#ProtestGame1 - Why The Cavs Should Do It

There is a huge controversy about the Cavs and Warriors Game 1 with many calls going against the road team. One call specifically under the microscope is a charge call drawn by LeBron that was reviewed and then changed to a block which gave Kevin Durant two foul shots with under a minute to go to tie the game.

Many believe the refs KNEW LeBron was out of the restricted zone and just wanted to go to the monitor in order to have grounds to change a call. I never knew you could change a block/charge call via review until now.

Additionally, there are reports that if the call is overturned it should have resulted in a James/Durant jump ball. Check out this tweet: If the Cavs were to protest the game and win, it is my understanding that the game would resume before Game 2 with a jump ball between Durant/LeBron and would be played out from there. However, that is unclear.

We all remember the classic pine tar incident with George Brett. That was baseball, but it was reviewed and the game was finished with the home run counting. The Miami Heat also protested a game in 2011 and won when Shaq was disqualified with five fouls instead of six.

“Because of this conduct by Atlanta’s personnel, Miami suffered a clear competitive disadvantage, as O’Neal – the Heat’s second-leading scorer and rebounder that night – was removed from a one-point game with only 51.9 seconds remaining. Under this unprecedented set of circumstances, the Commissioner granted the Heat’s protest and fined the Hawks $50,000 for their violation of league rules.

The protest is the first granted by the NBA since December 14, 1982, when then-NBA Commissioner Larry O’Brien upheld a protest by the San Antonio Spurs concerning their 137-132 double-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 30. The Spurs and Lakers finished the game on April 13 with San Antonio collecting a 117-114 win.”

A lot of money would have been lost if the Cavs won Game 1 and that is where the question of if the NBA Officials tried to rig this game in favor of the Warriors with that specific call and the others.

Here is the actual play:

Offensive foul or nah? You make the call pic.twitter.com/8szyxhq6Fw

— gifdsports (@gifdsports) June 1, 2018

Whether it is a block or a charge is too close to call and it is one of the toughest in sports to make. Durant goes right into the chest of James, but LeBron is still slightly moving. HOWEVER, the call on the floor was a charge. Now, the refs were able to go to the monitor by claiming to check if LeBron was in the restricted zone, which it is clear he is not even close. Look at this CST tweet here:

The refs went to see if LeBron was in the restricted area. That’s the only reason they were able to overturn the call.

IT’S NOT EVEN CLOSE! pic.twitter.com/T3zwCh9Ao5

— Cleveland Sports Talk (@CLEsportsTalk) June 1, 2018

The refs obviously just wanted to go to the monitor to review the call to overturn it to a block. There was no question of where LeBron was when he drew it. Thus, no review should have occurred and it would be Cavs ball with the lead and under a minute to go.

The protest should be made because a jump ball should have occurred instead of two foul shots for KD because of the overturning of the initial call. It’s in the rulebook, according to that former ref in the tweet above.

Dan Gilbert, it’s up to you. Cleveland is backing you.

Use hashtag #ProtestGame1 when tweeting about the game today.

Image: ESPN