NBA Refs Suck

OK, Hoo, your opinion is your opinion and you have a right to it. I just never thought I'd hear someone say Dwayne Wade is boring, or that having a game similar to Jordan's actually makes him less entertaining. That's a new one. If you can watch some of the games Wade has produced in this postseason and say he's boring, well, good luck finding whatever it is you're looking for.

 

Complaining about the calls is for losers.

Dallas has had many chances to wrap up this series, and hasn't taken them. Nowitzki has missed key free throws at the end of two games. In general, Dallas, in the fourth quarter, has looked like it's been playing to hold on or not to lose, rather than putting their feet on the Heat's throats.

Of course, a big difference is that Miami has Wade, and Dallas doesn't. Miami has adjusted its defense to run at Nowitzki and never let him set up. Wade, meanwhile, appears to have all the time and space he needs to make a play. Memo to Avery Johnson -- Devin Harris is a good defender, but leave him one-on-one against Wade late and Wade will rip him apart. Anyway, Wade is the one player who looks unaffected by championship pressure. When he stepped to the line for the winning free throws, he was so cool and relaxed, he looked like he was shooting to be part of the first five to hold court at the Oak Lawn Pavilion, rather than to win an NBA title game.

Then again, maybe Johnson doesn't run other players at Wade because Dallas' D, while improved, still isn't at a high level. Nowitzki might be a better rebounder, but he still can't defend worth a damn.

As far as the refs, Wade forces them to do something by constantly driving to the basket. Heck, any coach from first grade on tells you to take the ball to the basket, because that's your best chance for something good to happen. Other than Jason Terry, Dallas in these last three days hasn't had anyone with the nerve to attack the basket consistently. Hence, Miami's outrageous foul-shot differential.

Really, if Wade wasn't sick and limping the first two games, Dallas would already be out of the series.

So the refs might have made mistakes. But that's not why the Mavs are losing.

 

Not to mention NFL training camps open up mid-July. Yeeesh. Baseball only gets the spotlight to itself for about a month. Oh well, I guess I'll enjoy it while I can.

People are just finding out NBA refs suck? Heck, the NBA sucks! ;D Then again, I really can't say anything, because MLB has the great Sam Holbrook calling balls and strikes behind the plate.

 

DING, DING, DING! The Mavs are down 3-2 because their superstar has for the most part disappeared while Miami's has taken over. If Dirk plays like Dirk the whole series, they've already had the parade through downtown Dallas.

 

Bottomline is, the NBA really needs to look to change how the refs call fouls. They need to bring back the old school 80's style of basketball. This season, 3 players averaged over 30 points per game and one averaged 29. There were also a number of players that averaged 28,27,&26 points per.

RNK NAME GP MPG PTS FGM-FGA FG% 3PM-3PA 3P% FTM-FTA FT%
1 Kobe Bryant, LAL 80 40.9 35.4 12.2-27.2 45.007 2.3-6.5 .347 8.7-10.2 84.982
2 Allen Iverson, PHI 72 43.1 33.0 11.3-25.3 44.731 1.0-3.1 .323 9.4-11.5 81.423
3 LeBron James, CLE 79 42.5 31.4 11.1-23.1 47.998 1.6-4.8 .335 7.6-10.3 73.833
4 G. Arenas, WAS 80 42.3 29.3 9.3-20.9 44.724 2.5-6.8 .369 8.2-10.0 81.977
5 Dwyane Wade, MIA 75 38.6 27.2 9.3-18.8 49.469 0.2-1.0 .171 8.4-10.7 78.331
6 Paul Pierce, BOS 79 39.1 26.8 8.7-18.5 47.127 1.4-4.0 .354 7.9-10.3 77.217
7 Dirk Nowitzki, DAL 81 38.1 26.6 9.3-19.3 48.018 1.4-3.3 .406 6.7-7.4 90.134
8 C. Anthony, DEN 80 36.8 26.5 9.5-19.7 48.092 0.5-1.9 .243 7.2-8.9 80.818
9 Michael Redd, MIL 80 39.1 25.4 8.5-19.0 44.987 2.0-5.2 .395 6.3-7.1 87.741
10 Ray Allen, SEA 78 38.7 25.1 8.7-19.2 45.400 3.4-8.4 .412 4.2-4.6 90.251

 

Which old-school 80's basketball?
The one that the Lakers and Celtics played at the beginning of the decade, or the one that the Pistons played at the end of it that nearly wrecked the league?

 

Does anyone else fear that Cuban is speeding past the point of no return, and that he might cross the line in a really serious way if Dallas loses in some controversial way in Game 7? Like screaming at David Stern, and shoving him or one of his lackies, and refusing to leave the court?

 

A mixture of both, but more the the Pistons style. And how the hell did the Pistons nearly "wreck" the league. During their time, the NBA was the most popular sport.

 

That predated the Pistons, Chuck. The apex of it was probably 1984-88. The Pistons scored just enough to keep the thug-ball palatable, but it led the way to Riley and the Knicks and the rest of the horrors.
And D2, Cuban has been out of control for a couple of years now.

 

The problem with the Cuban conspiracy theories is if they were true, the Mavs wouldn't even be in the Finals in the first place. Remember the phantom sixth foul on Tim Duncan during the Spurs series? Remember all the calls the Mavs got in the closing minutes of tight games against the Suns? If Stern wanted to get rid of Cuban, he would have done it long before he let him on the NBA's biggest stage.

Look, I'm not trying to be a Stern apologist here, but officiating games in the NBA is difficult. You're not going to get every call correct. But for the most part, they do about as well as any reasonable fan might expect.

As for the foul on Wade last night? The only problem was they called it on the wrong person. Devin Harris clearly stuck his knee out and tripped Wade as he went by. There was significant contact. They gave the foul to Nowitzki, which was wrong, but it was a foul nonetheless.

 

http://www.blogmaverick.com/entry/1234000403073742/

a full life...

 

The league was popular when the Pistons were winning titles because it was still riding the wave of Lakers vs. Celtics. The Pistons were like lead poisoning. It's not the first dose that kills you. It's the 10th. But The first dose takes a healthy person and starts killing them one little bit at a time. The Pistons gave us a brand of basketball that showed the world you didn't have to be as skilled or as smart as other teams as long as you were willing to thug, clutch, grab, claw and fight every possession. Referees, though they would never admit it, simply cannot call a foul every single possession, even if one is being committed. The Pistons realized this and exploited it. (And even though those Pistons teams did have talent, the teams that followed and copied their style didn't have as much, so they only had clutch and grab even more.) Pat Reilly understood this and picked up where the Pistons left off when he took over the Knicks. Don't have the talent to let your players create and make decisions on their own? Grind every possession down to the nub, and micromanage every single play.

Edit: FB seems to have beat me too it.