NBA to replay the final 51.9 seconds of game

January 11, 2008 4:39 PM

For the first time since 1982, the NBA will require two teams to replay a portion of a previous game. The Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat will replay the final 51.9 seconds of their December 19th game because the official scorer ruled incorrectly that Shaquille O'Neal fouled out.
posted by pwb503 (31 comments total)

Here's an alternate link (Yahoo!) to the story that provides some good points too.
posted by pwb503 at 4:39 PM on January 11, 2008

Shaq was great as Shazam. That's all I know.
posted by Item at 4:41 PM on January 11, 2008

No do-overs! Duh!
posted by Brocktoon at 4:49 PM on January 11, 2008

In other news, still no cure for cancer
posted by elpapacito at 4:49 PM on January 11, 2008

I wonder how Vegas will handle this.
posted by aerotive at 4:49 PM on January 11, 2008

I found a page that describes what happened in 1982 if anyone was curious.

Wow, I didn't even know this was possible.
posted by grouse at 4:51 PM on January 11, 2008

I have five bucks that says in that 51.9 seconds Shaq gets another foul.
posted by ColdChef at 5:00 PM on January 11, 2008 [5 favorites has favorites]

The reason scientists haven't had time to cure cancer yet is one post down.
posted by nowonmai at 5:10 PM on January 11, 2008

I have five bucks that says in that 51.9 seconds Shaq gets another foul.

I'll take double-or-nothing that if Bennett Salvatore is one of the refs, Dwyane Wade will draw at least 3 fouls in those 51.9 seconds.

/end bitter-hearted Mavs fan.
posted by Ufez Jones at 5:19 PM on January 11, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I wonder how Vegas will handle this.

I was at a poker table at Caesar's Palace in Vegas last year where the dealer clearly and inarguably fucked up and skipped a guy after he bought the button (basically he paid to not have to wait until the blinds passed around to him before he could be dealt in; the dealer skipped him anyway.) He raised hell about this, and after a few minutes of demanding to speak to every floor boss in the poker room, was shown a small piece of paper with all the "accepted rules" of the casino upon entering, explaining that basically, it's his own fault for not noticing the dealer fucked up, and if he didn't like it, he could leave the casino right now.

So, long story short, I would imagine on the back of a cocktail napkin somewhere is some kind of fine print that covers the casino's ass that basically offers the legal equivalent of saying that once you acknowledge the results of the bet, you can't come back later and complain about it.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 5:28 PM on January 11, 2008

Better question: what do they do about tickets? Do you go watch the 51.9 seconds and then have to leave? Knowing the Hawks, there are probably enough empty seats for two crowds to fit in the arena.
posted by Frank Grimes at 5:45 PM on January 11, 2008

Miami needs all the help they can get. /big-headed Blazers fan.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 5:54 PM on January 11, 2008

Last time they did the replay immediately before the next scheduled match between the two teams.
posted by grouse at 5:56 PM on January 11, 2008

This is actually very helpful to me, as I'm getting ready to stage a massive protest against my local shopping mall over me being totally robbed during the final rounds of the 2007 Dance Dance Revolution Contest Contest. Power surge my ass.
posted by jbickers at 6:03 PM on January 11, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Power surge my ass.

i think you're supposed to stand up to play that
posted by pyramid termite at 6:11 PM on January 11, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Ufez, I hear you. I'm left wondering if they could possibly replay the last minute of game 3. You know, the part where Wade clearly should have fouled out _twice_ and the momentum swung to Miami.

The bright side is, given this call goes in Wade's favor, I won't have to rewrite any of my NBA conspiracy theories. Thanks, David Stern!
posted by therealadam at 6:15 PM on January 11, 2008

Wow. I've seen badly blown calls that have affected the outcomes of games in both hockey and football; all that ever happens (if anything) is a quiet admission of a screw-up and an apology. The games always stand, even if they cost someone a playoff spot or occur during the playoffs.

This is rather...amazing. Not going to make me start liking basketball, but it says something about the integrity of the league.
posted by never used baby shoes at 6:24 PM on January 11, 2008

I've seen badly blown calls that have affected the outcomes of games in both hockey and football

There's two mistake classes. One is judgment calls -- was that a foul? Did the puck cross the line? Was he playing the ball or the man? You can argue these until you're blue in the face, and still not get it right. These are the bad calls that have to stand. Sometimes you can review them on video, but then you're just swapping on the close umpire's judgment for a video umpire's judgment. So, every league rules these calls as final -- though if you blow enough of them, you might find yourself no longer an umpire.

