Just as he sat at the interview table, Phoenix Suns coach Frank Vogel looked agitated for reasons beyond the 106-103 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday in the quarterfinals of NBA’s In-Season Tournament.
Vogel’s frustration also stemmed from the officials granting the Los Angeles Lakers a timeout while guard Austin Reaves struggled to keep possession of the ball. With the Suns’ Devin Booker and Kevin Durant trapping Reaves in hopes of forcing a turnover, LeBron James called timeout while the Lakers nursed a 107-104 lead with 7.4 seconds left.
“It’s a loose ball, and the ball is out and they call timeout on a loose ball,” Vogel said in an exasperated tone. “You can’t call a timeout on a loose ball. You can’t do it. So if the whistle blows, I don’t know why, everything in the league is reviewable. I don’t know why that can’t be reviewable. I know it’s not a foul or an out-of-bounds [call], which is a challenge. But at any point in the game and the whistle blows inadvertently, the ref can huddle up and say, ‘Inadvertent whistle; where were we at during the game?’”
Vogel called it “extremely disappointing” after sharing the officials told him that “nothing about it is reviewable.” That prompted Vogel and Booker both to argue that officials should be able to review any play during crunch time.
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