Draymond says officiating ‘isn’t an exact science’ as Harden rues calls

LOS ANGELES, USA – Golden State Wariors forward Draymond Green says referees are human and that James Harden should look in the mirror before the criticizing the playoff officiating.

“I have been fouled by James on a James’ three-pointer before,” Green said. “I think we can all sit here and complain about calls every game.”

Green said when it comes to close contests, both teams can usually make the case that they got a raw deal at some time from the officials.

“It is the nature of the game we play. Refereeing isn’t an exact science,” Green said.

Harden, who has been a vocal critic of the officiating all season, asked for a “fair chance” from the refs after Houston lost 104-100 in Game 1 of the West semifinals on Sunday, April 28 (Monday, April 29, Philippine time).

Harden and the Rockets were specifically upset about what they believed were several non-calls on his three-point attempts.

“I mean, I just want a fair chance, man,” said Harden, who scored 35 points but was 4-of-16 from beyond the arc. “Call the game how it’s supposed to be called, and that’s it. And I’ll live with the results.”

Harden figured he got fouled on a pair of three-point attempts in the second half, including by Green on a potential game-tying attempt with 7 seconds left. 

Green said the Warriors could make the same case.

“They (Rockets) also could have possibly shot 20 less free throws. But if that is the case then we could have shot 20 more free throws,” Green said. 

Houston coach Mike D’Antoni backed up Harden’s criticism on Sunday, but didn’t go into detail because he feared a slap on the wrist. 

“I’m going to try to be a nice guy because I really don’t want to give the charity to them. I’d rather have my charity have the money,” D’Antoni said, referring to a potential fine for criticizing officiating.

Second guessing the referees has been a hot topic among players ever since the NBA introduced the “Last Two Minute Report” where they publicly evaluate their officials’ performance in games within 5 points in the final two minutes.

The league initiated the report to try and be more transparent. 

Kendrick Perkins, a 14-year NBA veteran, wonders what all the fuss is about.

“Everybody is so busy worried about getting fouls called, forget about trying to win the game,” Perkins posted on his Twitter account on Sunday. – Rappler.com