Here’s the video of the alleged flop by Amir Johnson versus the Nuggets:
Is the contact exaggerated? Probably. I’ve seen it a few times now and he clearly pushes off his feet to simulate a harder fall than it was. Though I’m glad the NBA’s cleaning this sort of stuff up, I find they should take equal measures and enthusiasm to clean up other areas of the game, notably the officiating that happens on a nightly basis.
I’ve never been a huge complainer of the refs, but if we’re now shaming players publicly for marginal offenses, maybe it’s time we also call out refs who miss blatant calls and rob the game of the same integrity that Johnson’s being accused of degrading here. For example, the no-call on Lowry late in the Cleveland game, or just pick any one of Joey Crawford’s games.
Also, how about some consistency with these warnings, remind me who got warned here?
As Mike Ehrmantraut on Breaking Bad said, no half-measures.
