Before I get to my analysis of game 7 I must pay tribute to the three men who taught me the game of basketball. My father Richard introduced me to the game. He and my mother used to tell me these stories about the Laker teams of the 1960’s. No happy endings, these were more like Grimm’s fairy tales where you find out that the big bad wolf actually ATE Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother. Game Seven 1962, Frank Selvy misses a wide open shot at the buzzer in a tie game the Lakers went on to lose in OT. Elgin Baylor scored 61 points in an NBA final game against the Celtics, and the Lakers lost. Jerry West hit a half court shot to tie a finals game against the Knicks … that the Lakers also lost in OT. Don Nelson’s fluke shot in Game Seven 1969 and the balloons never get to fall at the Fabulous Forum. I saw more pain in my father’s eyes when he talked about those games … than when he spoke of his divorce from my mother. I hated the Boston Celtics with more passion than a 10-year old should have…and that made Dad proud. My step-father George was a bit of an Orange County playground legend in his youth. He once scored 60 points in a high school game and was a pupil of future USC coach Bob Boyd when he coached at Santa Ana Community College. My step-father probably would have gone on to play at USC, but he and his girlfriend at the time got in the “family way” and he settled for teaching his step-son about the game he loved. He was my hoops guide & prophet as the Lakers Dynasty of the 1980’s emerged and I saw tears in his eyes in 1985 when Magic, Kareem & Showtime claimed the NBA Championship at Boston’s mythical Garden. My biological father was the spark that ignited the basketball fire in me. My Step-father stoked the flame until it burned white-hot. It still does.
And the third man, the other “father-figure” who taught me about this game I love so much that I honestly got emotional last night. Frances Hearn … “Chick” to you and me. Ah Chick... Chickie… Chickie-Baby… Chickie-Baby-Sweetheart! However you came to know and love him, adore him really. He is the God-Father of Los Angeles basketball and I learned about this game by listening to his golden voice. “Dribble-drive” “Fast Break” … “Slaaaam Dunk!” these phrases are all common-place in the modern game used universally today, but true Laker fans will proudly tell you that all of those are “Chickisms”. I grew up on him, like Tina Turner said”I hang on every word you say” Chick taught me that there were many different variations to the violation most fans simply call traveling. “Too Many Steps” still echoes around Staples center today thanks to PA announcer Lawrence Tantor. And of course “The Bunny-Hop in the Pea Patch” is what the uninitiated refer to as “Up & Down” (I’m not kidding, look in an NBA rule book and you will not find “up & down” anywhere, it’s just traveling) Chick let us know what the player had done to get the call and he did it in the most colorful entertaining way possible. In my opinion NO Lakers Championship will ever be complete until Chick tells us “This Game is in the Refrigerator, the Door is closed the Lights are out the Eggs are Cooling, the Butter is getting Hard and …. THE JELLO IS JIGGLING!!!
They are all gone now. Sad that they never witnessed the Lakers defeat the Celtics in a Game 7. But Rest in Peace, basketball fathers, the Celtic curse is no more!
Speaking of cursing, how about that game 7? Only the Lakers v Celtics have the ability to turn an otherwise calm banker, husband, and father of two, into an insane foul-mouthed bad ass who screamed at his television set as if It were not only showing me the game, but also bore some responsibility for what was happening. Minus their starting center (Kendrick Perkins), 48-hours after getting their tails kicked the wounded Celtics came out big and bold and attempted to rob the Lakers and their fans of the gold. The Lakers scored 14-points in the first quarter of the biggest game of the year. Fourteen points??? Fourteen! My god, that must have been the lowest scoring quarter for this team all season (it wasn’t) and it was an ominous of sign of what was about to transpire. I tried to suppress the thought, but somewhere in the back of my brain I could hear Dad telling me that horrible nightmare from 1970 when Willis Reed got hurt in Game 6 only to come out of the hospital and lead the Knicks to victory over the Lakers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. I might be an Atheist, but at that point in the game I was looking skyward and begging the Almighty One to spare me the memories that tormented my father. I don’t know if he was listening, but at the very least, Ron Artest was.
