One View of the Pierce Foul

Posted by Zach Lowe on Feb 1, 2010 57217 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2010%2F02%2F01%2Fone-view-of-the-pierce-foul%2FOne+View+of+the+Pierce+Foul2010-02-01+16%3A33%3A30Zach+Lowehttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D5721

Here’s Henry Abbott on the controversial Pierce offensive foul that ended Boston’s second-to-last possession Sunday:

If you want to watch Paul Pierce’s game-changing offensive foul obsessively, again and again,this version of the highlights has good angles. You’ll see a couple of things: Yes Pierce used his off-arm to create space. It’s hardly the worst foul call ever. But is it the kind of things you often see go uncalled? Of course. Worth noting, Pierce didn’t shove Artest the direction that Artest fell, and to my eyes, Artest absolutely faked the entire fall, without which I’d be very surprised to see this call made.

I’m not going to complain about this call too much, since every team is going to lose out on a questionable call here or there (as the Lakers did when Perk tapped an offensive rebound off of a camera hanging behind the hoop and the refs missed it, awarding possession to Boston when Perk grabbed the ball).

But I will say that Pierce’s offensive foul obviously brings to mind one of the most famous plays in NBA history, a play on which no foul was called.

Again: I’m not whining. You win some, you lose some. A push-off foul (much like an illegal screen) seems in many cases to be an individual judgement call rather than an objective interpretation of a hard-and-fast rule. I always thought Leon Powe committed a push-off almost every time he went up for a contested shot at the rim, but the refs never called it.

Just food for thought. The whistle will go the Truth’s way next time. (Right?)