The Rockets believe poor officiating in Game 7 of the 2018 Western Conference finals cost them a championship, according to a Houston report and memo obtained by ESPN's Zach Lowe and Rachel Nichols.
In a letter addressed to Byron Spruell, the NBA's president of league operations, the Rockets claim the "referees likely changed the NBA champion." Houston never sent the memo to Spruell but said as much during in-person meetings with league officials, per Lowe and Nichols.
The full report obtained by ESPN lists 81 total calls, non-calls and violations. It concludes that those 81 instances cost Houston a total of 18.6 points in that game.
In its own reports, the league does not attach point values to missed calls and non-calls.
"As we told the Rockets, we do not agree with their methodology," Mike Bass, an NBA spokesman, told ESPN on Monday.
MORE: Mike D'Antoni says refs admitted missing calls on 3-point attempts
This report comes after the Rockets' Game 1 loss to the Warriors in the 2019 Western Conference semifinals, which featured a few questionable no-calls, specifically on 3-point attempts by Rockets guard James Harden.
The landing zones of shooters and flopping tactics of superstars have quickly overshadowed what should be a fantastic series — and that's a shame.
Aside from the Rockets' flawed methodology in the report — on one play in Game 7, the Rockets claim they lost points because officials didn't call a foul on them and it led to a 3-pointer by the Warriors later in the possession — Houston lost in 2018 because it failed make plays when it mattered.
Up 3-2 in the series, the Rockets held double-digit leads at halftime of both Game 6 and Game 7. They lost by 29 in Game 6 and by nine in Game 7. In that deciding contest, Houston missed 27 consecutive 3-pointers, a historic outlier that lasted literally half of the game.
Throughout their careers, Harden and Chris Paul have been the beneficiaries of calls. They know all of the tricks. They suddenly jerk their heads backward like they've been punched in the chin, perform their shooting motions by ripping through arms and kick their legs out or jump forward to make contact with anyone trying to contest a jumper.
Differentiating between a foul and a flop can be an impossible task because of their skills of deception.
The "foul vs. no foul" debate is raging on #NBATwitter today. Let's discuss what a referee looks for on these. @LegsESPN's analysis is:
— NBA Referees (@OfficialNBARefs) April 29, 2019
- play 1 is an incorrect non-call
- play 2 is a correct non-call
Watch and tell us what you think, then we'll explain why: #YouBeTheRef pic.twitter.com/aBcQgnCGrj
Does that mean the Warriors never foul Harden or Paul? Of course not. Harden should have earned trips to the free-throw line on multiple 3-point attempts in Game 1, but he also went 9-of-28 from the field.
Should we not blame Harden for missing a couple completely makeable 3-pointers with no contact involved? Should the Warriors write up their own report on the foul calls they didn't receive? Do we really want to turn the NBA into a battle of rulebook interpretations and spreadsheets?
It's not basketball, and it feels like a lot of these plays are manipulations of the rules, whether it's Harden, Paul, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant or anyone else. The complaining is insufferable all the way around. Referees make mistakes on both sides every single game. It happens.
Please stop and play the game, guys. This is all just a bummer.