In previous articles I have called out Artest for being the most confounding player I have ever had the pleasure (?) to watch. I stand by that claim and if you want to argue, well when was the last time you heard a professional athlete thank his Psychiatrist BEFORE he thanked God during the post-game interviews? But Ron Ron played exceptional last night. The only player on the Lakers roster who had never played in an NBA Finals before played like the only player who ever had. As always his defense on Paul Pierce was nothing less than stifling (5 Steals!) and although I still cringed every time he touched the ball on offense, there he was knocking down big shots & Celtics en route to his biggest game of the season and as a Laker. He had 20 points, 5 rebounds and he infuriated the Celtics midway thru the 3rd quarter when he tangled up Paul Pierce under the basket and got in his own submission for “Punk” play of the series using a forearm to dislodge Paula’s headband and pulling it down over his eyes. With Garnett, Davis, Rondo & Pierce closing in around Artest under the basket the look on Ron’s face said it all. The Celtics needed one or two more guys against Ron Artest and “maybe” it would be a fair fight. Fittingly, his three-pointer near the end of the Game was the final dagger plunged into the hearts of the Celtics Championship dream. As Artest will soon learn Laker Fans have a special place in their hearts for the heroes whose jerseys will not be raised to the Staples Center Rafters. (Fisher, Horry, Wilkes, Rambis) Welcome to the Pantheon Ron.
Of course Artest was not the only un-sung hero in last night’s game. There was Derek Fisher hitting yet another big shot pulling the Lakers even at 64 early in the 4th quarter. Lamar Odom had a relatively quiet night with just 7-points, 7 rebounds, but there he was in the final two minutes of a tight game swooping past Kevin Garnett for a Lay-up increasing the Lakers lead to six points. Andrew Bynum may be a little injury-prone, but the kid played like a Warrior and Laker fans will never forget what he gave us in this series. And Sasha! Oh Sasha, maybe we should start calling you the “The Ice Machine” because that must be what runs in your veins, ice water. With just 25 seconds left in the game and the Lakers lead down to just two points Coach Phil turned to the Slovenian knowing that the Celtics would be fouling to stop the clock. The Lakers tried to get the ball in first to Fisher, then to Kobe but when the Celtics shut those options down Lamar Odom was forced to inbound the pass to Vujacic who was immediately fouled. He only played 4 minutes in the whole game last night and he had been sitting on the bench since the beginning of the 4th quarter. Pressure? Not for Sasha. I’ve seen guys shooting free throws alone in a gym that didn’t look so comfortable. With his teammates twisting in agony behind him “The Machine” came thru in the clutch and buried both foul shots making it a two-possession game. We won’t forget you either Sasha!!!
Only time to salute one more hero and trust me I’m just as surprised as everyone else that player is NOT going to have the initials KB. In the biggest game of his career Kobe Bryant had one of his worse nights. In the penultimate closing game the NBA’s ultimate closer shot 6 for 24 from the field (25%) missed 4 free throws and committed 4 turnovers. A guy who I’ve never seen feel pressure, almost succumbed to it. Entering the 4th quarter of the biggest game of his life Kobe Bryant had 13 points. He only made one basket in the last 12 minutes of the game but he did fight through enough to get to the free throw line and scored 10 points overall in the 4th. It was just enough. His Spanish sidekick on the other hand came up HUGE. Pau Gasol had 19 points (9 in the 4th quarter) 18 rebounds 4 assists 2 blocked shots and one long loud satisfying Scream as he came off the floor during a timeout in the 4th quarter. That Barcelonan Howl was reminiscent of KG’s ridiculous antics in 2008 and repeated again during games 4 & 5 of this series and don’t think for a second that Pau (pronounced POW!) wasn’t getting some payback. In this series “The Spaniard” brought the pain and the Big Ticket … got Punched!
My last words on this series come from … Red Auerbach?? Yes the Green Devil himself like the little troll that he was sat in the Boston locker room in 1984 after the Celtics defeated the Lakers in Game 7 of NBA finals and gloatingly proclaimed “Not a Dynasty unless you win back-to-back titles!” My Step-father turned off the TV and cursed. My dad would later say something along the lines of “See, I told you so” and then cursed. It was nothing more than a mean spirited poke in the Lakers eyes immediately following a painful defeat. I hope Red turns over in his cigar stanched coffin as he realizes that by His Own Words… the 2008 Celtics were nothing more than One-Hit Wonders (like Rick Derringer or Wang Chung) while the 2009-10 Los Angeles Lakers ARE truly a Dynasty. Again.
