Thoughts on the NBA Playoffs So Far...
Thoughts on the NBA Playoffs so far...
* I could write an entire research paper on the Boston-Chicago playoff series. I'll sum it up as this: it's the greatest non-Finals playoff series in the history of the NBA. You can make some arguments for other series, but in the end, I think it's the best. The thing I want to talk about most, though, is Ray Allen passing Reggie Miller as greatest shooter in NBA history.
I've always despised Reggie Miller as one of the most overrated players in NBA history. Reggie Miller is a great shooter. I'll give him that. That's about it. He was not a great player: for some reason, the Pacers decided to build their entire team around Reggie Miller--a player who averaged a whopping 18pts, 3rebs, and 3asts in his career--and ran the same GD triple screen for him to get him open every time. Reggie couldn't create his own shot; he wasn't quick enough, wasn't a good enough ballhandler, and didn't have good enough 1 on 1 moves. The only way to get him open was to run triple screens for him and to build your team around him. You can do that with an elite player like Tim Duncan; the Spurs built their team around him, and that's just led to 4 titles. The Pacers managed to make a coupla Eastern Conference Finals and were never that big of a threat to win those series.
Reggie's also got a reputation as a remarkable clutch player. That reputation is largely unwarranted. Reggie managed to put up a coupla big games in Madison Square Garden, which thanks to the location and Spike Lee realizing he could market himself by feuding with Reggie, earned him a "clutch player" rep. But Reggie never played well in deciding games in a series--he always shrank in Games 5, 6, and 7. And can you name a single clutch moment that didn't happen in MSG? Neither can I, because they didn't happen.
Let's look even at his "clutch" moments in MSG--specifically, the eight points in 9 seconds. YouTube the play; it's easy to find. Reggie hits a three. Great, no big deal. Reggie then SHOVES Greg Anthony to the ground. Not pushes, not elbows, just absolutely shoves him to the ground. It's one of the worst no calls in the history of the NBA. I especially love the girly hand wave he does; if I were a ref, even if I totally missed the play, I would have called a foul on him right there. "Hmmm...Greg Anthony is lying in a heap on the ground, and you're doing this sissiest, girliest 'I didn't do it' dance I've ever seen? Yeah, not buying it." Whoever was inbounding--I forget if it was Oakley or Mason--then decides, "I don't need to look at Greg Anthony; he was standing upright a moment ago; surely he's standing upright still!" and throws the ball directly to Reggie, over Anthony's head. This is perhaps the stupidest inbound play in the history of the NBA. Reggie is then absolutely wide open to nail a three--the one thing he can do in the league. This play is sold as one of the great all time plays in NBA history, when it's really just another example of A) Reggie being a bitch, and B) the Knicks pissing all over themselves in the playoffs once again.
So then you have Ray Allen--a guy who's always been an elite player AND shooter--who's career averages are better than Reggie's in every statistical category in the playoffs, and is better in every category in the regular season except for FG%, where Reggie holds a 2% advantage. Ray's playoff teams weren't built solely around him--Sam Cassell and Glen Robinson in Milwaukee, Paul Pierce and KG with the Celtics--so no constant triple picks and designing the whole team around getting him shots like Reggie did. You also have remarkable clutch play throughout Ray's career: his fantastic series against the Sixers in 2001 (he was the only Buck to show up in that Easter Conference Finals series), his amazing performance on an awful Sonics team that somehow (oh wait, I know how--he averaged 26.5 ppg while shooting 47.4% from the field and averaging 4 rebounds and assists each per game!) made the second round of the playoffs and gave the Spurs a run for their money (please remember that the second best player on that team was arguably Jerome James), and, of course, rebounded from a bad first round to be dynamic in the rest of the playoffs as the Celtics won the championship last year.
So after watching Ray Allen hit shot after shot to send games into OT or win them outright in the greatest non-Finals series ever, we can finally put to rest the fallacy that Reggie Miller is the greatest shooter in NBA history. Thank you, Ray Allen, for taking care of that nonsense.
* There have been some embarrassing losses in NBA history. Mavs-Golden State, of course, is up there. Lakers-Pistons in 01, Sonics-Nuggets in 94, the list goes on. However, the Hornets performance against the Nuggets ranks as one of the most embarrassing postseason performances by a team, ever.
