April 14, the last game day of the NBA regular season.

The battle for a spot in the Western Conference playoffs continued until the last minute.

There are four teams that could have the same record on the last matchday.

They are the Clippers, the Trail Blazers, the Spurs and the Thunder.

One of these teams will be eliminated from the playoffs this year.

The Portland Trail Blazers have already won their earlier games, going 50-32.

Because of the relationship between victory and loss, the Trail Blazers were the first to get the chance to advance.

There are three teams left: the Thunder, the Spurs, and the Clippers.

The Spurs are currently 50-31 and would be sixth in the West if they win their final game.

If they lose the last game, they are guaranteed to be seventh because of the win-loss relationship.

Therefore, the Spurs are also equivalent to entering the playoffs early, just to see how many they want to enter.

The sixth against the Suns, the seventh against the Mavericks, and on the whole, the Spurs seem to want to play 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 take a turn for Duncan and Ginobili, indicating that he did not want to win this game.

Falling to the seventh dozen Mavericks is the idea of the Spurs.

And the final spot will be between the Thunder and the Clippers.

If both teams lose and win, the winner advances to the playoffs and the loser exits.

If the win or loss is the same, the relationship between the two teams is the same.

But the Clippers have a better win rate against Western Conference teams.

Therefore, if the Clippers win their last game, they will definitely enter the playoffs.

And once the Clippers make the playoffs, the Los Angeles derby will be ushered in for the first time in NBA history.

The start time is set for 7 p.m., and the stadium will start preparing from the morning.

In addition to venue facilities, lighting and stage design, DJ cheerleading squads, etc., there will be rehearsals.

Before the start of each game, the referee also has a small meeting to discuss how the tone of the game will be set.

The three referees for tonight's enforcement are Joe DeRosa, Rodney Moto and Leon Wood.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, in the referee's hut, the three of them first had a conference call with the referee's supervisor, Joe Bozia.

"The final game of the regular season, the last game, control your scale, blow the whistle tighter, and don't get injured."

"Everyone is concerned about whether the Clippers can play the Los Angeles derby with the Lakers, and everyone hopes that this matchup will take shape. But it's better to keep it in check, don't blow too far, and keep your balance. ”

"Watch out for Smart Min, I feel like he's not been normal for the last month, he's very aggressive. He should really want the team to make the playoffs, don't give him a handle and get him in trouble. ”

Bozia talked about the general idea and purpose of tonight's game enforcement, and left the rest to the referee to make a discretion.

In fact, the first principle of NBA referees blowing the whistle is not absolute fairness and justice, but the pursuit of a balance.

The difference between the two is that in the pursuit of fairness and justice, we will only focus on the objective fact of whether the two sides have committed fouls.

If you foul, it's a foul, if you don't foul, you don't foul.

If there is ambiguity, use your expertise and on-field skills as much as possible to restore the truth.

Let both sides get a fair penalty.

The pursuit of balance is different, and it is not only the objective facts that are cared about, but also many subjective emotions.

For example, the idea of the fans, the home fans are fanatical in supporting the home team, and if the home team fouls too much, they must refrain from blowing the whistle.

The next time the home team fouls, if it's not too much, it won't blow.

Fans also like to watch the stars play on the field, so some small fouls of the stars try not to blow.

If someone in the balloon commits a foul early in the first quarter, try to be loose for the second foul.

Otherwise, the two fouls were replaced early, and the fans would be dissatisfied.

There is also the idea of sponsors, who want the game to be a little more broken.

In this way, there is time to insert ads, the game is too fast and smooth, and the ads are not easy to play.

As a result, referees sometimes stall or blow the whistle very hard at less important stages.

Then there is the idea of the league, which definitely wants the game to be more dramatic, and the popular teams and stars can win and advance.

Without overtly manipulating the game, the referee will be slightly biased towards the teams that are backed by the league to help them win the game.

So that more dramatic matchups can appear and ensure NBA ratings.

Finally, referees are also human beings, and referees also have their own subjective likes and dislikes.

Some referees have a holiday with certain players, and they will strictly enforce the law against him during the game.

Some referees like certain players very much and have a good personal relationship, so they will relax the whistle appropriately.

Some referees like to be in the limelight, so they will deliberately put the situation in chaos and control the situation themselves.

In short, the referee is definitely not the embodiment of fairness and justice, but a counterweight regulator of the game.

After the call, the three referees discussed how to blow tonight's game.

Joe De Rosa, who was the referee tonight, said: "Bozia told us to blow the whistle a little bit and not get hurt. But he also said to be careful of Smart Min, didn't he know that there was a contradiction between the two? ”

Rodney Moto agreed with De Rocha, saying: "That's right, blowing too strictly, Smart this guy will definitely go crazy, he has been very aggressive in the last month, he has eaten two fines from the league, and he is not restrained at all." I don't want to be entangled by him. ”

Leon Wood, as the third referee, didn't say much, just said: "Do your best, the referee shouldn't be disturbed by this." ”

DeRosa shook her head and said, "This season is my last season of law enforcement, I don't want to make any mistakes in the final stage, I'm retiring, you two of you will take care of me and control the scene, okay?" ”

DeRosa entered the NBA in the 1989-1990 season and began her refereeing career, which is exactly 20 years old this year, and will retire next season.

People who are close to retirement always want to stand on the last shift safely, and do not want anything bad to make a bad start to their retirement career.

Both Wood and Moto expressed their understanding, saying that they would control the scene tonight and not let Min Congda play anything.

"By the way, today's gamble, what do you want to play, my last regular season game." DeRosa asked.

The referee's work is stressful, and both sides are not pleasing to the public, no one praises if it is blown, and everyone scolds it if it is not blown.

So before every game starts, many referees will make a small bet.

For example, when O'Neal will be cut tonight, who will blow the first technical foul, Kobe Bryant will make a few three-pointers, etc.

Wood thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we bet on who Smart Min will spray at first tonight?" $100. ”

The three of them looked at each other, nodded, and agreed.

(End of chapter)