Namaste (Peace) to all my Laker Brothers and I leave you with my favorite You Tube Video. It needs a little update but it still captures my feelings perfectly. We Are The Champions … MY FRIENDS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIa2SbErmus&playnext_from=TL&videos=eglra8Ckr7I
LA Lakers ... You Are The Best!!!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Not in Our House !!!
I need to start this article off with a correction from the end of my last article. I mentioned the last Game Seven in the NBA Finals coming way back in 1998 which is not only un-true but just plain wrong as well. The Spurs defeated the Pistons in seven games in the 2005 NBA Finals and the 98’ finals I was thinking of between the Bulls and Jazz only went 6 games. Still this is a special treat for basketball fans as this will only be the 4th Game Seven in the NBA Finals since 1987-88. It’s true; the two most exciting words in team sports are … GAME SEVEN!
As for Game #6 … That felt Good! How much did I enjoy that game last night? I watched it twice! Maybe the most enjoyable highlight was provided on YouTube as loyal Laker fans streamed images from their cell phones of the LA faithful raining down jeers on Celtic legends Bill Russell, Kevin McHale, and Cedric Maxwell as they scurried out of Staples Center in the game’s closing moments. Chick Hearn & Wilt Chamberlain would have risen from the grave before they would allow the Celtic Pantheon to celebrate in Staples Center. Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and maybe even Magic Johnson himself would have thrown down with Russell & Co before the Larry O’Brien trophy would be raised by Boston on our home court.
The Lakers dominated just about every statistical category en-route to the most impressive victory of the series. I said Kobe would need more help than he got in Game #5 and the bench came up huge with 25 point, 16 rebounds & 5 Assists. I felt that Pau Gasol HAD to win the battle against Kevin Garnett. Gasol came up one assist shy of a triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 blocked shots while Garnett countered with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 0 blocked shots. Advantage to the Big Spaniard. I had wondered about the switch from Shannon Brown to Sasha Vujacic in game #5 (Brown got a DNP for the first time in the playoffs) but there was coach Jackson going to Brown early in Game #6 as Derek Fisher got into early foul trouble. Brown did a decent job on defense shadowing Ray Allen and also provided the fired up Staples Center crowd with two electrifying slam dunks. Jackson also got a strong performance from Sasha Vujacic who also harassed Allen defensively and then showed vestiges of his 2008 form (“The Machine”) as he buried a couple of big long range jump shots on his way to 9 points. Lamar Odom, thought to be MIA, came out aggressive on both ends of the floor and held his own against the Celtics depleted front line when Andrew Bynum headed to the locker room after only playing 2 minutes in the third quarter. How much skin did the Lakers leave on the Staples Center court last night as they relentlessly dove after every loose ball? For older Laker fans Jordan Farmar had a “James Worthy Moment” as he selflessly threw his body to the floor stealing the ball from Rajon Rondo and directing a pass, along the ground, to Kobe that resulted in two points.
And the biggest assist of the evening goes to …? My game ball went to The Laker Faithful, the loyalists as I like to think of them (You). Not the casual, fly by the seat of your pants fans who occasionally don a shirt or maybe stick a flag on their car during the post-season. No, I’m talking about the hard core LA Fans who stick by the team no matter the circumstances. The fans who will argue with anyone, including your parents if need be to defend the Purple and Gold and our players. These are the folks in the upper bowl of Staples Center who assaulted Celtic ears with a heartfelt chant of “DEFENSE!” just 5 minutes into Game #6. They never stopped. The people who very clearly let you know that the “Anti-Boston” chant the network announcers repeatedly refer to is pronounced … “BOSTON SUCKS!!!” You know who you are, you were the fans who woke up on Tuesday morning with your game face on and in short order told me the Lakers would win game 6, and win big! The fans who told all the Boston barnacles clinging to the bottom of the Celtics barge that Laker fans would gladly accept the challenge of true Green Celtic fans but we’re sick of hearing from all the “Boston Fans” in Charlotte, Fresno, and God forbid even right here in LA who have absolutely ZERO commitment to the team they cheer.
