Kevin Garnett Is Wrong: Officials Should 'Decide' Games at the End

With 10 seconds left in a three-point game, Kevin Garnett was correctly called for an illegal screen. This effectively ended the drama, and the home arena groaned in disbelieving agony. After the game, KG gave his take (via WEEI): "I just thought in that situation, you let the players decide the game." 

The studio hosts of NBA on TNT largely agreed with this sentiment, and it's one you'll often hear from fans as well. When the game is at its sweaty denouement, refs should err on the side of not deciding. Let it be a play and not a whistle, they say.

I'm sorry, but this ethos is insane. These are the highest leverage situations. Garnett is essentially saying, "I should be allowed to cheat in the most important moments." So I see this line of thinking as less "letting the players decide" and more "letting certain players cheat." The final moments are crucial and therefore should have the best reffing, not the most lax.