Ref's Inadverent Whistle Not Reason for Bulls' Loss to Hawks in Game 4

COMMENTARY | The Chicago Bulls will play Game 5 against the Atlanta Hawks Tuesday in the semi-final playoffs. The game will be played in Chicago on the heels of the Hawks' victory in Atlanta Sunday, which tied the series at two wins apiece.

Sam Smith has posted an article at the Chicago Bulls' website titled "Bulls and Rose shooting for Game 5."

There was a critical call by a ref in the game Sunday -- or, perhaps more accurately, a non-call. Official Bennett Salvatore blew his whistle when he didn't mean to and called a jump ball. Unfortunately, when he later saw the film, he saw he was wrong and noted the Bulls' Derrick Rose had been fouled on a three-point shot attempt, according to ESPN.

This has been pointed to by some as the reason the Bulls lost game 4 to the Hawks, since the Hawks scored on the subsequent jump ball. However, while it may have contributed, it can't be used as an excuse for the loss. Rose did not have a great shooting night and what really allowed the Hawks to win the game was the lackadaisical defense the Bulls put up in the fourth quarter.

I coached grade school basketball for years. However, when my middle son reached the eighth grade, I took a season off. The man who took over was a friend of mine who was an avid sports fan. He also took the approach to the game that a team controlled its own destiny; they couldn't ever "point fingers."

One team we played we beat every year. They were a very small school. However, this year our team didn't play well and yet was up by two points with three seconds to go.

The opposing team inbounded the ball and a tiny player heaved the ball from half-court. It miraculously went in and while their team ran around the court screaming with joy, our players sat down in shock.

The new coach told our boys something I have never forgotten: "If you put yourself in a position where one play can beat you, you have not played good enough to win and cannot use that as an excuse."

The more I chewed on that statement, the more brilliant I realized it was. It means when you fail to give something your very best effort, you will be able to look back and see times you could have "increased the score" of your game.

And so it is with the Bulls. There were plenty of reasons they lost. Rose wasn't shooting that well; the Bulls didn't play good defense; the "Korvers" of the team, including Kyle Korver, didn't shoot well; and some of the supporting Bulls didn't do their job. Simply put, the ref's poor call did not beat them.

The main concern should be that the Bulls really don't have that consistent second man to Derrick Rose.

We'll see how things go in Game 5.

References:

Chicago Bulls' Website, Sam Smith, "Bulls and Rose shooting for Game 5"

ESPN.com Website, Nick Friedell, "Ref admits mistake in Bulls-Hawks"