The NBA thinks it’s pretty easy to move Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala. Reviewing James Harden‘s game-winning play in Game 3 of the Rockets-Warriors series the league now says Harden’s shot shouldn’t have counted — that the referees should have called Harden for pushing off. Harden clearly made contact with Iguodala before stepping back for a clear look (see below), but the NBA admission is a slippery slope. This kind of contact happens a lot during the course of an NBA game. Plus there is an age-old adage at the end of games that says “let ’em play, don’t let the refs decide it.” That’s an adage players know and take advantage of. Even pointing out a missed call at crunch time, it’ll be hard to change that culture. What, will they start calling traveling next?
The NBA admission that the Harden basket should have been waved off comes the same week that the NBA responded to a widely viewed video of Hornets guard Jeremy Lin getting repeatedly pummeled by opponents. In that case, the NBA said there was nothing out of the ordinary about what Lin endured. Both videos are below.
