The blown goaltending call was not the only controversy from Friday night’s Utah win over Portland.
In the final minute of the first quarter, Portland guard Anfernee Simons went up for a jump shot, Utah’s Royce O’Neal came over in an aborted closeout, and Simmons landed on O’Neale’s foot, fell, and his head bounced off the court.
Anfernee Simons leaves game after hitting head on court pic.twitter.com/paz1jNXeGd
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) February 8, 2020
Simons left the game not to return and is now in the league’s concussion protocol.
The Trail Blazers reportedly are ticked off by what they see as a dirty play by O’Neale, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.The Trail Blazers are also irate with Jazz swingman Royce O’Neale for what the team considered a “dirty play” for his role in injuring guard Anfernee Simons, sources said.
Was there intent by O’Neale to undercut Simons? Was O’Neale reckless and not watching where his body was in relation to a defenseless player? Or, was that just a fluky basketball play?
Your answer to those questions may say more about your point of view and allegiances than it does the play itself. That said, at the very least, O’Neale did not give Simons room to land on his jump shot, which should have been a penalty. None was called.
But the officials would miss more calls in that game.