Now, I know that the "Referee Takeover Game" has happened plenty of times over the last decade. Somehow, NBA refereeing went from sorta atrocious to just downright "disgusting to watch". I remember watching Game 6 of the 2002 WCF, wherein the Sacramento Kings had a 3-2 lead over the two-time defending champion Lakers and were winning in Staples Center in what looked to be the end of the Lakers two-year 'dynasty'. However, since I did not know much about the intricacies (read: the unwritten 'rules', with the 'make-up call' being a prime example) of NBA officiating, I was baffled at how badly the game was being called against the Kings towards the end when the Lakers made a "miraculous" rally to win the game.
Now, I was a huge Laker fan then as well, and I wanted to see them win, but if you watched that game, it was just OBVIOUS the referees were handing the game to the Lakers. Kobe Bryant almost knocked off Bibby's head with his elbow in a crucial moment of the game and was NOT called for a foul, whereas the Kings were called for tick tacky fouls on the other end.
Of course, since then, bad officiating has evolved from Game 6 of a Western Conference Finals game to the Miami Referees winning the 2006 NBA championship, in what became the first referee and NBA team tag-team in NBA history (as far as I know).
Which brings me to last night's game. I remember during the 2007 playoffs, the game that Tim Donaghy refereed obviously stood out to me (and BILL SIMMONS!) while watching it because it was HORRENDOUSLY officiated (with an emphasis on 'horrendous'). While I'm not comparing last night's crew to one that included a compulsive gambler/referee, I will say that the referees subtly (or not so subtly?) planted the seeds for a Lakers loss in the first quarter.
Without sounding like I'm whining, I was taking notes on the game as I was watching it, and I stopped taking those notes after the first quarter. Why? Simply because the officiating was disgusting me. The Lakers were playing horrible sure, but they weren't settling for outside jumpers THAT much. As Phil said, whenever Leon "I swear I'm not Jason Richardson" POW-POW has more free-throws than your ENTIRE TEAM, there is a problem. Let's read that again.
Leon "I swear I'm not Jason Richardson" Powe had more free throws in the game than an ENTIRE TEAM COMBINED.
I don't care if the dude is comparable to the Hulk in terms of aggressiveness (by the way, Powe's physique is HUGE!); those numbers don't sound legit enough to have been from a "fairly" officiated game. What the hell is going on? Stern was in the building as well, which makes me think he was giving secret winks to the referees and telling them to call tick-tack fouls on Kobe Frickin Bryant in the first quarter, while Pau Gasol can go up to the hoop and get mauled by 3 defenders and still knock the bucket in without getting an and-one call, to say the least.
In a game so horribly officiated as last night's was, two calls REALLY caught my eye. It wasn't that Kobe being called for 2 fouls in the first quarter didn't bother me; it did. But the moment I knew that the referees were controlling the game became obvious to me through two specific plays. I'll break them down for you.
Of course, since then, bad officiating has evolved from Game 6 of a Western Conference Finals game to the Miami Referees winning the 2006 NBA championship, in what became the first referee and NBA team tag-team in NBA history (as far as I know).
Which brings me to last night's game. I remember during the 2007 playoffs, the game that Tim Donaghy refereed obviously stood out to me (and BILL SIMMONS!) while watching it because it was HORRENDOUSLY officiated (with an emphasis on 'horrendous'). While I'm not comparing last night's crew to one that included a compulsive gambler/referee, I will say that the referees subtly (or not so subtly?) planted the seeds for a Lakers loss in the first quarter.
Without sounding like I'm whining, I was taking notes on the game as I was watching it, and I stopped taking those notes after the first quarter. Why? Simply because the officiating was disgusting me. The Lakers were playing horrible sure, but they weren't settling for outside jumpers THAT much. As Phil said, whenever Leon "I swear I'm not Jason Richardson" POW-POW has more free-throws than your ENTIRE TEAM, there is a problem. Let's read that again.
Leon "I swear I'm not Jason Richardson" Powe had more free throws in the game than an ENTIRE TEAM COMBINED.