It's not just the 58 point home loss--the worst in NBA playoff history. It's the fact that this is a Hornets team led by one of the best young players in the NBA, one who will most likely end up as an all-time great in the game. It's the fact that this team took the Spurs to game 7 in the second round last season, and was seen as up and coming. It's the fact that--on paper--the team improved in the offseason with the addition of James Posey while keeping their core in tact. It's the fact that they beat a lifeless team that had given up on the season last season (Mavs), and should have none not to ever submit a performance like that. It's the fact that this team knows that management is going to blow up the team in the offseason because they are basically going out of business, and should have played with more passion for each other.
I can't believe how bad their performance was. Shame on the Hornets.
* Make no mistake: the way the Nuggets are playing right now, they can beat the Lakers. I'm not saying they will, I'm just saying they can. This team is clicking on all cylinders.
* I hate to say it, because I do like Dwayne Wade, and I could give a shit about the Hawks (unlikeable team, crappy fans), but I'm glad the Hawks knocked the Heat out. Why? Because I'm sick of the Heat getting lucky by getting crappy teams and going farther in the playoffs than they should because they have Wade. Hey Pat Riley, why don't you actually build a good team (I mean really, is it that hard to convince free agents to come to fricking Miami? And play with one of the best players in the game?) instead of just relying on superhuman efforts from Wade and lucky matchups against overrated teams in the playoffs to move forward. Let's get to work while Wade can still walk, because the cracks are starting to show in the "get knocked down 1000 times, get up 1001" armor.
* I know I've said this before, but I feel like it needs to be said again: can we blow up the Jazz already, please? Let's not waste Deron William's career on the likes of Carlos Boozer and a shell of his former self AK47.
* Kudos to Philly for a nice effort against the Magic. Now good luck trying to figure out how to get rid of Elton Brand's awful contract.
* Learn from this Portland. Good luck next year.
* I've got to give props to Orlando. This team is playing tougher than I thought they would, and have done a nice job beating a feisty Sixers team and are playing their hearts out against Boston. My biggest thing to say about them is this: please, please do not think that Jameer Nelson is the answer to all of your problems. Nelson's season this year was a fluke, and undersized guards who rip their shoulders apart don't just bounce back from that. Continue to look for a good, solid point guard once your season ends, and make sure Dwight Howard gets up to 60% from the line in the offseason.
I'm not saying the playoffs are over for this team, either. I like Big Baby, but when you're relying on him to go 9-14 from the field and hit the game winner as time expires, that's not good. Orlando can still take this series.
* Houston. I don't know what to think about this team. Part of me likes this team: I love Scola, Landry, and Aaron Brooks, who are all wildly entertaining to watch in spite of the fact that they do not play remotely alike; I like the fact that they have the one guy in the league who not only isn't afraid of Kobe, but loves to talk shit and get physical with him; I love the fact that they actually employ a smart, productive player who can carry on an intelligent conversation; I love that they have a solid big man who is actually a good free throw shooter. Part of me, though, hates this team: of course I loathe Ron Ron when he plays against anyone in the league other than Kobe and hates everything he is and represents; I hate Battier partly because he's from Duke, partly because he's pointed out as underrated so often he's now overrated, and mostly because he's so fucking smug and fake humble; I don't like Yao because his game is so damn boring it makes Tim Duncan's game look exciting by comparison and because it's only a matter of time every season until he gets hurt and ruins Houston's season...and yes, JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WASN'T GOING TO HAPPEN THIS SEASON...off he limps at the end of game 3.
Of course I'm rooting for the Rockets against the Lakers, because hey, I'm a good guy and I root against evil in any form, but I just feel weird rooting for the Rockets. Oddly enough, I feel like the Rockets have a better chance of actually closing out the Lakers without Yao. Like him or not, but Phil is a good coach (not as good as he thinks he is, but still good), and with Yao and Ron Ron the Rockets are fairly predictable, and in a 7 game series the Rockets would have won 2 games, played 2 down to the wire that they would have lost, and lost the other two not in blowouts, but fairly convincingly. Now, with a solid win already under their belt with Yao, this team gets the benefit of A) the boost they always get for a week or two whenever Yao or TMac first goes down and B) the Lakers having a hard time game planning because the team is so wild-ass without them. I still think the Lakers end up pulling this out, but it will go 7, and it will be a nail biter.
