NBA Playoff: Denver-LA Game 4 Sure Looked Crooked from Here
May 26, 2009 by dwil
J.R. Smith gets his stupid on.
First, let me say that if the Los Angeles Lakers lose this series, on the player side, it will be because Lamar Odom refused to engage himself in the game. Other than two defende inbounds passes, Odom has played as if he is totally uninterested in basketball. Secondly, the Lakers, with Odom spearheading the lack of effort, are failing to rotate and cover for each other on defense. It has cost them rebounds and second-chance points. It is unforgivable for an undisciplined team like Denver to defeat you on the boards only because they put forth more effort
But Odom is the spark-douser there, too.
Now, onto the officiating.
At halftime, LA assistant coach Frank Hamblen said the Lakers need just one good push to win Game 4. Los angeles made the run bit the official made three absolutely horrid calls in a row to steal the momentum from the away team, Later in the third quarter, Kobe Bryant faked out Dahntay Jones and Jones, who has already received a flagrant 1 foul for pushing Bryant in the back, reached out to grab Bryant, missed and then tripped him – no call.
After each commentator watched the replay and decried Jones’ act, “Mike Breen had the gall to say, “Dahntay Jones is not a dirty player” (I am so surprised some group of disgruntled New Yorkers haven’t waited for Breen to leave Madison Square Garden after Breen kills the Knicks during his broadcast, and jacked his ass up). The League office will hopefully review the play as they did the push and assess another flagrant to Jones, which will cause him to be suspended for Game 5, as he should be. However, that there was no foul call remains unconscionable. And then to tell Bryant to stop jawing after missing a very dangerous and dirty play is ————– lewd.
Just as the fourth quarter started, Andrew Bynum stripped J.R. Smith, who is one of the five most stupid players in the NBA. Instead of a “play on,” a foul was called. A few possessions later, Billups, when in a pinch drove directly into a retreating Bynum and somehow was awarded with a free throw.
Questions for the NBA: how can a team that commits the fourth-most fouls in the league outshoot a team that is one of the top teams in the league at drawing fouls? How can a team that refuses to change when the officials are clearly calling the game closely and continues to bang the opposition at every opportunity, outshoot the opposition from the free throw line?
Sure, Billups can be hailed as a great team leader, but Denver, in total, plays not that much more intelligently than they did before the ex-Detroit Pistons point guard arrived. They continue to jack up three-point shots early in the clock. They continue to crash the boards over the backs of the opposition – in this case the Lakers. They continue to fail to adjust to the officiating and foul constantly. Their bench players continue to play poor transition defense.
But they are consistently allowed to throw their bodies into Lakers defenders who are standing still or retreating and get rewarded by going to the foul line. They continue to crash the boards over the backs of the Lakers and not get called for fouls. Yet when Bynum goes hard on Chris anderson’s arms to keep him from advancing to the rim – he gets called for a flagrant foul: Breen, of course, disagreed with Mark Jackson, who said it was not a flagrant foul, “just a good hard playoff foul.”
David Stern, you have an ever-growing image problem on your hands. And no matter how Jeff Van Gundy attempts to say Denver “earned their trips to the line” because they drove to the rim, the shot charts for the games do not lie – just like with the Cleveland LeBrons and the Orlando Magic series.
Fuck this: let me just fucking cut to the chase.
This is bullshit. Commander Stern has the playoffs going like this: do everything humanly possible to legitimize James. How can I tell? ESPN rides his jock like Calvin Borel riding winners in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. James has made exactly two game-winning shot in his entire career, the first against the Knicks in January and the shot against the Magic, and the Big Subliminal had James on air so often between Games 2 and 3 you’d have thought he was a fucking SportsCenter anchor.
For a dude who has won nothing in the NBA, James is accorded more advantages than Michael Jordan ever had. In this do not touch (except at the end of games and when certain teams are in the playoffs) NBA, James plays the game like a blind man on a noontime Manhattan street. In the hope of receiving even more gifts from the officials than he is already accorded, he is a “D-List” actor on the court who is treated like an Oscar winner.
Then we have the Denver problem. After watching four Western Conference finals games I understand why the New Orleans Hornets gave up their series so easily. The Nuggets beat and beat and beat New Orleans and never got called for shit – so the Hornets protested by giving the NBA the worst playoff game it has ever seen.
Then, for exactly the same reason, LA quit Monday night in Game 4.
And fake-ass calls on Renaldo Balkman with :37.8 left in the game for putting his hands on Jordan Farmar as he drove to the hoop to try vainly to front like the game is being called correctly isn’t shit. See, when Chauncey Billups, who is categorically too slow and J.R. Smith, who is too undisciplined and too short to guard Kobe Bryant at all, are allowed to use forearms, hand-checks, chest-bumps, knees, and elbows for 47:22.2 minutes, calls like the one made on Balkman are the product of the referees looking up at the scoreboard and knowing they fucked up with the foul disparity between the teams.