A break for David Stearn and his officials as there was no blown call of the game on Tuesday although I’m sure the Boston fans will tell me otherwise. However, Paul Pierce & Rajon Rondo probably secured “Punk” play of the series and coincidentally it occurred on the same play. Paul Pierce was dribbling high above the 3-point line getting harassed by Pau Gasol. Yes, there was contact between Pierce & Gasol but it didn’t appear to be much. Of course that didn’t stop Paula (Paulina?) from hitting the deck in an obvious flop that the officials refused to call and as a result the ball went off Pierce’s foot that Kobe picked up and started a Lakers fast break. Kobe left the ball off for Shannon Brown who finished with a spectacular slam dunk. On the replay you can see Rondo push Kobe with both hands in the back just after Kobe gives the ball to Brown and if you look back up the court you’ll clearly see Pierce throw out his leg tripping Gasol as Pau headed up the court. Gasol clearly didn’t care for the move and glared at the prone Pierce lying on the floor while an obviously amused Lamar Odom pulled the man from Barcelona away from the incident. As Chick Hearn would have said, No harm, No Foul, No Blood, No Ambulance.
And after Thursday night … no more basketball either. What a great season, and to top it off we got the best Finals in recent memory between the NBA’s two most storied and bitter rivals. I really couldn’t ask for more, but of course I will.
Let’s Go Lakers !!!
As for Game #6 … That felt Good! How much did I enjoy that game last night? I watched it twice! Maybe the most enjoyable highlight was provided on YouTube as loyal Laker fans streamed images from their cell phones of the LA faithful raining down jeers on Celtic legends Bill Russell, Kevin McHale, and Cedric Maxwell as they scurried out of Staples Center in the game’s closing moments. Chick Hearn & Wilt Chamberlain would have risen from the grave before they would allow the Celtic Pantheon to celebrate in Staples Center. Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and maybe even Magic Johnson himself would have thrown down with Russell & Co before the Larry O’Brien trophy would be raised by Boston on our home court.
The Lakers dominated just about every statistical category en-route to the most impressive victory of the series. I said Kobe would need more help than he got in Game #5 and the bench came up huge with 25 point, 16 rebounds & 5 Assists. I felt that Pau Gasol HAD to win the battle against Kevin Garnett. Gasol came up one assist shy of a triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 blocked shots while Garnett countered with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 0 blocked shots. Advantage to the Big Spaniard. I had wondered about the switch from Shannon Brown to Sasha Vujacic in game #5 (Brown got a DNP for the first time in the playoffs) but there was coach Jackson going to Brown early in Game #6 as Derek Fisher got into early foul trouble. Brown did a decent job on defense shadowing Ray Allen and also provided the fired up Staples Center crowd with two electrifying slam dunks. Jackson also got a strong performance from Sasha Vujacic who also harassed Allen defensively and then showed vestiges of his 2008 form (“The Machine”) as he buried a couple of big long range jump shots on his way to 9 points. Lamar Odom, thought to be MIA, came out aggressive on both ends of the floor and held his own against the Celtics depleted front line when Andrew Bynum headed to the locker room after only playing 2 minutes in the third quarter. How much skin did the Lakers leave on the Staples Center court last night as they relentlessly dove after every loose ball? For older Laker fans Jordan Farmar had a “James Worthy Moment” as he selflessly threw his body to the floor stealing the ball from Rajon Rondo and directing a pass, along the ground, to Kobe that resulted in two points.
And the biggest assist of the evening goes to …? My game ball went to The Laker Faithful, the loyalists as I like to think of them (You). Not the casual, fly by the seat of your pants fans who occasionally don a shirt or maybe stick a flag on their car during the post-season. No, I’m talking about the hard core LA Fans who stick by the team no matter the circumstances. The fans who will argue with anyone, including your parents if need be to defend the Purple and Gold and our players. These are the folks in the upper bowl of Staples Center who assaulted Celtic ears with a heartfelt chant of “DEFENSE!” just 5 minutes into Game #6. They never stopped. The people who very clearly let you know that the “Anti-Boston” chant the network announcers repeatedly refer to is pronounced … “BOSTON SUCKS!!!” You know who you are, you were the fans who woke up on Tuesday morning with your game face on and in short order told me the Lakers would win game 6, and win big! The fans who told all the Boston barnacles clinging to the bottom of the Celtics barge that Laker fans would gladly accept the challenge of true Green Celtic fans but we’re sick of hearing from all the “Boston Fans” in Charlotte, Fresno, and God forbid even right here in LA who have absolutely ZERO commitment to the team they cheer.