The other class of mistakes is the clearly wrong ones -- a rule is applied wrong, or a scoring notation is not made. These can be, and should be, corrected, because there is no judgment required. An NBA player is disqualified from a game after committing six fouls. Shaq committed five -- and was disqualified with almost a minute left in the game -- enough time for several scoring opportunities.

These cases are rare, because the top league officiating staffs are just as good as the top league players. But they do have, and that's why we have the protest. It is very rare for them to be made, it's even rarer for them to be upheld. A number of probably-would-have-been-upheld protests were rescinded by the protesting team when they ended up winning.

In this case, good on the NBA. The scorer demonstratively fucked up, this demonstratively harmed the team that was harmed by the scoring mistake, and this mistake is being corrected.

Having said that. Even odds Shaq fouls out anyway.
posted by eriko at 6:36 PM on January 11, 2008

George Brett is a cheating crybaby.
posted by Flunkie at 6:45 PM on January 11, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

That is a very good point, eriko. Many of the mistakes I can think of have been of the judgment types - even when it is clear on later video than the judgment was wrong, it can be understood in the speed and intensity of the moment.

However, I can think of at least one pro football game in recent memory where this type of mistake was made - a trick play that would've provided the winning score on the last play of the game - where the officials ruled incorrectly on the legality of the play, and nothing was done about it. So, I'm still impressed.
posted by never used baby shoes at 6:45 PM on January 11, 2008

$15 basketball shoes, NBA cheap chic.
posted by nickyskye at 7:04 PM on January 11, 2008

can i get some lakers love in here?
posted by bruce at 7:07 PM on January 11, 2008

can i get some lakers love in here?

Must...refrain...from making...Kobe...Bryant...joke....
posted by Challahtronix at 7:28 PM on January 11, 2008

can i get some lakers love in here?

No. Not until you fire Kobe Bryant, just on general principal. I don't care how good he is at the game -- being on a team with that jerk has got to be a real downer for the rest of their players.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:31 PM on January 11, 2008

Oh, hey, preview, but I'm not joking!
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:31 PM on January 11, 2008

See also: Fifth Down game.

The Big Eight...ruled that Colorado's 33-31 victory over Missouri would stand even though game officials allowed the Buffaloes a fifth down that produced the winning touchdown on the game's final play.

The Heat are now a delightful 8-27

8-27 isn't substantially less sucky than 7-28.

it says something about the integrity of the league

It's the same league that had a ref gambling on games he officiated.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:41 PM on January 11, 2008

They're going to play the last 52 seconds of the game before they tip off for the "real" game of the night, the next time they meet. I don't think there is any better way to do it than how they are going to, but... Imagine how hard it is going to be to play those last 52 seconds from a totally cold start. Imagine how the first game of the night is going to set the stage for the second. It's not like you just lost to them the night before and you're in revenge mode, you JUST lost to them ten minutes ago! I doubt this game is going to be on national television, but I'll definitely be watching SportsCenter that night.
posted by pwb503 at 7:49 PM on January 11, 2008

"It's the same league that had a ref gambling on games he officiated."

I think you mean, "It's the same league that _fired_ a ref gambling on games he officiated."
posted by pwb503 at 7:50 PM on January 11, 2008

but it says something about the integrity of the league.

They haven't fixed a draft in years!!
posted by inigo2 at 8:22 PM on January 11, 2008

It says something about the integrity of the league....
They haven't fixed a draft in years!!
posted by inigo2

Oooooh, that's cold! _{as a ping-pong ball on draft night...}

Favorite quote:
"That's crazy, man! I don't even think I can play because I fouled out," Atlanta's Josh Smith said. "David Stern is the head honcho, so if he says we've got to play another 51 seconds that's what we've got to play. Bottom line."
posted by Challahtronix at 10:38 PM on January 11, 2008

there's no evidence to suggest that an nba draft or draft lottery has ever been fixed. there have been some funny trades. three times in my life the lakers have gotten a dominant big man for chump change in return; chamberlain from philly, abdul-jabbar from milwaukee and o'neal from orlando - yeah, i've heard the argument that the league favors big-market franchises so it can make more money, but there's another explanation you should take a moment to consider...

god is a laker fan.

that would explain a lot of things over the years. nights at staples center when god's in the house, he's the second most prominent fan there after jack nicholson.
posted by bruce at 11:38 PM on January 11, 2008