* Dallas. Sigh. All I have to say about Dallas is what I've been saying all season about Dallas: this team has done a good job, has overachieved, and the bottom line is that it is simply not that good. As I've said many times in many different ways: when Antoine Wright is your starting shooting guard, then ANTOINE WRIGHT IS YOUR STARTING SHOOTING GUARD. Even though Dirk has improved in this area, they still don't have a consistent low post scorer. Even though Josh Howard has played better and JJ Barea can play well against small opponents, they still don't have a good, consistent perpetrator from the perimeter. Even though Jason Kidd has done a masterful job running the team offensively, he's one of the worst defensive point guards in a league that favors offensive guard play. Even though Ryan Hollins goes out there and plays his ass off every time he's on the court, he's still Ryan Hollins, and if you're relying on him in the second round of the playoffs, well, then to say that "that's not good" is an understatement.
I had to listen to that motherfucker Dale Hansen snottily comment after beating the Spurs, "Is this what we've come to accept from this team? Beating a depleted team in the first round?" God I hate him. Anyway, yes Dale, that's what this team is. It's a team that was championship caliber in 2006, but isn't anymore. And you know what? There's nothing unusual about that. Happens to teams all the time; they almost make it, but if they don't cross that hump when they get the chance, it doesn't happen again very often. Ask Kings fans about that. Ask Blazers fans about that. Ask Sonics fans...or Suns fans...the list goes on and on. This happens all the time. It's not unusual. Is it frustrating? Of course. But that doesn't mean we should dismiss this team, or go negative on all the players. This is still a very talented team that is playing hard against a more talented team in the second round of the playoffs. Look, I want to win more than damn near every Mavs fan out there, so I don't want to here anything about accepting mediocrity. But when the fuck did the Dallas Mavericks franchise join the "win the title or who cares" club? These aren't the Lakers, or the Yankees, or the Cowboys. So please, shut that shit up, and appreciate this team for what it is: a good team that's busting it's ass to be a very good team, but is not a great team. Hope and pray that the team will improve in the offseason to be a great team again. But I've got news you people: I've watched this franchise run out 10 win teams, and I'll take this team over that 100 times out of 100. So let's just calm the fuck down about dissing the Mavs.
* On a related note to the Mavs, NBA officiating. Simmons has been railing against this for years now, and I've got to say I'm right there with him. NBA officiating has gotten to the point where it is a serious detriment to the game and to the league itself. I appreciate the fact that the game of basketball is the toughest sport to officiate, but this is still nonsense.
I'm not even worried so much about the flagrant/suspension controversies that have occurred so far; oddly enough, I think the NBA has got those pretty much right. Howards elbow was a punch with an elbow, he deserved to sit a game. Rondo's foul was a hard playoff foul that deserved a flagrant but not a suspension--it's NBA 101 that you don't give up a layup to end the game, and that wasn't near as bad of a shot as Brad Miller made it out to be because you could see the yellow stream going down his leg before he shot those free throws, and he was looking for an excuse as to why he was going to miss them. Of course Rafer deserved to sit, and he better be happy he's in The League now and not in And 1, because not only would Eddie House have beat his ass in And 1, but everybody would have watched him do it because you don't slap a man upside the head. Derek Fisher also easily deserved to sit a game, because he didn't try to fight through that pick: he saw Scola coming, sized him up, and then bodyslammed him with his shoulder. Like Howard's punch was with his elbow, Fisher's punch was with his shoulder. Ron Ron shouldn't have been ejected with his flair up with Kobe, but he's earned the reputation he has and so I don't feel bad about that. Kobe did throw a bow at him, but it wasn't anywhere close to being as bad as Howards, and giving him a Flagrant 1 (or a, "if you do that again, then you will sit") is the right solution for that.