I don't care if the dude is comparable to the Hulk in terms of aggressiveness (by the way, Powe's physique is HUGE!); those numbers don't sound legit enough to have been from a "fairly" officiated game. What the hell is going on? Stern was in the building as well, which makes me think he was giving secret winks to the referees and telling them to call tick-tack fouls on Kobe Frickin Bryant in the first quarter, while Pau Gasol can go up to the hoop and get mauled by 3 defenders and still knock the bucket in without getting an and-one call, to say the least.
In a game so horribly officiated as last night's was, two calls REALLY caught my eye. It wasn't that Kobe being called for 2 fouls in the first quarter didn't bother me; it did. But the moment I knew that the referees were controlling the game became obvious to me through two specific plays. I'll break them down for you.
Play 1: Ronny Turiaf gets called for a foul AFTER the block
That took me about 3 seconds to find on Youtube, which means at least one other observer noticed this stupid foul as well. Turiaf cleanly blocks the ball (in replays and even when you see it live), but he is called for a foul AFTER THE BALL WAS ALREADY IN THE POSESSION OF THE LAKERS! It's a frickin BLOCK dude (to the referee), obviously he's going to collide with him AFTER the play. It's whether or not he touches the offensive player WHILE he is making a play that matters, and Turiaf obviously didn't.
Play 2: Gasol is mobbed by 4 Celtic defenders at the end of the first quarter
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a video of this play, but if you saw the game, you probably remember it. With the clock running down at the end of the first quarter, Gasol took it inside and put up a shot. He got fouled, but it wasn't called. Then another Laker put it up, missed, then another did the same. Neither got the foul call despite at least 4 Celtic defenders being there with one of them having OBVIOUSLY fouled someone since Laker players were either tumbling or falling backwards. Pau ended up getting the last rebound and finished the quarter off by throwing up a shot while tumbling to the cameramen on the floor. Still; no call. What the hell does a Laker have to do to get a call?
Obviously, The Stern Fist is in full effect in this game.
Question of the day: What is the Stern Fist?
It is when the Commish (who rules with an iron fist over his lowly subjects!) has already made up in his mind that a series will go a certain length of games in order to a) increase the revenues for teams and networks alike and b) make a "classic" series.
Question of the day: What is the Stern Fist?
It is when the Commish (who rules with an iron fist over his lowly subjects!) has already made up in his mind that a series will go a certain length of games in order to a) increase the revenues for teams and networks alike and b) make a "classic" series.
The word "classic" is thrown around so prematurely by media-members nowadays that it sickens me. I wasn't blogging when it happened, but I laughed out loud when some were calling the Cavs-Celtics game 7 a "showdown for the ages". Puhhh-leeze. Nevertheless, that's a topic for another day.
Anyways, my (not so crazy) theory is that Stern has made up his mind that this will be a "classic" series that is DESTINED to go 7 games (it's Lakers-Celtics after all! Showtime is back! So is Boston Glory!) and he will do everything in his power to ensure that this goes to seven, including approving the fact that Leon Frickin Powe gets more free throws than the entire Lakers team combined in an NBA Finals game. Way to make it un-fucking-obvious, Sternbot. Bravo.
By the way, I believe Game 3 will be called with better consistency (Sternbot doesn't want anybody to know of his tactics; two games in a row is too obvious!), but the calls will still favor the Lakers more slightly. However, Game 4 is probably when the roof will blow off Staples (in a good way for Laker fans) due to the the amount of ridiculous calls that go in the Lakers favor. I'm warning you guys now. To the readers of this blog (all two of you?), you know what's going down on Tuesday.
Anyways, my (not so crazy) theory is that Stern has made up his mind that this will be a "classic" series that is DESTINED to go 7 games (it's Lakers-Celtics after all! Showtime is back! So is Boston Glory!) and he will do everything in his power to ensure that this goes to seven, including approving the fact that Leon Frickin Powe gets more free throws than the entire Lakers team combined in an NBA Finals game. Way to make it un-fucking-obvious, Sternbot. Bravo.
By the way, I believe Game 3 will be called with better consistency (Sternbot doesn't want anybody to know of his tactics; two games in a row is too obvious!), but the calls will still favor the Lakers more slightly. However, Game 4 is probably when the roof will blow off Staples (in a good way for Laker fans) due to the the amount of ridiculous calls that go in the Lakers favor. I'm warning you guys now. To the readers of this blog (all two of you?), you know what's going down on Tuesday.
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