Final 52 seconds of previous Heat-Hawks Game to be Replayed

[Sauru]

its now in the heats best interest to just lose the game, again

[Andrew]

Definitely, though I'm guessing Riley will still opt to play Marion.

[buzzy]

Hawks now officially won the game.

[Andrew]

I guess that makes the replay officially redundant, though again the ruling had been made so in all fairness it was something that had to be done regardless of the odd situation.

[jonnyboy261]

if theyre replaying this... why didnt they continue that brawl at the palace of auburn hills game... there was some time left wen it happend
sure one team was winning by alot but they still "could" have made a comeback in that amount of time...
anything and everything is possible...

[Leander]

Watch your signature, Jonnyboy!...

[JT_55]

^Ah don't worry, he'll get what he deserves...if there are any Nash fanboys in this forum...

[Lamrock]

I would get my Nash avatar back, but I don't want to feed the troll. Also, there is a good chance the Suns don't even make the playoffs this year.

[Andrew]

if theyre replaying this... why didnt they continue that brawl at the palace of auburn hills game... there was some time left wen it happend
sure one team was winning by alot but they still "could" have made a comeback in that amount of time...
anything and everything is possible...

Different circumstances. That game was called with less than a minute left due to the brawl; there was no error that led to one team having a competitive disadvantage and no complaints filed by either team that required play to be resumed for those final seconds.

[jonnyboy261]

still i think that every NBA game should be played for regulation amount of time no matter what situation occcurs... unless like maybe 9/11 or something like that great happens
because the rules say every game should be 48 mins unless overtime
and you cant just end the game early even if one team is way ahead
they shoulda continued the clock at least for that last minute so the game would be technically complete... thats how i feel

[Andrew]

In the normal case, that's what happens. Games aren't frequently called but sometimes the circumstances call for it. The Pistons/Pacers game wasn't called because one team appeared to have sealed the game, it was called because order could not be restored after the brawl broke out. As neither team put in a complaint, there was no reason to play out those final seconds.

I'm sure if some kind of technical problem such as a massive equipment/power failure caused the game to be halted or under some other circumstances, played would be resumed at the earliest possible date if it could not continue the same night. But there are always going to be extenuating circumstances and the Palace brawl was one of them. Ideally, everything should go as planned but that's not the way world works. Games are not called without good reason.

Besides, there's only been three noteworthy games that I can think of offhand that were called with less than a minute remaining. The Palace brawl, which was pretty much done for safety reasons and no complaints regarding the final score were filed, Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point game when fans rushed onto the court and the resulting pandemonium made it impossible to finish, or the 1992 All-Star game where the players themselves wanted to call the game over when Magic Johnson hit a three pointer over Isiah Thomas with about 15 seconds left in what would be his final All-Star appearance, which was a noble and classy gesture.

I see where you're coming from but the bottom line is that you're comparing two very different situations. One was a game that was actually replayed because of a dispute, the other was a game that both teams had pretty much decided was over and was called because a brawl broke out which jeopardised the safety of fans and players, making it impossible to resume play.

[Bruce]

It must have really hurt for the heat to get two losses in just one day.

[Andrew]

I suppose they can take comfort in the fact they would have lost the first game anyway if the replay hadn't been scheduled and the season was lost a while ago so they didn't blow a much needed opportunity.

[Bruce]

I don't know, but it really looks like the Heat are intentionally tanking this season.

[Matt]

Riley now to step down from the bench to scout....what a clown. He's just there for the good times but can't stick through the tough times (which he created)

[Andrew]

I don't know, but it really looks like the Heat are intentionally tanking this season.

With Wade shut down for the rest of the season they've pretty much thrown in the towel. Whether that's truly tanking or not is a matter of opinion because they have a good enough reason to sit Wade in a season that's long over, but I guess the result will be the same.

[shadowgrin]

It's true, they're tanking. Riley once suggested to Wade that he'll be limited to about 28 mpg, Wade declined. The team is really lost, even the new arrival, Shawn Marion said that his new teammates give up really easily.

[Patr1ck]

I don't think they are tanking. Just a few days ago they played the Clippers, which should have been an easier win for the Clippers, but Chris Kaman didn't play. It went down to the wire. The lead went back and forth in the final minute with foul shots.

[Andrew]

I don't think any team that you could say was tanking enters each game with the mindset of "We've got lose this one", but rather the effort isn't going to be there consistently and if they get down by a large margin early, they start going through the motions rather than trying to rally. In contrast, if they still have the opportunity to win late in the game, the effort will still be there. In that respect, I believe a distinction can be made between intentionally losing and phoning it in with a half-hearted effort, even if the result is the same.

[shadowgrin]

I don't think they are tanking. Just a few days ago they played the Clippers, which should have been an easier win for the Clippers, but Chris Kaman didn't play. It went down to the wire. The lead went back and forth in the final minute with foul shots.

Thus the tanking.
Kaman didn't play so the Clipps played bad, since the Heat are tanking, it went down the wire. If Kaman was playing the score wouldn't even be that close in the end. It would be too obvious if they lost with a Kaman-less Clippers who's also without a Sam Cassell now.

[Andrew]

Still, I don't believe any team that's tanking intentionally loses games to the point of intentionally sabotaging key plays and the like but rather the effort simply isn't there, especially if their opponents race out to an early lead. I don't believe they go into every game looking for ways to lose, they just approach each game with disinterest and not much competitive drive.

[shadowgrin]

I don't believe they go into every game looking for ways to lose

Riley did, when he came up with that idea of limiting their best player's minutes to the same amount of a bench/role player.

[Andrew]

True, and that doesn't give them much of a chance. However, I don't believe they go to the extent of intentionally committing turnovers or missing shots or things of that nature to throw the game away.

[shadowgrin]

Those are the referees' job.