Well, this is going to cost the owner of the Dallas Mavericks some money. Mark Cuban has learned time and again that you can’t go overboard in criticizing the officials, yet he apparently couldn’t help himself last night.
Im sorry NBA fans. Ive tried for 13 yrs to fix the officiating in this league and I have failed miserably. Any Suggestions ? I need help
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 6, 2013
It seems Cuban was upset when a foul was not called against the Hornets’ Eric Gordon late in overtime as O.J. Mayo was going up for a tying 3-point shot against the New Orleans Hornets.
Gordon’s foot made contact with the ball, referee Bill Kennedy was right on top of the play and called a kicked ball, awarding possession out of bounds to the Mavs, and Vince Carter missed a corner 3 as time expired to send the Mavs to their 10th consecutive overtime loss, tying an NBA record. That includes seven OT losses this season, five of them in their current 2-11 stretch – the latest against the worst team in the Western Conference.
The Mavs’ television announcers said it was the correct call, but Cuban apparently disagreed. Replays seemed to support the call as the correct one.
Cuban solicited suggestions, and they came pouring in.
I seem to recall a huge call going the Mavs’ way late in the game and they still lost..and it looks to me the call Cuban ranted about was the correct one..so, if the guy is going to rant even when refs get it right there’s nothing to do. Then again, fans complain even over correct calls so he’s no different than the average fan. I also can’t stand when he says stuff like “watching the replay it was clear player X was fouled by player Y”..this is utter non-sense since it’s one thing judging a call with the benefit of slow-motion from about 250 different camera angles, which is something refs generally can’t do in most instances, it’s another in real-time at that speed. I would love to see him or any other refs haters on the court and having to make close calls in real time while officiating what I believe are the best athletes in the world going at full-speed on a relatively small court. Cuban should worry more about the Mavs’ real issues instead of officiating. I say he will get a $50K fine..maybe more since it looks like he was ranting over a correct call made by the refs..