The deal with Kobe Bryant and the NBA is this: David Stern has punished Bryant ever since “the Colorado incident.”
Yu see, I have learned my lesson. When Bennett Salvatore shows up, the game is going to be crooked. when he showed up in 2006 in the Finals Dwyane Wade shot 200 free throws. When he showed up in Dallas this year – well, you saw it. He showed up Monday night in Denver and the result was a game Where Denver outshot LA from the line by 14 free throws, 49 to 35, just two days after the totals were almost identically reversed. The Nuggets were allowed to climb all over the backs of the Lakers and get away with it. Denver fouled and fouled and fouled and fouled ——————– and fucking fouled some more.
But Salvatore and his sheisty crew let Denver go.
And I’ll show you when and how they stole this game.
With the score 56-53 in the third quarter, Derek Fisher’s three-point shot went in and out. Kenyon Martin grabbed the rebound on the far side of the rim and immediately shot an elbow into the rib cage of Andrew Bynum. with Salvatore under the basket and another official on the wing behind the play and both refs looking at Martin and Bynum, nothing was called. Billups then dribbled into Bynum while the LA center’s back was turned, lost the ball, walked, and double-dribbled; nothing was called.
Nene Hilario then got hacked by Bynum but only after Carmelo Anthony leaped into Pau Gasol without a charge being called. Hilario missed the layin and made one of two foul shots. On LA’s following possession, Trevor Ariza drove the baseline and got clotheslined by Kenyon Martin. Neither the baseline official nor Salvatore, who was on the wing watching the play, blew their whistles. Ariza complained very briefly but had to get back on defense knowing a fast break was the result of the obvious but blown call. Billups drove and threw himself into Gasol, who was backing away and to the right from Billups. A three-point play for Billups and the Nuggets was the result of that officiating error. By now, a possible 10-point swing has occurred, and Denver was up 60-53 instead of possibly being down 60-56. After a weak shot attempt by Lamar Odom, Jones drove directly into a standing still Ariza just outside the circle. A full-on easy charge call was somehow determined to be a blocking foul on Ariza; Jones made both free throws.
Kobe Bryant then made an 18-foot jumper with 7:39 left in the quarter. Billups came down the floor and blew by Kobe, was hacked by Bryant, and made both free throws. On the Lakers next trip Gasol received a pass low on the block. He faked into the lane and spun quickly toward the baseline on Kenyon Martin, Martin stopped Gasol from getting to the rim by shoving a forearm into the Lakers center’s back and pushing him outside the paint. with Salvatore no more than four feet from the two player, he called nothing. Bryant was forced into a long jumper and when Martin snatched the rebound and Billups made a short jumper to make the score 66-56 with 6:56 left in the third, the officials had effectively ended the game.
Stern has allowed another of his new pets he’s banking on for the NBA’s future in Carmelo Anthony, to beat the living shit out of Kobe for the better part of three games now. This is Stern’s thanks to the man whose jersey makes the single most amount of money for the League – and has done so for years now. Until Eagle, Colorado Bryant was feted by Stern. Yeah Kobe fucked up and hooked up with some opportunistic bimbo – remember she’s the one who was crowing to anyone who would listen about how she fucked Kobe and how big Bryant’s dick is at a party the night after she was allegedly raped.
So, yeah Kobe fucked up. But Stern oversees a league where fully one-third to one-half (at least) of the on-court employees have paternity suits, rape allegations, or are fucking groupies in multiple cities around the country.
You know, I hardly heard squat about Dwyane Wade and his dalliances. Dirk and his multiple identity-havin’ ho sure did disappear from our eyes like David Copperfield making the fucking Statue of Liberty appear like it vanished into the ether. But sure enough the League and a compliant sports press stopped talking about Wade and his family, and now highlight Wade’s on-court exploits only. And there must be a freeze on Dirk reporting, as big as that story is, potentially. As much of a star as LeBron is supposed to be, his home life is almost completely off-limits – you know it’s League-mandated.
Plus, for all that talk about what a Black-run sports Stern has, how come when Chris Anderson decides to deal with his off-court problems by becoming a junkie, ESPN’s Colleen Dominguez can term his drug and alcohol problems, “coping methods.” I have never heard any shit like that about a Black athlete. Drug problems? Sure. But —————————- COPING METHODS?!
Are you fucking serious? and how is it that no reporter has ever tracked down Anderson’s old haunts and found out what his drug or drugs of choice were? That would never happen with a Black athlete; not in the NFL, MLB, NHL or Stern’s “Black NBA.”
That right there ought to tell everyone precisely what the deal is, on the racism tip.
They – they as in the NBA, ESPN, the local Denver and New Orleans, and the national NBA and general sports press, let a motherfucking reserve center have his privacy, but won’t let the game’s brightest star have his.
