Suns Get Screwed in Detroit, Lose in Overtime
I'm usually one to see both sides of things and/or to find rational explanations for everything that happens in life. However, in watching the end of the Suns/Pistons game last night, I found myself yelling at the officials for their poor calls which benefited the Pistons everytime. Of course, the entire Suns team, coach D'Antoni and the announcers all felt the same way... the refs handed the game to Detroit. There is no question.
Despite Detroit's best attempts to hack-a-Shaq late in the game, the refs seemingly looked the other way. On more than one occasion, Shaq had the ball inside and was fouled (hard) and nothing was called. The best example was the instance where Shaq got the rebound and was going back up for a shot. Antonio McDyess slammed his arm across both of Shaq's arms & the ball continued upward (not a block, sorry); Pistons get the ball as it comes down and the Suns lose a valuable possession.
Another incident involved Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups on a drive to the basket. Steve Nash was clearly positioned outside the line to draw the charge, but again, the call went to the Pistons and Billups went to the line. The replays showed Nash at least 6"-12" outside the line and positioned in time.
The refs were not completely at fault, however, as the Suns made two poor plays down the stretch which helped Detroit win the game. Amare Stoudemire took a poor fadeaway shot from the left-key that was completely off-base. There was plenty of time on the clock; it was just a bad shot. The other problem was a 24-second clock violation, with Amare failing to shoot the ball and passing to Shaq for the layup which went up just after the buzzer sounded.
The game was strong throughout with many lead changes and playoff-style basketball. The loss ended the Suns winning streak at 7 and certainly doesn't help their chances of catching the Lakers in the Pacific Division; the Lakers beat Golden State in OT.
The Suns will face the Celtics and 76ers, and neither game is a gimme or guaranteed win. The 76ers came back from 18 down against the C's to move over .500 on the year and solidified themselves as a playoff team.