INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY DOUG SMITH (TORONTO STAR) WITH CREW CHIEF DAVID GUTHRIE FOLLOWING TODAY’S TORONTO RAPTORS VS. MIAMI HEAT GAME

August 3, 2020

QUESTION: Can you explain the common foul call on Goran Dragic for grabbing OG Anunoby’s ankle in the first half and whether injury factored into that decision to not assess a Flagrant Penalty 1?

GUTHRIE: “Injury did not really factor in on this particular play.  We judged that the contact by Dragic was accidental, but it was illegal and therefore that’s why the foul was called.  At replay, we did not see any wind-up, impact or follow through, so that’s why we ended up going with a common foul on that play.”

QUESTION: Later in the game, there was a Penalty Flagrant 1 assessed on Kelly Olynyk for hitting the face of Kyle Lowry.  Was the fact that Lowry went down a factor in the way you reached that decision? 

GUTHRIE: “So on that play, at replay, Olynyk, we judged that he took an aggressive swipe and he made some contact into the facial area of Kyle Lowry.  At replay, in my judgement, I felt like that did meet the criteria for a flagrant foul.  After reviewing that more postgame, and thinking about it a little bit more, to me, it now is more of a natural basketball play going for the ball and that the contact really did not rise to the criteria of a flagrant foul.  In both of these instances and cases, though, as always, I know that the league office will review them as they always do all flagrant fouls and they’ll make their determinations at the end of the day on what they think they ended up, in their judgement, that it was.  But we had our judgements in the live game.”