Good Idea, Bad Idea: Doc Rivers Wants Challenge Flags
Notorious hater of referees and Clippers coach Doc Rivers wants to bring a part of the NFL to the NBA. Would challenge flags for coaches be a good idea?
The Los Angeles Clippers lost Wednesday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets for a few reasons; other than Chris Paul and J.J. Redick, no other Clipper scored until 45 seconds into the second quarter, getting outrebounded by 17, and shooting only 28.3 percent on a franchise-record 46 three-point attempts.
Even with those things in mind, the Clippers were still only down four with just more than 30 seconds remaining when Jeff Green dribbled into the paint for a layup attempt that he made while colliding with Danilo Gallinari that was followed by a whistle. The whistle was called a charge on Green.
Instead of Green going to the free throw line with a chance to cut the deficit to one, the Nuggets would remain up four and get the ball. Game over.
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Doc Rivers had a problem with the call and he had the right to be mad about it. The NBA revealed in its Last Two Minute Report that the call was the incorrect one. It marks the third time this season that an admitted incorrect call by the referees have gone against the Clippers at a crucial time this season.
Rivers is tired of losing games partially determined by bad calls and he has a solution: NFL-style challenge flags. According to Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports, Rivers had this to say about his idea,
"“I’ve been pushing for a [challenge] flag for a year now,” Rivers said. “We should have a challenge flag. That is the third time this year [against the Clippers] that [the NBA] has come back and said it was a bad call. It doesn’t do anything for us."
Rivers has a point. Games should not be decided by incorrect calls and very easily could determine playoff matchups and home court advantage in the playoffs. It has to be incredibly frustrating to lose multiple games in part due to a bad call or even multiple bad calls. It’s definitely a legitimate issue and one that Rivers of all people should know best.
Are challenge flags the answer though?
As much as some may hate how long replays take in NBA games and how they can dull moments that should be more climatic, but replay has been a good thing for the league. Being fair and right is more important that being fast.
When it comes down to it, it’s always a positive when the calls are correct and replay has helped improve the quality of calls and making sure things are called correctly.
If the incorrect charge call on Green that proved to be the game clincher against the Nuggets is the reason Rivers wants challenge flags, he’d be wanting an expansion on what calls can and cannot be reviewed since fouls are not currently an option.
Referees reviewing calls such as the offensive foul on Green would be problematic and frustrating for all involved. Judgment calls aren’t going to be perfect and there are inherently going to be mistakes. We can all have an opinion on a block or charge call that could go either way.
In this specific instance, Gallinari’s weren’t set and slid to get into Green’s path to the basket and I’d go on the side of it being a foul on Gallinari, not Green. The NBA agrees on that one. However in real time, it’s somewhat understandable as to why the call went against Green.
If Rivers were to toss out a hypothetical challenge flag on the play, it would be difficult to come to a call that is clear, unlike other reviewable plays such as out-of-bounds calls or if a player’s foot was over the line on a three-pointer.
The D-League experimented with a coach’s challenge at the beginning of the 2014 season that allowed coach’s to challenge one play per game. If a coach successfully challenged a play, he would be given another challenge and each coach would be granted a challenge if a game went to overtime.
The coach’s challenge allowed fouls to be challenged as well, something not possible with current replay challenge rules.
Commissioner Adam Silver has been using the D-League as a place for the NBA to experiment with new ideas such as shortened games, harsher punishments for off-the-ball fouls to discourage Hack-A-Player strategies, and shortened overtimes. Silver wouldn’t be implementing these changes in the D-League if they were not ideas that could be applied to the NBA game.
I’m all for things that improve the quality of the game. There aren’t too many things that leave the terrible feeling of losing a game due to a bad call or two. If there is something that can be done to stop bad officiating from determining the outcomes of games, then I’m all for it.
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When Rivers lobbies for a coach’s challenge, it’s not just a case of a bitter coach crying for help because of a personal gripe. A coach’s challenge could be tricky to use at times, but it adds an element of strategy for coaches and would be a step in the right direction of letting the players determine outcomes instead of the referees.