As he did for us last year, Tim Donaghy, a contributing writer for The Sports Connection (www.DannyB.info) and a former NBA referee who spent 11 months in prison for relaying inside information to gamblers, will review the performance of his former colleagues during the NBA Finals. Here's a quarter-by-quarter break down of Game 5, with accompanying video.
[Game 1] [Game 2] [Game 3] [Game 4] [Game 5] [Game 6]
FIRST QUARTER
7:01 [DAL 13-6] Bosh was fouled on this drive, and the refs missed the call. His lean helps the sell, but he was definitely bumped by both Nowitzki and Chandler.
6:03 [DAL 13-6] Wade travels on his first up-fake. He clearly moves his pivot foot, and the only one who sees it is the fan in the front row.
4:22 [DAL 17-10] This is not a foul. The official makes the call based on Wade's reaction to the contact, but he's screened out of the play and doesn't have a clear look.
4:01 [DAL 18-12] This is absolutely an offensive foul. Wade goes into and through the space of the defender, who has his feet clearly set. Cardinal got himself into position to take a charge multiple times in this game.
3:16 [DAL 21-17] Haslem tries to take a charge on the other end, but there's so little contact that this can only be a flop. The officials were smart to let it go.
First quarter | Second quarter | Third quarter | Fourth quarter
SECOND QUARTER
10:57 [TIE 33-33] As I've said before, a player's freedom of movement is critical. Just before the officials make the call on Stevenson for that bump, he holds James on the low block.
8:49 [MIA 40-39] This is a foul. The officials call this because of the push-off after the foul. Had Wade not pushed off, they would've let it go.
4:01 [MIA 52-46] Marion travels prior to his basket. He picks up his dribble and then switches his pivot foot before he takes the shot.
2:17 [TIE 52-52] This is clearly a double dribble. The officials missed the call. James dribbles as he gets possession and then dribbles again. Marion fouls him, but he's right to complain about the double dribble, which ultimately earns him a technical foul. On the replay, James also hooks Marion to create the contact and draw the foul.
First quarter | Second quarter | Third quarter | Fourth quarter
THIRD QUARTER
9:24 [DAL 65-63] James travels before moving to pass.
7:28 [DAL 67-65] This is a block. You can see in the replay that Kidd is rushing to have his feet set before contact, and they weren't. Offensive foul calls are, obviously, difficult ones for refs to make: it's easy for the defender to show contact when a 6-foot-10, 235-pound player like Bosh comes at him, but the focus of the call should always be on the defender's feet. The officials missed this one.
5:32 [DAL 75-69] Bosh, no stranger to the restless pivot foot, travels before his dribble.
2:05 [DAL 80-75] Chalmers hits Terry right after his release on this jump shot. The foul should have been called.
1:05 [DAL 84-77] Cardinal barely has his feet set inside the restricted area, and he smacks down on James. This is a correct call, even though Cardinal tries to sell his own hit, and the home crowd sides with him.
:34.4 [DAL 84-77] Once again, Cardinal finds himself in position to take a charge — only this time, it's 40 feet from the basket, against a player who's much smaller than him. This was an offensive foul — Chalmers lowers his shoulder into Cardinal's chest — but under those circumstances, Dallas is not going to get the call.
First quarter | Second quarter | Third quarter | Fourth quarter
FOURTH QUARTER
9:35 [DAL 90-85] Mahinmi could be in position to take a charge here, but Wade is quicker than he is, and Mahinmi can't get his feet set in time. The officials made the correct call.
9:25 [DAL 90-86] Wow. Wade travels about three times on this play, and somehow, the officials miss the call. It's so obvious that even Jeff Van Gundy sees his extra steps. That has to be frustrating for the Dallas defenders, who had him in a great trap.
7:15 [DAL 93-88] This is a 24-second violation that the officials missed. The ball never hits the rim and the horn sounds before Miami takes possession. The turnover leads to an easy fast-break basket for Miami.
2:28 [DAL 102-100] Although it might look wrong at first glance, Joey Crawford made the correct call in giving James an offensive foul here. Chandler's feet are set within the restricted area, but because James's drive began where it did, within the lower defensive box, Chandler's allowed to be there and take a charge.
1:15 [DAL 105-100] This is a foul if Miami's up. With Dallas leading, the officials can let it go.
First quarter | Second quarter | Third quarter | Fourth quarter
Tim Donaghy is a contributing writer for The Sports Connection (www.DannyB.info), a handicapping website featuring gaming consultant Danny Berrelli. Additionally, Tim can be heard weekly on The Sports Connection Radio Show.
Video editing by Emma Carmichael.