CLEVELAND — It wasn't just the overtime that made Sunday's 3:30 p.m. Cavs game against the Portland Trail Blazers feel like it lasted an eternity. The game dragged on thanks to the numerous stoppages for fouls and official reviews.
Officiating is rarely well-received by fans, that's the nature of sports. But Sunday left fans particularly irritable at the refs. Boos rained down on the court after a whistle. Reviews played back on the Humongotron were met with jeers from the crowd. As they continued, even the Cavs players were up in arms on the sidelines arguing the calls.
And there were plenty of calls to argue.
In Sunday's game between the Cavs and Trail Blazers, there were a combined 70 free throws taken, 35 each. Refs called a total of 53 personal fouls.
It felt like every drive, every block, every swipe was penalized.
"You trying to get me in trouble?" Cavs small forward/guard Max Strus joked when asked if he'd ever played in a game that had so many free throws and fouls. "No, I don't recall ever being a part of something like that, I'm just going to stop there."
Strus made it clear throughout the game that he wasn't satisfied with the officiating. Calls against him came with eccentric faces and reactions. He called for reviews numerous times. And he wasn't alone.
Cavs All-Star Evan Mobley found himself fighting against calls he received from the officiating crew. The calls were so heavy Sunday that, for just the fourth time in his career, Mobley fouled out of the game.
"The game was so choppy, and I don't know, I'll have to go back and look at the film...we have great referees in this league. I just thought tonight it wasn't a great spectacle for the fans or for the media, for us as coaches, it would just seem like it was constant stoppage..I'll just leave it at that," said Head Coach Kenny Atkinson after the game.
The calls went against both teams, no question. Blazers' Donovan Clingan picked up six fouls in just 11 minutes and had to leave the game.
While the crowd at Rocket Arena was as energetic as ever, the sound of the whistle seemed to overpower everything else.
"There was a lot of whistles out there today, but I think we did a good job playing through it and not letting it affect our game plan and stuff like that," said Cavs' swingman De'Andre Hunter.
RELATED: Cavs hold off Blazers 133-129 in OT for 10th straight win, 50th overall
Sunday's officiating crew consisted of Pat Fraher as the crew chief, Jenna Schroeder as the umpire and Natalie Sago as the referee. The latter drew direct ire from the players, especially Cavs guard Ty Jerome, who did not hold back his feelings on Sago's performance. Jerome was fined $25,000 for his comments.
"Yeah, I thought the refs were really bad tonight, especially Natalie, she was really bad," Jerome said candidly after the game. "So when stuff like that happens, they kind of lose control of the game and you just got to keep your head. I thought that first half was ridiculous. Third quarter was horrendous. Just got to keep your head and keep playing."
The criticism of the officiating crew is subject to potential fines. But in a frustrating game that was stopped, and stopped and stopped again for questionable fouls, it's easy to see how the frustration boiled over.
Here is the NBA's breakdown of officiating position duties:
Crew Chief Position
- Proficient in Referee and Umpire positions
- Leader of the crew, on and off the floor
- High-level play calling, partnering skills, and tools for handling any game situation, including interpersonal communication
- Understands the importance of extending into their secondary area of coverage, with accuracy
Referee Position
- Proficient in all Umpire position requirements
- Effectively the glue for a crew through consistency, teamwork, and communication - makes partners better by carrying a larger portion of the crew’s load than an umpire
- Capable of handling some plays in the secondary area of coverage
- Ability to recognize and appropriately manage shifts in game conditions (intensity, emotions, decorum, style of play etc.)
Umpire Position
- Aggressively and accurately calls plays in the primary area of responsibility
- Responsible for basic mechanics including rotations, positioning, and clock and team foul awareness
- Strong rules knowledge coupled with contributions to in-game discussions/issues regarding adjudication