Fuck all of you who think that shit is just fine “because it’s Kobe.” fuck all of you who think it’s fine because “Kobe is news and Chris Anderson isn’t.”
Tell you what. Let an ESPN reporter hunt down some of those cell phone pictures of Anderson doing his dirt, get some good druggy-ass stories from some female “sources,” and let them write up a nice, salacious story, and then see how big that shit is.
Then come back and tell me “‘Birdman’ doesn’t move the viewer or website hit needle.”
But Anderson and his exploits are indicative of the choice Stern has made for the 2009 NBA Playoffs. He’s making this series go as long as possible and is casting the Denver Nuggets in the role of league “darling.” David Stern has picked Anderson, J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin, and Chauncey Billups and the rest of the Nuggets over the Lakers (click the links to find out why Stern has signed a deal with the devil) or any other team not named the Cleveland Cavaliers.
When prodded about the want for a Kobe-LeBron NBA Finals matchup, Stern replied snarkily that an Orlando-Denver meeting is equally as enticing because Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are also rising stars in the NBA.
In actuality, David Stern wants to appease the corporations that pay the bills. Stern prefers “team ball” to “superstar ball” since the Man, the Myth, the Legend that is Michael Jordan passed. The people who believe Stern has conspired for a Lakers-Cavs Finals are deranged. From the moment Matthew Dowd walked into the League office the NBA stopped catering to the one-man band.
One team can revolve fully around a superstar, especially a team with the ascendant James, but two? No way. If Bryant and Los Angeles make it to the Finals, Kobe will be be beaten ragged by the time he gets there and James will be so tired of carrying the rest of the choking dogs he calls teammates on his back that hidden heroes must emerge for one team to defeat the other.
But don’t count on that happening. David the Democrat would hate to send anything less than players he feels are representative of what the NBA has become to see the President.
It’s just too bad we have to watch it happen. And it’s just too bad the men who are the players are not what they appear to be. But then again, not much is.
Oh yeah, when Chauncey Billups can put his head down and bull his way through a double-team trap, stick the ball out, and have Lamar Odom grab the ball but get called for a foul call, there is something wrong with your game David Stern. There is something very wrong.
It’s turning into SMH material. The Lake-Show just mailed it in for the Denver fans and a game 5 trip home. How they respond will be interesting…
First, I was disappointed by the effort put forth by LA on the boards, however, before half time was near I knew what this game was and where it was going. I couldn’t watch that Chris Anderson shit, for the same reason, plus I am trying to cut down on my cussing after 8 o’clock.
May David Stern get what he wants…to paraphrase an ancient Chinese curse.
Hey…the Lakers lose and it’s the officials’ fault. Who could have predicted this?
Having said that…the officiating right now is a travesty. As a pretty much disinterested party (I like seeing LA lose, because they are LA…but I am not exactly a Nuggests’ fan)….that fourth quarter was a mockery of a sham of a travesty. I have a wife who likes sports, and she said “I don’t watch championship round games to see a free throw shooting contest.”
Didn’t technical fouls used to be used either to send a message early in a game or to deal with out of control players? Multiple t’s in the fourth in an undecided game for hard fouls are simply unacceptable. If Rodman had played in this era, he would have been suspended for the playoffs by now.
I was wondering when the Chris Anderson angle would set you off. Unless I missed something over the last few weeks, I haven’t seen you go off on that yet.
NBA is pretty sad right now in the sense that nobody believes the games are called straight. Even the more mainstream writers remark on it.
If you’re original thesis is that the league was trying to extend the series, that seems to fly in the face of the notion that Carmelo is Stern’s new pet. I believe anyone on Denver would qualify since Stern’s preference is to deal with “known quantities.” If a player is not reliable on and off the court, and subject to emotional outbursts or poor decision-making, they’re not a pet — they’re a protagonist.
Which theory are you rolling with? LA in 7 or Denver by any means necessary?
The idea that the Stern wants Melo in the Finals and not Kobe is asinine.
Obviously I meant to say that I don’t believe anyone on Denver fits the bill. Speed kills.
D-wil I love you man but you’re starting to sound like a desperate Lakers fan. Granted the officiating was horrible and definitely in this case in favor of Denver, but did you watch Game 3. Nene picked up 3 fouls in about 30 seconds in the fourth quarter for playing defense against Gasol.
As far as the comments about James, yes he has made onyl two buzzer beaters, but you can also remember his 25 straight points against Detroit, two game winning layups against the Wizards. Not to mention his single-handed seven game extending effort in the series against the Celtics last year. If you are questioning James’ ability to perform in the clutch you should look at some real numbers like this http://www.82games.com/0809/CSORT11.HTM.
Dwil – Odom is the most aggravating player I have ever watched. I can still forgive Bynum as he is coming off an injury and is still young. I am beyond sick of Odom’s disappearing acts.
