NBA '08 Playoff Thread

I know I'm in the minority on this, but I've always thought the refs should call what they see, regardless of the situation. If it's a foul in the first quarter, it's a foul in the fourth. Otherwise, you get situations like last night, where refs are deciding not whether it's a foul, but whether it's enough of a foul, and whether it's too late in the game to call it. There are so many calls in basketball that are subjective as it is. Time and score shouldn't be variables in the equation.

That said, given that they missed the call on Fisher's shot grazing the rim, the right team ended up winning last night.

 

I mean, the Barry play WAS a foul. There's no question, by the letter of the law. Fisher was in the air, and bumped Barry. That's a foul. Look at the photos. There's no way it's not.

Taken in a vacuum, it should have been called ... but, like someone said, they blew the shot-clock thing on the Fisher shot not moments before ... so the right team ended up winning. So it's hard to complain.

 

Yeah, and Bowen fouled LeBron on a similar (but also more clear-cut) play a year ago in the NBA finals -- no fouled called there.

 

Bingo.

 

See I'm not buying the idea that you can't call the foul b/c there's so little time left. The fact that there was so little time left is why it needed to be called. The foul kept him from getting a good look at the basket. If there were 10 seconds to go instead of three, I wouldn't have sweat it as much, because he still would have had time to regroup and try to get a good look. But with so little time, he had to heave up a crap shot.

Mainly, though, I agree with Broadway that, if it's a foul in the first quarter it's a foul in the fourth (same can be said for pass interference or any football penalties.) The "don't let the refs decide it" argument seems to be disingenuous in that a non-call decides the game as much as a call. It's the old Rush "If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice" kind of thing. Not making a call that SHOULD be called is deciding the game as much for the team that committed the foul/penalty as making a bad call is deciding the game for the team that gets the advantage of the call.

I also agree that, in the scope of things, the non-call isn't close to the biggest reason the Spurs find themselves down 3-1. And Pop said all the right things and showed a lot of class. My respect for the guy definitely went up.

 

Exactly. That thing has been wayy overstated. Sure the West has been deeper, but haven't the titles alternated conferences over the last 5 years? The top hasn't been nearly as much of a difference as it's been made out to be, and it definitely isn't this year.

 

Unless I missed something, the refs didn't actually come out and say they didn't call it because it was the end of the game. That's just speculation. I could certainly see that going uncalled early in the game too. Barry needs to sell it if he wants that call -- and I hate flopping.

 

How are the Celtics playing?
I'm not getting to watch it, but it looks like there is good balance, and that Perkins has started out hot.

 

Perkins is very active, Rondo looks aggressive and though he's made a few bad passes, that's still a good sign. No one is really hot, but they at least look they came to play tonight.

 

The only reason Miami won the title was because Manu Ginobili fouled Dirk Nowitzki late in regulation of Game 7 in the West semis. Otherwise, San Antonio beats Dallas in regulation and wins the title.

 

Well it is tough to argue when you prevent a fact like that...