Okay, I want to watch, I really do. I love basketball, and even though I don’t have a team I really care about, I still want to watch. These are great athletes doing amazing things. T-Mac, Paul Pierce and Mike Bibby are all fantastic, and I love watching them play. I love rooting against the Lakers, just cause they always win. But come on, this is getting fucking ridiculous.
Lakers down five to the T-Wolves, with around 35 seconds left. Kobe gets the ball, shoots a three. Szerbiack (or whatever) DOES NOT TOUCH HIM!!! and they call a fucking foul. Gee Kobe, that was an impressive job of twisting your body in the air, but it did not fool my untrained eyes for one second, watching on my 13" TV. Replays confirmed no contact. This wasn’t even close. Yet he GETS THE FUCKING CALL!!! what a bunch of horseshit. Alright, but I’ve calmed down, and its only one extra point when he hits the FT.
And now shitty calls are happening too fast for me document them all. A whole lot of contact by a Laker is NOT CALLED. Lakers down one. Kobe misses a layup, and is NOT TOUCHED AGAIN, yet they call a foul. With an EXTREMELY late whistle. He makes a FT to send it to OT. The Lakers should have lost this game already. This is fucking terrible. Even more bad calls already in OT.
Look, I don’t know if this is a conspiricy from higher-ups or not. But I do know that the Lakers (especially Kobe and Shaq) have been getting shitty calls in their favor for a while now. Last years Kings series was a travesty. Is it just a coincidence that the team most important for NBA ratings gets these calls? I know good teams tend to get some calls, maybe subconciously from the refs. But I’ve seen Duke get some calls in college ball, but nothing close to this crap. And for the “unofficial policy” of NBA superstars getting calls? That’s bullshit! Call it the same for everyone! But even MJ never got calls like this.
Arrgh, another bullshit call against Szerbiak. And the annoucers are LAUGHING about this!! They know these are awful calls. Where’s the outrage?? This is the game you love, right? Don’t let it generate into this TRAVESTY!
That was a horribly officiated game. Personally, I think the refs fall for the same “hero worship” marketing machine of commercials and promos for Kobe and Shaq that most everyone else does, and it affects their calls. The “unofficial policy” didn’t help Garnett, and they fouled him out on a phantom call.
But at least the Wolves won, in contrast to the Kings game last year.
But I guess that’s what happens when you’re defending champions (or 3-times defending champions for that matter).
I think we all understand that the refs don’t do it on purpose, however they do have a ** lot ** of pressure on them in the playoffs, especially during the crunch, OTs or eliminations games (game 7s). I’m not running to their defense or whatever, but I understand that they generally try to be as objective as possible.
Then again, we just have to live by their calls, since hardly any get overturned. Whether you’re watching a game from the past, in the present or in the future you can be sure that the benefit of the doubt will more often than not go to the superior team.
I found the officiating to be horrible on both sides of the ball. Calls missed, and no contact fouls called. I am glad to see the Lakers (by “Lakers”, I mean Kobe and Shaq…cause that’s what it is) down 2 to 1.
It all started when they allowed MJ to take three steps to the basket and palm the ball during his dribble. The game, in my eyes, lost all credibility many many years ago.
FTR I was never a huge fan. I enjoyed the days of Magic vs Larry. Since they left the league made a huge turn for the worse…
Man, you’re preaching to the choir here. Of all the major sports, only the NBA has a complete lack of adherance to the basic rules. Sure, they screw up in the NFL and the MLB, but they’re MISTAKES. Even things like the strike zone in the majors being different than the written rules if fine because it’s that way for ALL the players. In the NBA, the refs go against the written rules every night, but only for certain players.
I can’t even watch it. If you like basketball, stick to the college game. The refs there at least make an effort to be impartial.
Here’a really easy solution to your problem: Buy a courtside tciket, then go out and buy a handgun and ammo. Go to the game, taking your newly purchased gun with you. the first time the ref makes a call you don’t like, run out on the court and shoot him in the face. Problem solved!:rolleyes: :wally
This is why I can’t even watch the games anymore. I used to be a huge basketball fan. Maybe I even liked it more than football. But I was young, and didn’t know any better. It got to a point where every single game I watched, I ended up screaming and throwing things at the TV; baffled, angry, and even a bit betrayed by the fact that the refs obviously didn’t give a fuck. And this happened regardless of what teams I watched or when I watched. So I finally gave up.
Basketball at all levels has its share of horrible calls. It’s a great game, don’t get me wrong. I love to play it. However, there seriously needs to be someting done about the officiating…and it is well over a decade overdue.
Michael Jordan was the king of phantom calls. He’d get the benefit of the doubt on 10-15 travelling calls a game. Sure…I could make moves like that too if any official ever allowed me an extra step.
I’ve been a Laker’s fan my whole life. However, the travesty the NBA has become has made me question the legitacy of the three-peat. Hell…does anyone even remember the last time an NBA champ didn’t end up repeating? (yes…there was that San Antonio series a few years ago…) I can’t even watch a game anymore. In other words, I can’t enjoy the championships that “my team” have won.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say that the league picks a team at the beginning of the year and chauffer’s them to the championship.
I have never like the NBA, but I am a big basketball fan, and have long looked for something to watch as I warm myself by the glow of the TV after March Madness has ended.
Back in high school I had a friend who was hugely into pro wrestling. (OK, but not obsessively so, so he can be forgiven.) When people asked him “But isn’t pro wrestling fake?” he used to answer “Isn’t pro basketball fake?”
Some of the calls these days, I have to wonder whether he was right.
Howie, I used to scoff at NBA conspiracy theorists.
But when the Lakers started off so poorly this year, and David Stern and company realized that the Lakers would NOT have home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs - and IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEASON revised the playoff format to be a best-of-seven series (instead of best-of-five), that spoke volumes to me. Let’s just say I don’t scoff anymore.
But I will have to disagree with you on one thing. Even the Lakers don’t get the calls that Duke does in college. But as you can tell by my handle, I may be a little biased.
I’m a huge NBA fan, and last night’s game was one of the worst in recent history. KG’s last three fouls were varying degrees of bullshit. After the game Barkley had the sac to say that it would have been a travesty if the Wolves lost. If Stern had any integrity he would hold a press conference and assure the fans that this crap is going to stop. It’s one thing for a ref to make a tough call in favor of the more senior player, or to call both ways after an honest mistake was made. This was blatant horseshit.
