April 14th is the last game day of the NBA regular season.
The battle for spots in the Western Conference playoffs continues to the last minute.
There are actually 4 teams that may have the same record on the last game day.
They are the Clippers, Trail Blazers, Spurs and Thunder.
One of the teams will be eliminated from this year's playoffs.
The Portland Trail Blazers had already won the previous games, achieving a record of 50 wins and 32 losses.
Because of the relationship between victory and defeat, the Trail Blazers took the lead in getting the opportunity to advance.
The remaining three teams are the Thunder, Spurs, and Clippers.
The Spurs currently have 50 wins and 31 losses. If they win the last game, they will be ranked sixth in the Western Conference.
If they lose in the last game, they will be guaranteed seventh place due to the relationship between victory and defeat.
Therefore, the Spurs are equivalent to entering the playoffs early, it just depends on where they want to enter.
The sixth team will beat the Suns, and the seventh team will beat the Mavericks. Overall, the Spurs seem to want to beat the Mavericks more.
In the Spurs' final game earlier on April 14, their opponent was the Mavericks.
Popovich announced before the game that he would rest Duncan and Ginobili, indicating that he did not want to win this game.
Falling to seventh place to beat the Mavericks is what the Spurs want.
The last spot will be between the Thunder and Clippers.
If both teams lose and the other wins, the winner will advance to the playoffs and the loser will be eliminated.
If the wins and losses are the same, the winning and losing relationship between the two teams is the same.
But the Clippers have a higher winning rate when facing Western Conference teams.
Therefore, if the Clippers win the last game, they will definitely enter the playoffs.
Once the Clippers enter the playoffs, NBA history will usher in the Los Angeles Derby for the first time.
The start time of the game is set at 7 pm, and preparations for the stadium will begin in the morning.
In addition to venue facilities, lighting, stage design, DJ cheerleading, etc., rehearsals are required.
Before the start of each game, the referees will also hold a small meeting to discuss how to set the tone for the game.
The three referees officiating tonight are Joe DeRosa, Rodney Motto and Leon Wood.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, in the cabin where the referees rested, the three people first had a conference call with the referee supervisor Joe Bozia.
"In the final game of the regular season, the last game, control your standards and blow the whistle more strictly to avoid injuries."
"All parties are concerned about whether the Clippers can play the Los Angeles Derby with the Lakers. Everyone hopes that such a matchup can take shape. But we still have to control it, don't blow it too far, and maintain a balance."
"Be careful with this guy Smart Min. I feel that he has not been normal in the past month and is very aggressive. He probably wants the team to enter the playoffs. Don't give him a reason to mess with him. It’s very troublesome.”
Bozia talked about the general idea and purpose of tonight's game enforcement, and left the rest to the referee's discretion.
In fact, the first principle of NBA referees' whistle blowing is not absolute fairness and justice, but the pursuit of a balance.
The difference between the two is that in pursuit of fairness and justice, one will only focus on the objective fact of whether both parties have committed a foul.
If there is a foul, it is a foul. If there is no foul, it is no foul.
If there is any ambiguity, use your professional knowledge and playing skills as much as possible to restore the truth.
Let both parties get a fair punishment.
The pursuit of balance is different. What matters is not only objective facts, but also many subjective emotions.
For example, the fans' thoughts are that the home fans fanatically support the home team. If the home team blows too many fouls, they must restrain the whistle.
Next time the home team commits a foul, if it's not too egregious, it won't be called.
Fans also like to watch stars playing on the court, so they try not to call minor fouls by stars.
If someone commits an early foul in the first quarter, try to be more relaxed for the second foul.
Otherwise, the fans would be dissatisfied if he was substituted early for two fouls.
There is also the idea of sponsors, who hope that the game will be broken up.
This gives you time to insert advertisements. The game is too fast and smooth, so it is difficult to insert advertisements.
So the referee sometimes stalls for time, or blows the whistle very loudly at less important stages.
Then there is the idea of the league. The league definitely hopes that the game will be more dramatic and that popular teams and stars can win and advance.
Without obviously manipulating the game, referees will slightly favor teams that are favored by the league and help them win the game.
This will allow for a more dramatic showdown to ensure NBA ratings.
Finally, referees are also human beings, and they also have their own subjective likes and dislikes.
Some referees have issues with certain players and will strictly enforce the law against them during the game.
Some referees like certain players very much and have a good personal relationship with them, so they will relax their whistles appropriately.
Some referees like to be in the limelight and will deliberately make the situation fall into chaos so that they can control the situation.
In short, the referee is definitely not the embodiment of fairness and justice, but a balance regulator of the game.
After the conference call, the three referees discussed how to call tonight's game.
Joe DeRosa was the referee tonight. He said: "Bozia asked us to blow the whistle more strictly so that no one gets hurt. But he also said to be careful about Smart Min. Doesn't he know that these two Is there a contradiction between them?"
Rodney Motto agreed with DeRosa, saying: "Yes, if you are too strict, Smart will definitely go crazy. He has been very aggressive in the past month and has been fined twice by the league. He doesn't even hold back. I don't want to get entangled with him."
As the third referee, Leon Wood didn't say much, just said: "Do your best, the referee should not be interfered by these."
De Rosa shook her head and said: "This season is my last season of law enforcement. I don't want anything to happen in the final stage. I'm going to retire. You two, please bear with me and control the situation, okay?" ?”
DeRosa entered the NBA in the 1989-1990 season and started his career as a referee. This year is exactly his 20th year and he will retire next season.
People who are approaching retirement always want to be safe and secure in their last shift, and don't want anything to go wrong and give their retirement career a bad start.
Both Wood and Motto expressed their understanding and said they would control the situation tonight and not let Min Congda have any performance.
"By the way, what do you want to play in today's bet? It's my last regular season game." DeRosa asked.
The referee's job is stressful and unappealing on both sides. No one will praise him if he makes a good call, but everyone will criticize him if he makes a bad call.
So before every game starts, many referees will make a small bet.
For example, when will O'Neal be cut tonight, who will call the first technical foul, how many three-pointers will Kobe Bryant make, etc.
Wood thought for a while and said: "Why don't we make a bet on who Smart Min will spray first tonight? $100."
The three people's eyes met and they nodded in agreement.
(End of chapter)
