OKC’s Dion Waiters leaves team after brother killed in Philadelphia

Dion Waiters

Dion Waiters/Photo courtesy of Oklahoma City Thunder

 

Oklahoma City guard Dion Waiters left the team Wednesday after finding out his younger brother had been killed in an act of violence on Tuesday in their hometown of Philadelphia.

Waiters won’t be with the Thunder (43-20) when they host the Clippers (41-21) on Wednesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena in downtown Oklahoma City.

Waiters, 24, is in his fourth season in the league. He is averaging 9.6 points while starting 12 of 63 games in which he has played.

 

 

Coach Doc Rivers would like to see coaches’ challenge instituted

J.J. Redick

J.J. Redick/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

When the NBA released its “Last 2 Minutes” report from Monday’s game between the L.A. Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder, it showed officials made three mistakes in the final two minutes of the Clippers’ 100-99 loss at Staples Center. All went against the Clippers.

OKC’s Dion Waiters grabbed J.J. Redick’s jersey before Redick caught a pass and shot and missed a 3-pointer with no foul called on Waiters. Russell Westbrook should have been called for a foul when Chris Paul scored a basket that put the Clippers ahead 99-98 with 10.9 seconds left and Serge Ibaka should have been called for an illegal screen that set up Kevin Durant’s game-winning jump-shot with 5.8 seconds to go.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers on Wednesday at practice said it was all moot.

“Until something changes, it doesn’t matter,” said Rivers, whose team next will play the Lakers (5-23) on Christmas night at 7:30. “I really believe we’ve gotta make a change there. Those non-calls or calls, or whatever you want to call them, cost the game for us, literally. We have to come up with something, and I don’t even know what it is.”

Yes, he does.

“I’ve been thinking about a coaches’ challenge the last 2 minutes,” he said. “I’m a big believer in it. I think if we had a coaches’ challenge, the last two minutes of that game, we win the game.”

Rivers beefed to officials about all three situations once they happened.

“I don’t think anybody’s trying to make mistakes or anything like that,” Rivers said. “It’s a hard game to ref, but I do think the last two minutes … and if you get it wrong, you lose a timeout. And if you get it right, you keep the timeout.”

Rivers is part of the NBA’s competition committee, which has discussed using a challenge.

“Yeah, we’ve talked about it,” he said. “But it’s not gone too far. I think it will, eventually.”

Redick intimated he couldn’t care less about the L2M report.

“It doesn’t make a difference,” he said. “I don’t even know why they do it. Who cares? It doesn’t change anything. You can go through 48 minutes and write INC (incorrect call) or CNC (correct non-call) all you want, but it doesn’t change anything. So I don’t see a point to it. I’m not going to get worked up over it.”

Neither is Paul.

“We all make mistakes,” said Paul, who immediately after the game said, “I’ll save my money,” when asked about the officiating.

Last 2 Minutes report shows Clippers got short end of stick Monday in loss to Thunder

J.J. Redick

J.J. Redick/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

There were a couple of calls that did not go the Clippers’ way Monday night in their 100-99 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center.

The NBA’s L2M (Last 2 Minutes) report released Tuesday shows they were incorrect, and should have gone the Clippers’ way.

With 1:04 to play, the report shows that Dion Waiters should have been called for a foul when he grabbed J.J. Redick’s jersey before he shot and missed a 26-point 3-point attempt. The thing is, all the correct call would have done is give the Clippers the ball out of bounds because the Thunder were whistled for just one fourth-quarter foul, and the report indicated the foul took place before Redick “catches, plants and takes the shot.”

The Clippers were down 96-95 at the time.

Then, with 12.2 seconds left, Chris Paul makes a steal and awkward layup for a 99-98 lead. Paul complained there should have been a foul called on OKC’s Russell Westbrook, and this report agreed.

After the game, coach Doc Rivers was asked about the calls that went the other way.

“It’s frustrating,” he said. “It’s not like they’re (officials) … doing it on purpose. But these are games that in the West, you need every game. And so it gets very frustrating from a coaching standpoint.”

Paul was asked for a comment about the officiating, and all he said was, “I’ll save my money.”