Chicago Bulls F Taj Gibson Shouldn’t Have Been Ejected in Game 5

May 8, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson (22) goes up on Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) during the second half in game three of the second round of the NBA Playoffs. at the United Center. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-96. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Chicgo Bulls forward Taj Gibson received a flagrant two foul and an automatic ejection with 10:25 left in the 4th quarter of the Bulls’ 101-106 loss in Game 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The incident occurred when Gibson got tangled up with Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova after both players fell trying to position themselves for a rebound. The nature of the play by no means warranted an ejection.

Gibson’s ejection Tuesday night highlights the subjectivity of NBA officiating in certain instances. The PF didn’t kick Dellavedova, and the guard instigated the incident in the first place. The correct call in this situation would have been to give a double technical to both players. Gibson didn’t deserve to be ejected.

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For starters, the play didn’t warrant an ejection because Gibson didn’t kick him. Instead, he forcefully tried to remove his foot from Dellavedova’s leg-lock, and the momentum and force of his thrust to free his foot made it appear as if Gibson had kicked at Dellavedova’s legs.

The forward told reporters after the game there wasn’t any malicious intent in any of his actions during this incident.

"I didn’t kick [Dellavedova] at all. He just leg-locked me. It got chippy at the end, of course. They didn’t call a foul … I tried to pull my leg back. It looked like I kicked him from the way of the force I was pulling my leg out, but I have to deal with the consequences they ejected me. I have to deal with whatever the league has to say, but I didn’t kick him at all.I gave him a look like, ‘What are you doing? This is basketball. This [isn’t] wrestling, but it got chippy. Both teams kind of swarmed the situation and made it bigger than what it was, but nobody threw any punches. I’m just sad that I couldn’t finish the game and help my team."

Obviously, Gibson is going to defend his actions, and so his words alone dismissing the severity of the situation aren’t enough to make a completely convincing argument. However, Gibson’s NBA track record suggests that he isn’t the type of player to do something with an intent to hurt an opponent.

May 12, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova (8) falls to the ground after he collided with Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson (22) in the fourth quarter in game five of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Gibson has been ejected on two other occasions during his career. In both instances, the ejections were a result of choice words used by him when arguing a call made by a referee.

Gibson plays with passion and fire on every single possession. However, he isn’t a dirty player by any stretch of the imagination, and it seems unreasonable to believe he actually kicked Dellavedova with malicious intent. That isn’t in his nature; his track record shows it.

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In addition, Gibson shouldn’t have been ejected because Dellavedova was just as much at fault for how the incident unfolded as Gibson was. Dellavedova instigated Gibson’s reaction by putting him in a leg-lock. The correct call in this situation would have been to give both players technical fouls and move on. Despite spending significant time reviewing the play on a monitor, the referees still overlooked Dellavedova’s sneaky leg-lock.

ESPN analyst Mike Wilbon created a series of tweets on Tuesday night condemning the referees for mishandling this incident.

The issue here is how one-sided the call was. The referees were given access to video replay, and they still failed to recognize that Dellavedova instigated the incident. It is impossible to justify ejecting a player without recognizing that an opposing player prompted the questionable action and punishing the instigator in some respect. Gibson shouldn’t have been ejected because there were two players involved in the incident. He didn’t act spontaneously; his actions were prompted by a devious leg-lock by Dellavedova. By ejecting Gibson, the officials are basically implying that he was solely responsible for the incident. This simply isn’t the case.

Chicago Tribune writer David Haugh dismissed the skirmish for what it was: an ‘overreaction’ by the referees. In his column on Tuesday night, he lamented the officials for failing to make the correct call despite having access to video review of the play.

"After officials reviewed videotape of the scrum — what exactly were they looking at? — they ejected Gibson but not Dellavedova, who was far from blameless. The right call would have been assessing both players technical fouls and allowing the fourth quarter of a playoff game to finish without the referees’ judgment overshadowing it. That has happened far too often this series."

Ultimately, the Bulls lost Game 5 and now go back to to Chicago down 3-2 against a Cavaliers team that has recaptured all the momentum in the series. Would Gibson’s presence for the remainder of the fourth quarter in Game 5 made any difference in the outcome of the game?

May 12, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau reacts in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game five of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

With 20 seconds left in the game and the Bulls down 99-101, Lebron James missed an open jumper and the ball was rebounded by Iman Shumpert. This offensive rebound ultimately won the game for the Cavaliers, as the Bulls had to intentionally foul and Kyrie Irving knocked down two free throws to give his team a four-point lead. The Bulls did have other opportunities to win the game. However, if Gibson, a prolific and tough rebounder, had been in the game, would he have secured the rebound and given the Bulls one more chance to win the game?

It is a big if. But, it is a question we will never find the answer to because the officials needlessly ejected Gibson from the game.

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