No, I'm more concerned about the calls within the game. The Mavs-Nuggets game was awfully officiated, and not because of the last 8 seconds, but because of the previous 47:52 where a ridiculous 51 fouls were called. On the same token, there is a good argument to, "How the fuck did you not throw Dwight Howard out of the game when he tried to kill Sam Dalembert with his elbow?" It seems like there are two types of refs in the league: ones that, God only know why, think the fans are there to watch them officiate and call way too many fouls, or the ones that are either incompetent or too scared to make the correct calls and just sit there and let games get out of control. There is no middle game, and it is KILLING the league. I'd say that at LEAST 60% of the time when I've watched a playoff game, I've felt that the officiating adversely affected the outcome of the game. I'm not saying that 60% of the time they're causing the wrong team to win, I'm saying that 60% of the time the refs are fucking the game up so badly that even when the game is finished we can't honestly say we know who the better team was. That is awful when more often than not, game outcomes are being hurt by poor officiating. It's simply unacceptable.
After the Donaghue scandal, Stern promised that things were going to change with NBA officiating. Other than hiring an ex-army officer who I have yet to see what qualifications he has to do anything with NBA referees and who appears to have done exactly jack shit, NOTHING HAS FUCKING HAPPENED. Nothing. Not only has the quality of officiating not improved, but we haven't heard anything about steps being taken to make that happen. What about an Independent Ref watching the game from the sidelines and critiquing the three officials performance at halftime, so they can hopefully improve? What about more training for officials? What about firing officials for poor performance? What about player/coaching feedback? What about making sure that certain officials being removed from sites that their neutrality is questioned? Joey Crawford still refs Spurs games, in spite of the fact that he has been suspended in the last 2 years for basically throwing games against the Spurs. If statistics show that a referee has an inordinate amount of calls--especially technicals or flagrants--against a team, and a team has an especially poor record when that ref officiates, like how Dan Crawford always goes out of his way to screw over the Mavericks, or Bill Kennedy with the Celtics, then those refs shouldn't be allowed to ref in those teams, and a SERIOUS look should be given at the objectivity of those officials.
This has to get better NBA. This league is too good and talented right now to keep having these kind of problems. David, wake up and fix this. Shame on you.
* Finally, for any of you who had any doubts that this is the Year of Lebron, check out how perfectly the playoffs are lining up for him: cakewalks in Round 1 and 2, a mild test in the ECF, and then a tough battle in the Finals against either the Lakers or the Nuggets that is never really in doubt. Do not doubt for a second that Lebron is winning his first championship this year. And it's going to be beautiful.
The NBA people...it's FANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNTASTIC!!!!!!
* I could write an entire research paper on the Boston-Chicago playoff series. I'll sum it up as this: it's the greatest non-Finals playoff series in the history of the NBA. You can make some arguments for other series, but in the end, I think it's the best. The thing I want to talk about most, though, is Ray Allen passing Reggie Miller as greatest shooter in NBA history.
I've always despised Reggie Miller as one of the most overrated players in NBA history. Reggie Miller is a great shooter. I'll give him that. That's about it. He was not a great player: for some reason, the Pacers decided to build their entire team around Reggie Miller--a player who averaged a whopping 18pts, 3rebs, and 3asts in his career--and ran the same GD triple screen for him to get him open every time. Reggie couldn't create his own shot; he wasn't quick enough, wasn't a good enough ballhandler, and didn't have good enough 1 on 1 moves. The only way to get him open was to run triple screens for him and to build your team around him. You can do that with an elite player like Tim Duncan; the Spurs built their team around him, and that's just led to 4 titles. The Pacers managed to make a coupla Eastern Conference Finals and were never that big of a threat to win those series.
Reggie's also got a reputation as a remarkable clutch player. That reputation is largely unwarranted. Reggie managed to put up a coupla big games in Madison Square Garden, which thanks to the location and Spike Lee realizing he could market himself by feuding with Reggie, earned him a "clutch player" rep. But Reggie never played well in deciding games in a series--he always shrank in Games 5, 6, and 7. And can you name a single clutch moment that didn't happen in MSG? Neither can I, because they didn't happen.
Let's look even at his "clutch" moments in MSG--specifically, the eight points in 9 seconds. YouTube the play; it's easy to find. Reggie hits a three. Great, no big deal. Reggie then SHOVES Greg Anthony to the ground. Not pushes, not elbows, just absolutely shoves him to the ground. It's one of the worst no calls in the history of the NBA. I especially love the girly hand wave he does; if I were a ref, even if I totally missed the play, I would have called a foul on him right there. "Hmmm...Greg Anthony is lying in a heap on the ground, and you're doing this sissiest, girliest 'I didn't do it' dance I've ever seen? Yeah, not buying it." Whoever was inbounding--I forget if it was Oakley or Mason--then decides, "I don't need to look at Greg Anthony; he was standing upright a moment ago; surely he's standing upright still!" and throws the ball directly to Reggie, over Anthony's head. This is perhaps the stupidest inbound play in the history of the NBA. Reggie is then absolutely wide open to nail a three--the one thing he can do in the league. This play is sold as one of the great all time plays in NBA history, when it's really just another example of A) Reggie being a bitch, and B) the Knicks pissing all over themselves in the playoffs once again.