The Birdman feature just made me want to puke. I thought the same thing ad you on that one. I have never heard them use the term coping for a black player’s drug use. Congrats to him if he has truly overcome his addiction but that piece rubbed me the wrong way.
Beyond that, I’m curious to see what happens with Jones. Although my team hates it, I like physical ball because it’s how I played. But tripping people and shoving guys in the back on their way to the hoop got your ass beat where I’m from. Just dirty plays.
This is the worst officiated playoffs ever. That was cemented in my mind after Mo Williams played game 3 despite clearly throwing the ball at Howard in game 2. There hasn’t even been a mention of that. The refs obviously have no idea what is and is not a flagrant or technical. I can live with the calls Denver has been getting when they drive to the hoop as our guys are rarely in proper position to take charges and the league has played favorites for as long a I can remember. Also with some better shooting and rebounding we could have won that game. But the techs and flagrants need to be fixed immediately.
I can’t hate on Dwil being upset about the officiating today. Just sad.
I have never seen NBA refs look so incompentent. I don’t remember this being such a big problem five or seven years ago.
What happened?
“Stern prefers “team ball” to “superstar ball” since the Man, the Myth, the Legend that is Michael Jordan passed.”
Pardon me but… this statement is so full of shit, I don’t even know where to begin commenting on it…
The rules have been changed so much since 2004 that it’s hard for a team to win if they’re playing against a superstar. You see it, with the LeBron calls and non-calls and with DWade getting calls left and right.
The NBA has turned into soccer, where if you fall down or flop you get the benefit of the call. It’s bullshit. The league was at it’s best when Robert Parish was putting the forearms to Bill Laimbeer’s head. Now if you do that, the entire arena is likely to get involved in a brawl. The NBA has turned into a WWE event anymore, and it’s getting to the point where it’s hard to watch anymore… Denver in 6.
– Esq, you mean you never heard about Michael Ray Richardson’s “coping mechanisms” or Roy Tarpley’s? You know, I was really looking forward to the piece, and then it was suddenly over, and I wondered if there was actually any information? I’ll be the first in line rooting for any recovering addict, but “coping mechanism”… seriously.
– DWil already knows I’m also first in line to want to kick Mike Breen’s ass. I think that if I hear him say that “Nate Robinson really needs to control his emotions” one more time, then I will adopt a new “coping mechanism”. He mentally puts players in his “good guy” vs. “thug” box and Dontae Jones must have been in the former which is why he was making excuses for him. I think Jeff Van Gundy said something like: “you are as you play” — which sums it up.
– The officiating has been the worst I’ve seen since the Heat-Mavs Fixed Finals. However, prior to those finals, that year produced one of the greatest playoffs ever, and I don’t recall terrible officiating. Some people did complain that Duncan was pushed at the end of regulation in that Mavs-Spurs OT Game 7, but I was fine with the non-whistle. but this shit has been going on throughout the playoffs. Also, how Bennett Salvatore can get a primetime playoff slot after those Heat-Mavs finals is indefensible. People focus on that one Wade call, but I can actually defend that before I can 100 other calls that series.
Racism has really hurt the NBA.
If NBA fights were treated like baseball and hockey fights, would Stern have cracked down on the flagrant fouls?
If NBA players were allowed to complain about calls without everyone viewing them as petulant niggers, would Stern have created the technical rules?
If fans and writers weren’t so concerned with the blackening of the league, would Stern have had to be so aggressive seeking out Euros and instituting their style of play?
I know what I think , what about y’all?
Big Man swings hammer. Story at 11.
D,
Man, I got mad love for you and your movement.
With that said, I have to keep it 100% with you: these last few Laker and (IMHO) anti-LeBron columns just sound like flat out, over the top, hatin’.
Real talk.
Watching that game last night, it looked like Kobe had no legs to start the game. He’s definitely been worn down in the last two series. That spells trouble for the Lake Show in the rest of the series.
Esquire,
Odom is just so frustrating. All-time talent that flashes and draws you in one game, and then he looks like a bench player the next. He has to give even the “Zen Master” fits.
Last night was probably the best officiated game in the series, until the fourth quarter. It was definitely the most consistent, except for two glaring missed calls. One was Carmelo dribbling, taking two steps, stopping, then taking two more steps to score a basket. Two, was Dahntay Jones tripping Kobe Bryant.
The trials and tribulations of Chris Andersen? Didn’t watch it. Knew it was going to be a fluff piece. Like D said, if he was black, we’d know what drug he did by now. It was termed a drug of abuse by the NBA. That could mean anything from alcohol or weed, (I seriously either doubt would have got him suspended for two years unless he had been caught using some other drug before) to oxycontin to cocaine or heroine.
