The Denver Nuggets tried an old high school hoops trick last night, but the replacement referees didn't bite.
When Renaldo Balkman was fouled late in the first half of last night's preseason opener against the Jazz, Denver coach George Karl called time out... and then sent Aaron Afflalo to shoot the freebies. (Balkman shoots under 55% from the line; Afflalo's career number is just shy of 80%.) But the refs noticed the switcheroo and called Balkman to the line.
"It works in high school,'' Nuggets coach George Karl said of the old trick. "I don't think it's ever worked (in the NBA).'
Karl's attempts at trickeration aside, the replacements' first outing was uneventful -- and really, that's what you want from referees. Of course, even if both teams thought the refs stunk up the joint, they wouldn't be allowed to tell us. The NBA circulated a memo this week with a friendly reminder that public criticism of officials is strictly forbidden, and that violators of the policy are subject to "substantial fines."
During the playoffs, Nate McMillan, Rick Adelman and Doc Rivers ran afoul of that policy and were fined $25,000 each.
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