So then you have Ray Allen--a guy who's always been an elite player AND shooter--who's career averages are better than Reggie's in every statistical category in the playoffs, and is better in every category in the regular season except for FG%, where Reggie holds a 2% advantage. Ray's playoff teams weren't built solely around him--Sam Cassell and Glen Robinson in Milwaukee, Paul Pierce and KG with the Celtics--so no constant triple picks and designing the whole team around getting him shots like Reggie did. You also have remarkable clutch play throughout Ray's career: his fantastic series against the Sixers in 2001 (he was the only Buck to show up in that Easter Conference Finals series), his amazing performance on an awful Sonics team that somehow (oh wait, I know how--he averaged 26.5 ppg while shooting 47.4% from the field and averaging 4 rebounds and assists each per game!) made the second round of the playoffs and gave the Spurs a run for their money (please remember that the second best player on that team was arguably Jerome James), and, of course, rebounded from a bad first round to be dynamic in the rest of the playoffs as the Celtics won the championship last year.
So after watching Ray Allen hit shot after shot to send games into OT or win them outright in the greatest non-Finals series ever, we can finally put to rest the fallacy that Reggie Miller is the greatest shooter in NBA history. Thank you, Ray Allen, for taking care of that nonsense.
* There have been some embarrassing losses in NBA history. Mavs-Golden State, of course, is up there. Lakers-Pistons in 01, Sonics-Nuggets in 94, the list goes on. However, the Hornets performance against the Nuggets ranks as one of the most embarrassing postseason performances by a team, ever.
It's not just the 58 point home loss--the worst in NBA playoff history. It's the fact that this is a Hornets team led by one of the best young players in the NBA, one who will most likely end up as an all-time great in the game. It's the fact that this team took the Spurs to game 7 in the second round last season, and was seen as up and coming. It's the fact that--on paper--the team improved in the offseason with the addition of James Posey while keeping their core in tact. It's the fact that they beat a lifeless team that had given up on the season last season (Mavs), and should have none not to ever submit a performance like that. It's the fact that this team knows that management is going to blow up the team in the offseason because they are basically going out of business, and should have played with more passion for each other.
I can't believe how bad their performance was. Shame on the Hornets.
* Make no mistake: the way the Nuggets are playing right now, they can beat the Lakers. I'm not saying they will, I'm just saying they can. This team is clicking on all cylinders.
* I hate to say it, because I do like Dwayne Wade, and I could give a shit about the Hawks (unlikeable team, crappy fans), but I'm glad the Hawks knocked the Heat out. Why? Because I'm sick of the Heat getting lucky by getting crappy teams and going farther in the playoffs than they should because they have Wade. Hey Pat Riley, why don't you actually build a good team (I mean really, is it that hard to convince free agents to come to fricking Miami? And play with one of the best players in the game?) instead of just relying on superhuman efforts from Wade and lucky matchups against overrated teams in the playoffs to move forward. Let's get to work while Wade can still walk, because the cracks are starting to show in the "get knocked down 1000 times, get up 1001" armor.
* I know I've said this before, but I feel like it needs to be said again: can we blow up the Jazz already, please? Let's not waste Deron William's career on the likes of Carlos Boozer and a shell of his former self AK47.
* Kudos to Philly for a nice effort against the Magic. Now good luck trying to figure out how to get rid of Elton Brand's awful contract.
* Learn from this Portland. Good luck next year.
* I've got to give props to Orlando. This team is playing tougher than I thought they would, and have done a nice job beating a feisty Sixers team and are playing their hearts out against Boston. My biggest thing to say about them is this: please, please do not think that Jameer Nelson is the answer to all of your problems. Nelson's season this year was a fluke, and undersized guards who rip their shoulders apart don't just bounce back from that. Continue to look for a good, solid point guard once your season ends, and make sure Dwight Howard gets up to 60% from the line in the offseason.