Jason (and everyone)-
I’ve said this many times…. I am a fan of the triangle offense when run correctly – period. There are teams I do not like because of their style of play, the coach, or because the press treats them as better than they are. But I want the triangle to succeed more than I care about LA.
However, I know with certainty that there is something horribly wrong with these playoffs.
Look I talk with someone who goes back to the beginning of the Lig and can name names of the refs on the take. I’ve provided many hints over time, based on research off of the info he gives me.
All I can say is that he is in the know and told me little details about the NBA’s very first game-fixing incident that I have never read. I have challenged what he says concerning these playoffs, but he’s has proven to be correct every time, with every official, and in each game-fixing method he talks about. I can only write what I write in the manner in which I write in an effort to explain what is happening.
What I do is DVR the games, scrutinize the shot charts, the box scores and the play-by-play so I can accurately explain what is happening.
—————————————–
As I began with this piece, Lamar Odom is killing the Lakers. There is something very wrong with this cat. And really, the guy I talk with thinks that Odom is in someone’s pocket and is involved with the point spread. He has shown me instances with LO that, to him, are tell-tale signs of a player tanking purposely. I haven’t written it yet because, until the last two games, I categorically refused to believe what I was being told.
But.
Two events occurred in the last two games that tell me my guy might just be right. If one more thing happens, I’ll then write on Odom. But all-in-all LA is a more talented team than Denver. The only way the Nuggets can win this series is to hope they can somehow get LA out of their – or get some help. Odom seems to be keeping the Lakers in trouble – and Denver is definitely getting help.
Something similar is happening with the Orlando-Cleveland series but it’s so blatant, you’d have to be blind not to see it. All the Cavs have to do is make some shots and they’ll be in the Finals. But if they don’t – hey there are a lot of people who will be just as happy if the Magic (Kingdom) advance.
Thanks for reminding me of one last point, MODI. If fans start learning referees names, your league is in trouble.
The fact that almost every NBA fan knows Bennett Salvatore’s name should worry Stern. Also, note, he was one of the refs that was convicted of trading down his airline tickets and not reporting them as income to the IRS.
This from Wikipedia about Salvatore:
Bill Simmons of ESPN has often cited data which shows that Bennett Salvatore makes the highest percentage of “bad calls” in the NBA. Simmons notes, in connection to the Tim Donaghy game-fixing scandal, that the NBA will often send Bennett Salvatore and other “questionable officials” to referee games in which preferential treatment of one team would be financially beneficial to the league. While it remains unconfirmed, many suggest Salvatore’s past criminal history may tie him to organized crime as with Donaghy.
kos,
Actually, the ‘drug of abuse’ list does NOT include weed (or alcohol IIRC from the piece). It does include meth, cocaine, LSD, and heroin.
Also, most recovering addicts I know freely and openly discuss their drugs of choice. I always thought that was part of the recovery process. Anderson’s absolute reluctance on that front seems real problematic for staying on the wagon.
Look, if your overall thesis is that these games are potentially fixed, that’s one thing. It’s interesting and tantalizing and you are really going to have to work your ass off to prove it.
If your thesis is that the officiating is awful, no one is disagreeing with you.
The problem is, you are mixing and matching these ideas in a weird soup that is also combined with a heavy helping of “The Lakers are being picked on.”
At this point, it’s hard to figure out what exactly you are arguing.
I would personally just stick with the officiating is awful, because it is. And if certain refs are on the take, firing them all for terrible officiating would correct that problem without destroying basketball itself.
I personally don’t believe Bennett Salvatore is fixing these games. I just think he is the worst official in all four major sports and has killed more playoff games than any living person not named Jeff Van Gundy (who is a marvelous broadcaster).
Anyway, even though Van Gundy is partially responsible for this madness, he is right. The players need to be allowed to play the game and police themselves to some degree. The referees are now babysitters and it is just killing the flow of the game.
I want to see where the Martin-Gasol battles lead. But at this point, anyone looking cross-eyed gets a T.
Big man, you are exactly right. The root of how the games are called today is racism. All the overreactions that do not exist in any other sport is rooted in racism. Stern then changed all the rules, and now we have the game we have today.
Kos,
You have to praise Simmons for his consistency and attention to detail on this issue. And the fact that Stern actually does Podcasts with him makes me hope that Stern is at least aware of this issue and the fact that a lot of fans are now in the “The Refs are Killing the Game” camp.
Stern’s stubborness is a problem here. There is no reason for Joey Crawford to ever call a Spurs’ game. Yet, he is there. There is no reason for Salvatore to be involved in this many playoff games. Yet, he is there.
