Sixers

If this Ball “Slipped” Out of Giannis’ Hands, then I’m Eric Clapton on the Guitar

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Oct 27th, 2023 · 9:50 AM EDT

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Tell ya what, the Sixers battled in Milwaukee on Thursday night. They erased a nine-point halftime deficit and battled back, but while they responded admirably, the refs remained in preseason mode:

DAME 3-BALL.

Bucks take the lead back 105-104!

LIVE ON TNT #KiaTipOff23 pic.twitter.com/4Gju1nYRDH

— NBA (@NBA) October 27, 2023

Haha refs said this “slipped” out of Giannis’s hand. pic.twitter.com/mTNRfaEY5k

— CogginToboggan (@CogginToboggan) October 27, 2023

You get a call wrong, so be it. The officials are human.

But this is blatant, obvious, and egregious. There is zero chance the ball slipped out of his hands there. That is a shot attempt! Look at the response on the Sixers’ bench when Giannis grabs his own airball and kicks it out to Damian Lillard for three. It started an 11-0 Milwaukee run and really served as a catalyst for their win. It was a total momentum killer that swung the game in the home team’s favor.

I’m not a conspiracy theory guy, but when you see shit like this, self doubt starts to creep in, and you wonder if the crazies on social media who think the NBA rigged this one for Dame to win his Milwaukee debut actually have some juice behind their arguments. The refs were ass in this game. You had the Crowder flop as well. Just really bad all around.

Thought the Sixers looked pretty good though. If they compete like they did on Thursday night, they’ll win a lot of games with or without James Harden.

That was a very fun Bucks game. And yet — cannot believe how bad NBA refs have been this season. Tonight’s crew missed Giannis throw an airball to himself on one of the biggest plays of 4Q. You could have made that call from the last row of the arena. Come on.

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) October 27, 2023