I'm not saying the playoffs are over for this team, either. I like Big Baby, but when you're relying on him to go 9-14 from the field and hit the game winner as time expires, that's not good. Orlando can still take this series.
* Houston. I don't know what to think about this team. Part of me likes this team: I love Scola, Landry, and Aaron Brooks, who are all wildly entertaining to watch in spite of the fact that they do not play remotely alike; I like the fact that they have the one guy in the league who not only isn't afraid of Kobe, but loves to talk shit and get physical with him; I love the fact that they actually employ a smart, productive player who can carry on an intelligent conversation; I love that they have a solid big man who is actually a good free throw shooter. Part of me, though, hates this team: of course I loathe Ron Ron when he plays against anyone in the league other than Kobe and hates everything he is and represents; I hate Battier partly because he's from Duke, partly because he's pointed out as underrated so often he's now overrated, and mostly because he's so fucking smug and fake humble; I don't like Yao because his game is so damn boring it makes Tim Duncan's game look exciting by comparison and because it's only a matter of time every season until he gets hurt and ruins Houston's season...and yes, JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WASN'T GOING TO HAPPEN THIS SEASON...off he limps at the end of game 3.
Of course I'm rooting for the Rockets against the Lakers, because hey, I'm a good guy and I root against evil in any form, but I just feel weird rooting for the Rockets. Oddly enough, I feel like the Rockets have a better chance of actually closing out the Lakers without Yao. Like him or not, but Phil is a good coach (not as good as he thinks he is, but still good), and with Yao and Ron Ron the Rockets are fairly predictable, and in a 7 game series the Rockets would have won 2 games, played 2 down to the wire that they would have lost, and lost the other two not in blowouts, but fairly convincingly. Now, with a solid win already under their belt with Yao, this team gets the benefit of A) the boost they always get for a week or two whenever Yao or TMac first goes down and B) the Lakers having a hard time game planning because the team is so wild-ass without them. I still think the Lakers end up pulling this out, but it will go 7, and it will be a nail biter.
* Dallas. Sigh. All I have to say about Dallas is what I've been saying all season about Dallas: this team has done a good job, has overachieved, and the bottom line is that it is simply not that good. As I've said many times in many different ways: when Antoine Wright is your starting shooting guard, then ANTOINE WRIGHT IS YOUR STARTING SHOOTING GUARD. Even though Dirk has improved in this area, they still don't have a consistent low post scorer. Even though Josh Howard has played better and JJ Barea can play well against small opponents, they still don't have a good, consistent perpetrator from the perimeter. Even though Jason Kidd has done a masterful job running the team offensively, he's one of the worst defensive point guards in a league that favors offensive guard play. Even though Ryan Hollins goes out there and plays his ass off every time he's on the court, he's still Ryan Hollins, and if you're relying on him in the second round of the playoffs, well, then to say that "that's not good" is an understatement.
I had to listen to that motherfucker Dale Hansen snottily comment after beating the Spurs, "Is this what we've come to accept from this team? Beating a depleted team in the first round?" God I hate him. Anyway, yes Dale, that's what this team is. It's a team that was championship caliber in 2006, but isn't anymore. And you know what? There's nothing unusual about that. Happens to teams all the time; they almost make it, but if they don't cross that hump when they get the chance, it doesn't happen again very often. Ask Kings fans about that. Ask Blazers fans about that. Ask Sonics fans...or Suns fans...the list goes on and on. This happens all the time. It's not unusual. Is it frustrating? Of course. But that doesn't mean we should dismiss this team, or go negative on all the players. This is still a very talented team that is playing hard against a more talented team in the second round of the playoffs. Look, I want to win more than damn near every Mavs fan out there, so I don't want to here anything about accepting mediocrity. But when the fuck did the Dallas Mavericks franchise join the "win the title or who cares" club? These aren't the Lakers, or the Yankees, or the Cowboys. So please, shut that shit up, and appreciate this team for what it is: a good team that's busting it's ass to be a very good team, but is not a great team. Hope and pray that the team will improve in the offseason to be a great team again. But I've got news you people: I've watched this franchise run out 10 win teams, and I'll take this team over that 100 times out of 100. So let's just calm the fuck down about dissing the Mavs.