The NFL would have quietly sent these guys to pasture or late season 49ers games years ago. Stern just throws them in our face.
dwil in regards to the cavs and magic…arent the magic outplaying the cavs…i dont think the officiating is benefiting them at all. i just wasnt sure which way u thought the officiating was going in that series.
also..interesting point if kobe really is being punished…why hasnt he been able to get out the dog house? Jordan was “suspended” by the lig for 2 yrs…u know when he went to play baseball but he still was able to come back and win championships. Kobe wasnt convicted so i would think that would play a role in him being able to win. However, i wonder if it shows just how good kobe is if he is able perform even with the league benefit against him.
“None is as blind as they who refuse to see…none is as deaf as they who refuse to hear.”
I still say their are alleged basketball (sports) fan, that refuse to see what’s obvious to others. Do’all really think at this level the officials are incompetant? I have referred games, albeit amature, but the difference between what I did and what now passes for referring in the NBA is:
1-consistancy
2-knowledge of the rules
3-how many years you have been doing it
4-and your skill level comparable to your contemporary
anything else would be deliberate
D—
Be careful. Sometimes, there are things which are known that only a few people can possibly know…and the more they reveal, the clearer it becomes who they actually are.
It ain’t that important to me. I believe there is a strong concensus that NBA games are part of a tangled web. As I stated earlier — either the refs are geniuses with the best eyes or they’re blind men in striped suits. It cannot be both. I think you’ve already made a compelling case for the most part. I’m still not sold on Stern bashing LA. Before this series began I figured LA would split the first 4 and that Denver would win one blowout at home. From where I’m sitting, Denver blowouts keep interest and betting high. Close LA W’s rivet viewers and extend the series. Everybody wins. On to Game 5.
Remember: A revelation is a good thing; too much revelation is a bad, bad thing.
T3-
Thanks for that reminder…. I felt it necessary to explain once and only once to people like Myron who don’t comment but, through their short-sightedness, think the same thing he writes.
See, people like Myron, others who comment here, and peeps who email me privately never think this: if the officials these people complain are about are so incompetent, why are they allowed to officiating playoff games?
The answer would seem obvious ————– but……..
Additionally, cats like him either don’t know or “misremember” that I wrote for days about NBA game-fixing well before the Donaghy flap.
And ON BILL SIMMONS:
The stats Simmons quoted were not his own at all but are plainly stated at 82Games.com in an article called NBA finals Game 5: specific Calls By the Officials and it’s about the Dallas-Miami series.
Rather than rely on the info provided by 82 Games and their criteria for officiating, I prefer to watch the games closely while DVRing the games. I watch for certain events that sway games, whether it be a substitution, the failure to call a timeout, or a series of crappy calls (besides, Game 3 was actually worse because of the psychological damage it caused Dallas, so 82Games was late to the party on calling out the refs).
Did y’all see ESPN’s latest piece on Donald Sterling?
And, on the officiating, the problems I see know are directly tied to the comment I made earlier.
Changes were made to the way games were supposed to be officiated to improve offense and allow stars to shine.
The problem is that these rules run counter to what the public expects to see during playoff basketball.
The NBA has a big problem.
I think I answered above why I think that incompetent refs are allowed to call playoff games in my comments on Crawford and Salvatore – it’s because Stern is a stubborn bastard who will never ever ever publicly acknowledge a mistake or a change in direction. In fact, in the face of opposition, he takes a harder stand.
Whether Joey Crawford is biased against the Spurs is not relevant to Stern. He has said that he is not; therefore, he is not. And to prove that, Crawford is going to call Spurs games until Doomsday, even if it means feeding a thousand theories.
Stern is a New Yorker and a lawyer; he is never going to back down on this until the public consensus is so great that it actually starts to hit his bottom line in a massive way.
From what I can tell: the public perception is moving in that direction.
The question is the same for Bennett Salvatore. Why is this man allowed anywhere near an important playoff game? Because Stern will not bow to criticism of the NBA.
In a bigger sense, look at the way he treated Cuban for years? I know Cuban is a hot button topic here these days, but the man was 100 percent correct on his criticism of officials for years. And Stern did everything in his power to shut him up.
So…is it possible that the NBA is part of some large gambling-officiating sports comples? I suppose. After Donaghy, anything is possible.
But, the thing is, even if it was…it wouldn’t be…because Stern would not acknowledge it.
If some website had documentation that Salvatore made a deposit of $50,000 in cash into an off-shore account yesterday, Stern would roll his ass out to call Game 5.
Big Man,
I don’t think the handcheck rules have that much to do with this madness – maybe 20 percent at most. The bigger issue is the crackdown since the Artest-Jackson-Wallace fight.
The best part of the NBA playoffs is the anger that builds up over these seven games. By Game 6, I want Kenyon Martin to have driven some dude into a rage, and I want that dude to dunk over him on a break and stand over him for half a second too long. That’s playoff basketball.
The officials are now so hyper-sensitive to anything the least bit exciting that they will call a T on any player who smiles sarcastically at another player. They will reject Ron Artest at the drop of a hat. They will give Bynam a flagrant for a very hard – but effective – foul.
