The Raptors were clear-cut favorites heading into yesterday鈥檚 match against the Thunder, and with reason. They didn鈥檛 just possess the National Basketball Association鈥檚 (NBA) home record, having lost a mere five of 34 contests at the Air Canada Centre. They likewise owned a heady 11-match win streak, with their sterling play of late indicating that they were in line to improve their slate before 19,800-strong fans.
As things turned out, the Raptors wound up losing by seven, a development made all the more unacceptable by what they felt was shoddy refereeing. In particular, they felt top scorer DeMar DeRozan鈥檚 game-tying layup try with 30.9 ticks left was foiled by a foul that was clear but uncalled. And they failed to keep their poise after that, leading to ejections for the All-Star, teammate Serge Ibaka, and head coach Dwane Casey.
So incensed were the Raptors over the outcome that they actually planned on filing a formal complaint to the Commissioner鈥檚 Office. Meanwhile, they argued their position before scribes, underscoring their frustration with the way whistles were blown — or, as the case may have been, swallowed — in the crunch. It didn鈥檛 matter that their protestations could no longer change the score, or that they put themselves in line for fines from the league. 鈥淥fficials are going to miss calls, but at the juncture of the game when some of the calls were made, we鈥檝e got to get it right around the league,鈥 Casey contended. 鈥淣ot just this game, the entire league.鈥
No doubt, the bench tactician was referring to the increasing spate of complaints from his peers regarding the state of officiating in the NBA. In the last week, such notables as the Clippers鈥 Doc Rivers and Stan Van Gundy have seen fit to use sessions with media as means to air their concerns. And they鈥檙e right, if misguided; no quarter winds up without a black mark when results are questioned.
Needless to say, the Thunder found cause to celebrate in the aftermath. Top dog Russell Westbrook pointed out, not without irony, that 鈥測ou鈥檝e got to be able to keep your composure through it all. That鈥檚 what the game is all about. We鈥檝e got a lot of veteran guys on this team who are able to do that.鈥 In triumph, he seemed to have forgotten his frequent brushes with the men in gray.
Still, Westbrook has a point. The referees will not get every call right, and it鈥檚 incumbent upon players to compete through adversity. And in their more collected moments, the Raptors would do well to learn from their setback and make sure their implosion doesn鈥檛 happen again. They may currently be the Beasts of the East, but they鈥檒l be better prepared to handle the bigger challenges that lie ahead if they don鈥檛 stand in their own way.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994.
