SB5-28: No Harm, No Foul?

Today marks the end of an era. No longer will the San Antonio Spurs be in the "back to back championship" discussion.

The Spurs were controversially conquered last night by the Lakers 93-91 in the Western Conference Finals.

Brent Barry had the ball with a little over 2 seconds to go in Game 4 at San Antonio and pulled up for a 3-pointer. Derek Fisher of LA went airborne to deflect the shot, only to run into Barry as he attempted a shot. There was no foul called, and the Spurs lost.

The question earlier today was: Was this a foul and should they have called it?

The question now is: Does the no-call matter?

The answer to that question is no; the no-call does not matter.

Even if Barry would have been fouled and called for it, he would have had to make the three free throws in order to win; he could have missed one and sent it into overtime.

He could have pulled up for the shot too early only to leave time for Kobe Bryant to attempt a last second shot.

The shot could have gone in and tied the series at 2, but it doesn't matter because the Lakers would have won the series anyways. This win only eliminates a Game 7, maybe even a Game 6.

The Spurs are going to lose this series, but not because of this Game 4 controversy but because of their age.