If these were the rules in ’84, you would have had Chuck Neavitt and Greg Kite starting at the centers for the Lakers and Celtics because everyone else would have been suspended.
And, by the way, Race is absolutely a factor in the crackdown since the Palace Brawl. There is no doubt about that. I am sure got the word from Madison Avenue that the game had gotten “too black” and “too thuggish” and so out went rough play, here comes two-time MVP Steve Nash, and let’s literally make Lebron and Kobe into puppets.
Myron
See, I can understand your point.
I see a lot of hubris in David Stern. This article I recently read about Donald Sterling only made me more sure of it.
Stern does not view anybody else associated with the NBA as his equal. Period.
That includes fans, reporters, everybody. Stern thinks that he knows best in just about every situation, and I think his attitude filters down to people. I dont’ think Stern has any true loyalty to officials, when Crawfod was suspended lot of stuff came out about how the officials dislike him.
But, Stern refuses to admit that he made a big mistake, and he refuses to take the massive action needed to clean up that mistake. He believes that appearing wishy-washy is far worse than appearing incompetent.
All you need to know about NBA officiating is that in 2007 Crawford is supposedly so out of favor with Stern that he gets “indefintely suspended” for his bizarre actions with Tim Duncan yet in the palyoffs of the same year he gets a Spurs game? Thats not Stearn being stubborn that is shiftless. And the fact that Crawford has worked 20 straight NBA Finals tells you all you need to know. I mean even if the league considers him a “top official” just to eliminate any talk of impropriety wouldn’t you roatate him out every few years? Are there so few quality official to do the Finals that Crawford cxan sit one out every few years. C’mon.
Officiating in the NBA works like this. The officials that the league considers it’s “top officials” are the ones that don’t need to be told by the league how to “manage” a game or how to “handle” calls with the stars or how to call flagrant fouls they just do it. And then in return they get all the top games, all the exposure and most importantly all the leeway from the league. The rest of the officials that don’t get all this see what it takes get ot the top and follow suit (See:Steve Javie). Although I think javie is a much better official than Crawford.
I’m not trying to detract from your main point, I’m just putting this out there, unless you have different criteria for game winning shots, then I am pretty sure LeBron hit a game winner against my Warriors.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2009012309
Damn D a brotha dip for a few days and all hell breaks loose. HAHA anyway I couldn’t agree more man.
You know me D I have been saying this for EVER!!!
Yeah stern is trying to extend these series. But remember how I talked about how they would let these game be more physical….one because the teams were more evenly matched. But also because who Kobe is and how good the lakers are, they would allow the defenders to beat the living crap out of him. The nuggets were not allowed to beat on Dirk like this………and when they did a foul was called. Yet arguably the best player in the league who is smaller and weights less then dirk is getting beat to sleep and no call.
Thats straight garbage………..man I can’t stand phil and the lakers and don’t care for Kobe………..but even I can see this mess a mile away.
He11 my wife can’t stand Kobe and she was even saying that the league is trying to extend these games.
Now are far as Lebron being the chosen one………..well thats been going on for years in the league…..shoot Kobe came in as a 18 year old getting veteren calls. Remember how the league tried to punp up Shaq and penny as the new magic and Kareem. How about how they tried to push grant hill as the next MJ.
Man the league has been at this forever………..so is the media. If I find one more fool in the media claiming that Dirk reminds them of Bird I will have a stroke.
Oh and thank you big man for breaking down how all these rule changes had to do with racism. I couldn’t have said it better.
Anytime some black folks in sports get to arguing or plying physical the media and ignorant fans hype it up as criminal behavior, lack of respect of the game, lack of education, lack of intelligence and not playing the game the white…umm I mean the right way.
Yo Modi I have to disagree on that playoff against San Antonio and Dallas. Their were some straight garbage calls in that series. Now maybe the league didn’t want Dallas to win it……..but they certainly were extending those games. Heck one time Dirk hit the game winning free throw in game 5 because he drove to the hole and stepped on Duncans foot. And the ref blew the whistle.
I argued with the Dallas fans that it was a tainted series just like the miami series.
Now check this out…..this stuff has been going on for decades. Do you remember the 1993 playoffs between the sonics and suns. Well in game 6 Barkley was given 2 technicals for pointing his fingers at the fans and pretending to shoot them. Well he had done this before in which the league told him to not do it again or he would get a technical.
Well Barkley does it twice in game 6 and gets 2 technicals yet doesn’t get thrown out the game.
Even the Marv Albert was like how is Barkley not thrown out the game.
Then in game 7 the Suns shoot 63 free throws to the Sonics 34. George Karls says in the post game…….”I guess the league wanted MJ vs Barkley”.
Now lets not forget Game 7 1994 knicks vs Bulls and Hue Hollins last second call.
