said...
Classy post, frank. Thanks for that, really.
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5-15-2008 @ 11:26PM
George B Vieto said...
Home court advantage for the Lakers on the Pau Gasol play.
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5-19-2008 @ 11:44AM
The Cooler said...
Two things about the playoffs, you have to stay healthy and get a few breaks along the way. The lakers are playing good clean basketball as good as the game can be played. Kudos to their organization and team for getting it done. It's nice to see kobe, providing the leadership to go foward to a world championship.
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