Pau Gasol Didn't Push Off to Get That Last Rebound, Okur Flopped

Excellent post from Henry over at TrueHoop regarding the late game put-back from Pau Gasol that clinched the Game 5 victory for the Lakers. Like Henry, while watching it happen live, I thought Gasol pushed off, and was shocked there was no foul called. Not "angry" shocked, mind you, just "relieved" shocked, because I was rooting for the Lakers. But shocked nonetheless, because it appeared that Gasol used his forearm to shove Mehmet Okur in the lower back to be able to get the position to grab the rebound.

A big time Laker fan I know who was at the game texted me immediately with "Gasol pushed off!" That's how it looked live, and I guess that's how it looked in person. I mean, heck, Okur did go flailing under the basket, so he must have been fouled, right? Watch the video a few times though, and I think you'll see that Okur clearly exaggerated the contact, and it looks like the refs made the proper no-call.

Gasol's forearm begins placed on Okur's back, sure. But Gasol doesn't push off, he just jumps. And if you watched Pau play all night, you could make the argument that he's not even strong enough to cause Okur to go flying like that.

The Lakers did get the benefit of shooting 10 more free throws than the Jazz (14 if you count the four in the final 10 seconds that the Jazz gave intentionally), but that's to be expected at home. Back in Utah, the Jazz shot 20 more free throws than the Lakers in their overtime Game 4 victory, so that goes with the territory. But on this play, there was no favoritism for the home team: Okur flopped, and the refs got it right.