A break for David Stearn and his officials as there was no blown call of the game on Tuesday although I’m sure the Boston fans will tell me otherwise. However, Paul Pierce & Rajon Rondo probably secured “Punk” play of the series and coincidentally it occurred on the same play. Paul Pierce was dribbling high above the 3-point line getting harassed by Pau Gasol. Yes, there was contact between Pierce & Gasol but it didn’t appear to be much. Of course that didn’t stop Paula (Paulina?) from hitting the deck in an obvious flop that the officials refused to call and as a result the ball went off Pierce’s foot that Kobe picked up and started a Lakers fast break. Kobe left the ball off for Shannon Brown who finished with a spectacular slam dunk. On the replay you can see Rondo push Kobe with both hands in the back just after Kobe gives the ball to Brown and if you look back up the court you’ll clearly see Pierce throw out his leg tripping Gasol as Pau headed up the court. Gasol clearly didn’t care for the move and glared at the prone Pierce lying on the floor while an obviously amused Lamar Odom pulled the man from Barcelona away from the incident. As Chick Hearn would have said, No harm, No Foul, No Blood, No Ambulance.
And after Thursday night … no more basketball either. What a great season, and to top it off we got the best Finals in recent memory between the NBA’s two most storied and bitter rivals. I really couldn’t ask for more, but of course I will.
Let’s Go Lakers !!!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Anyone for a Game 7?
The Lakers are coming back to LA down 3-2
I keep hearing about the team that wins the battle of the boards has won every game so far in this series, and while that held true again last night can we at least stay within the grasp of reality. Boston out rebounded the Lakers 35-34 last night. The Lakers actually had a 16-7 edge in offensive rebounds a stat that surprised me since it seemed like the Celtics must have got the majority of those in the 4th quarter, and a couple during crunch time. Boston did outscore LA 46-32 on points in the paint, however the Lakers attempted 13 more free throws than the Celtics, many of those the result of drives to the basket (which don’t register as Points in the Paint). But those were not the telling moments of game #5.
No, I felt this game turned in the first few minutes of the third quarter. Kobe Bryant put on another brilliant but not unfamiliar shooting exhibition as he repeatedly buried tough shots with multiple Celtic defenders hanging all over him. When it was over Kobe had scored the first 19 points of the quarter for the Lakers and put to rest any notion of a “Kobe Stopper”. His scoring spree included his entire repertoire, two 3-pointers, two mid-range jump shots, an “And One” for a three point basket, a pair of free throws… and one gravity-defying alley-oop pass where he caught the errant pass and still somehow managed to guide the ball into the basket. All of this effort went for not as the Lakers defense which had been solid for the first four and a half games began to crack. Boston scored on 12 of their first 13 possessions of the 2nd half not only fighting off Kobe’s attack but increasing their 6-point halftime lead to double digits on several occasions on their way to a 28-point quarter.
The Lakers actually managed to win the 4th quarter (21-19) and there were a couple of plays where they appeared ready to pull even with the Celtics and they just couldn’t quite get there. Ron Artest is one of the most confounding players I’ve ever seen and right now he’s not on my list of favorite players. Until last night his defense on Paul Pierce has been excellent, and even though he looks more lost in the offense now than he did last October (how is that possible?) I think Laker fans have been willing to live with Pierce struggling. I’ll give credit to Doc Rivers as the Celtics have changed strategy’s and are now running Artest through picks across the top of the key. Artest is having trouble with moving his feet and staying up with Pierce while evading the screens and the result was a big game (27 points) for Pierce. And not only is Artest completely lost on the offensive end of the floor, I’m starting to cringe when they pass him the ball, but he's even a liability when he has a clear path to the basket. Last night, with under a minute to play and the Lakers trailing 87-82, Derek Fisher won a jump ball against … Kevin Garnett! The tipped ball went to Kobe who immediately made the outlet pass ahead to Artest who looked to have a couple of steps on Pierce. I can’t remember a player who moved so slowly with no one ahead of him. At that point in the game Artest has to go hard to the basket and possibly get a three-point opportunity. Instead he appeared to almost be waiting for Pierce to catch up to him and foul him which he did. Artest subsequently missed both free throws and the Lakers never got closer down the stretch.