* On a related note to the Mavs, NBA officiating. Simmons has been railing against this for years now, and I've got to say I'm right there with him. NBA officiating has gotten to the point where it is a serious detriment to the game and to the league itself. I appreciate the fact that the game of basketball is the toughest sport to officiate, but this is still nonsense.
I'm not even worried so much about the flagrant/suspension controversies that have occurred so far; oddly enough, I think the NBA has got those pretty much right. Howards elbow was a punch with an elbow, he deserved to sit a game. Rondo's foul was a hard playoff foul that deserved a flagrant but not a suspension--it's NBA 101 that you don't give up a layup to end the game, and that wasn't near as bad of a shot as Brad Miller made it out to be because you could see the yellow stream going down his leg before he shot those free throws, and he was looking for an excuse as to why he was going to miss them. Of course Rafer deserved to sit, and he better be happy he's in The League now and not in And 1, because not only would Eddie House have beat his ass in And 1, but everybody would have watched him do it because you don't slap a man upside the head. Derek Fisher also easily deserved to sit a game, because he didn't try to fight through that pick: he saw Scola coming, sized him up, and then bodyslammed him with his shoulder. Like Howard's punch was with his elbow, Fisher's punch was with his shoulder. Ron Ron shouldn't have been ejected with his flair up with Kobe, but he's earned the reputation he has and so I don't feel bad about that. Kobe did throw a bow at him, but it wasn't anywhere close to being as bad as Howards, and giving him a Flagrant 1 (or a, "if you do that again, then you will sit") is the right solution for that.
No, I'm more concerned about the calls within the game. The Mavs-Nuggets game was awfully officiated, and not because of the last 8 seconds, but because of the previous 47:52 where a ridiculous 51 fouls were called. On the same token, there is a good argument to, "How the fuck did you not throw Dwight Howard out of the game when he tried to kill Sam Dalembert with his elbow?" It seems like there are two types of refs in the league: ones that, God only know why, think the fans are there to watch them officiate and call way too many fouls, or the ones that are either incompetent or too scared to make the correct calls and just sit there and let games get out of control. There is no middle game, and it is KILLING the league. I'd say that at LEAST 60% of the time when I've watched a playoff game, I've felt that the officiating adversely affected the outcome of the game. I'm not saying that 60% of the time they're causing the wrong team to win, I'm saying that 60% of the time the refs are fucking the game up so badly that even when the game is finished we can't honestly say we know who the better team was. That is awful when more often than not, game outcomes are being hurt by poor officiating. It's simply unacceptable.
After the Donaghue scandal, Stern promised that things were going to change with NBA officiating. Other than hiring an ex-army officer who I have yet to see what qualifications he has to do anything with NBA referees and who appears to have done exactly jack shit, NOTHING HAS FUCKING HAPPENED. Nothing. Not only has the quality of officiating not improved, but we haven't heard anything about steps being taken to make that happen. What about an Independent Ref watching the game from the sidelines and critiquing the three officials performance at halftime, so they can hopefully improve? What about more training for officials? What about firing officials for poor performance? What about player/coaching feedback? What about making sure that certain officials being removed from sites that their neutrality is questioned? Joey Crawford still refs Spurs games, in spite of the fact that he has been suspended in the last 2 years for basically throwing games against the Spurs. If statistics show that a referee has an inordinate amount of calls--especially technicals or flagrants--against a team, and a team has an especially poor record when that ref officiates, like how Dan Crawford always goes out of his way to screw over the Mavericks, or Bill Kennedy with the Celtics, then those refs shouldn't be allowed to ref in those teams, and a SERIOUS look should be given at the objectivity of those officials.
This has to get better NBA. This league is too good and talented right now to keep having these kind of problems. David, wake up and fix this. Shame on you.
* Finally, for any of you who had any doubts that this is the Year of Lebron, check out how perfectly the playoffs are lining up for him: cakewalks in Round 1 and 2, a mild test in the ECF, and then a tough battle in the Finals against either the Lakers or the Nuggets that is never really in doubt. Do not doubt for a second that Lebron is winning his first championship this year. And it's going to be beautiful.
The NBA people...it's FANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNTASTIC!!!!!!
Labels: NBA Playoffs
posted by Michael Pondrom at 12:05 AM
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