How about in 1992 Bulls vs Knicks……..in which the first 6 games were extemely physical and the refs pretty much ignoring obvious fouls. This helped the less talented knicks hang with the 67-15 bulls team. Then in game 7 the refs call touch fouls helping the bulls blow the knicks out.
Another thing anyone remember the Chicago NBC news caster Marc Ginagrecco (sp?) saying after the bulls vs suns game 3 in which the bulls shoot 6 free throws to the suns 34 in a 3 OT game (I think it was 3). Marc says “its o.k. the league is just trying to extend the series”.
He has to issue a apology and gets suspended and fired after the season.
How about the time the suns played the mavs on NBC (when shiity teams were allowe to be broadcasted on the sunday games), in Jason Kidd’s rookie season. The game was close and Barkley got a technical…..well after the game ESPN and CNN asked him what was wrong….he basically said that the league was keeping the game close because it was a nationaly televised game.
The same thing happened in AI’s rookie year and the bulls played the sixers in a regular season game. After the win MJ says basically the samething.
Oh and lets not forget during the bulls second 3 peat run Rodman made a similiar comment about extending games.
Now D and Modi if you guys got time I can bring up a few other incidents. One thing I tell folks is that living in chicago all those years during those 3 peats I learned alot about the league, officials and how these networks try to get these games extended.
Last thing D you know there was an article about that playoff game against the the celtics and hawks back in the 60′s. In which a player supposedly overheard the commisioner saying that there is no way that they can allow the hawks to beat the celtics. This was because the the arena was too small and the hawks didn’t have as much following.
Anyway when players and coaches make comments about keeping games close and extending series you know something fishy is going on.
But the difference now is because the media (especially ESPN) and the internet you will rarely hear comments from players and coaches as you did back in the 90′s and 80′s. With stern constantly fighting to control the image of the league any comments like in past years is handled swiftly.
Oh and D I heard your comments on Dave Zirin radio program this weekend.
I couldn’t have agreed more with your vick comments………..as always you tell it like it tis.
My wife and I were listening to the program on the road and my wife was like “man your boy Dwill doesn’t hold back, glad he spoke the truth on how vick is being treated. Cause thats how most black folks feel on the issue.”
O-
Thank you so much on the talk on DZ’s show …. I didn’t know anyone was even out there (and tell your wife I said thank you to her, too)!
No problem D….I will no doubt tell wifey.
Yeah I was on my way to see the inlaws in mississippi….had a rental with sirius radio. I was pretty shocked to even hear you on there……then I remembered that you do a guest spot on DZ show from time to time.
Another thing D on that Brid man stuff. I new it was coming because TNT/ESPN TV did a whole thing on the meaning Bird man’s tats.
He even mentions in the interview how he and his mom got some tats together.
Yet all the folks on NBA TV could say was how cool is that???
Better get my man Modi on it I see another white pass.
Here is a little bit of the interview.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNI20pBOFBk
Damn, I love this site because everyone from the columnists to the posters come with fire and back their opinions up. Makes for great reading after a hard work day.
D, thanks for doing the hard work and analyzing these games unfiltered with facts to back up what you put out there. SOMM as a whole references everything that is posted here so the things I don’t agree with or find unbelievable can be verified.
That being said, I have no idea what teams the Assn is in the tank for this year. Kobe-LBJ is the sexy matchup but many fans along with the Nuggets and Magic have been turned off by Madison Ave and ESPN already making it a done deal that those two will meet in the Finals. I wouldn’t mind seeing those two matchup but since I like to consider myself a true fan I’ll be just as interested if its Denver vs. Orlando. I just want good games with CLEAN officiating…yeah, right.
I watched some of Anderson’s fluff piece last night and I’m happy the man has gotten his life on the right track where’s the outrage about the spoiled pro athlete who nearly pissed away his career? I wonder if Stern or ESPN will airbrush his tatts if he ever makes a magazine cover?
I know all this is SOP in major sports in America but I appreciate you guys, writers and posters, giving unvarnished truth and opinion because it is truly refreshing.
PS. D, if it leads to it then go ahead and put the article about the reasons for LO vanishing at the most inopportune times. Tell the truth because someone is out here in the ether reading this.
Well Modi if Lebron does get knocked out by Orlando……….your knicks will see him as well as Chris Bosh in 2010.
If Lebron loses this series he maybe the Dr. J of this generation.
Oh and Harvey yeah I too have no idea who the lig wants this year. But I still believe that the lig tries to extend series.
And like Kos (I think said) sometimes the lig has plans but the players don’t come through. Ask Pat Ewing about that missed layup vs the pacers in 1995. You know stern wanted that Knicks vs Magic = Ewing vs Shaq match up.
Stern probably crapped his pants after that blown layup by Ewing.
Maybe the league has plan A, but aslo a plan B and C.