My blown call of the game? Not so bad really. But it did come at a pivotal point and I’m sure had many Laker fans wondering the same thing I was. It was right before the jump ball with Fisher and Garnett and the Celtics had the ball with the shot clock running down. Ray Allen ended up launching a desperation three-pointer from about 26 feet out with time running down. The shot appeared to miss the rim but the rebound came off to Kendrick Perkins to no avail as the shot clock expired and the officials blew the whistles to signal the violation. However after huddling together the head official Jack Crawford indicated the shot had indeed hit the rim and gave the Celtics a fresh 24-second shot clock. I’ll give the Refs some leeway on this particular call since it happened very fast with the ball going over the rim and bouncing off the backboard on the far side. Television showed about 7 different angles of replays and the one thing I will say is that not a single one of those replays convincingly showed the ball hitting the rim. The two best replays I saw from above the basket appeared to be conclusive since the replay was slow enough to actually see the rotation of the ball as it floated over the rim. In those two shots, the ball never did stop spinning. I guess my question to the officials would have been … “Which one of you saw it hit the Rim?” … because we sure couldn’t see it from the TV replays.
Coming back to LA, Kobe is gonna need more help than he got in game #5. Pau Gasol absolutely needs to win the battle against Kevin Garnett and the Lakers need at least one more outside shooter to step up and knock down some shots. I found it interesting that Shannon Brown appeared to have lost his spot in the rotation and Coach Phil went with Sasha Vujacic who rewarded the decision by hitting a couple of big jumpers. At a few times the Lakers (other than Kobe) looked hesitant with their outside shots even though they were open and the one thing Laker fans know Sasha is not is hesitant. It would be nice to see Lamar Odom, but after 5 games I’m a bit skeptical. You have to appreciate what Andrew Bynum is doing on one leg. His numbers are not going to be there for the rest of the series since he’s essentially playing on one leg, but he’s giving the team all he has and refuses to give up when he’s in the game. I want to see a Game 7. For obvious reasons since I’m a Laker Fan, but it really would be nice to see a Game 7 or the first time since… 1998?
I keep hearing about the team that wins the battle of the boards has won every game so far in this series, and while that held true again last night can we at least stay within the grasp of reality. Boston out rebounded the Lakers 35-34 last night. The Lakers actually had a 16-7 edge in offensive rebounds a stat that surprised me since it seemed like the Celtics must have got the majority of those in the 4th quarter, and a couple during crunch time. Boston did outscore LA 46-32 on points in the paint, however the Lakers attempted 13 more free throws than the Celtics, many of those the result of drives to the basket (which don’t register as Points in the Paint). But those were not the telling moments of game #5.
No, I felt this game turned in the first few minutes of the third quarter. Kobe Bryant put on another brilliant but not unfamiliar shooting exhibition as he repeatedly buried tough shots with multiple Celtic defenders hanging all over him. When it was over Kobe had scored the first 19 points of the quarter for the Lakers and put to rest any notion of a “Kobe Stopper”. His scoring spree included his entire repertoire, two 3-pointers, two mid-range jump shots, an “And One” for a three point basket, a pair of free throws… and one gravity-defying alley-oop pass where he caught the errant pass and still somehow managed to guide the ball into the basket. All of this effort went for not as the Lakers defense which had been solid for the first four and a half games began to crack. Boston scored on 12 of their first 13 possessions of the 2nd half not only fighting off Kobe’s attack but increasing their 6-point halftime lead to double digits on several occasions on their way to a 28-point quarter.
The Lakers actually managed to win the 4th quarter (21-19) and there were a couple of plays where they appeared ready to pull even with the Celtics and they just couldn’t quite get there. Ron Artest is one of the most confounding players I’ve ever seen and right now he’s not on my list of favorite players. Until last night his defense on Paul Pierce has been excellent, and even though he looks more lost in the offense now than he did last October (how is that possible?) I think Laker fans have been willing to live with Pierce struggling. I’ll give credit to Doc Rivers as the Celtics have changed strategy’s and are now running Artest through picks across the top of the key. Artest is having trouble with moving his feet and staying up with Pierce while evading the screens and the result was a big game (27 points) for Pierce. And not only is Artest completely lost on the offensive end of the floor, I’m starting to cringe when they pass him the ball, but he's even a liability when he has a clear path to the basket. Last night, with under a minute to play and the Lakers trailing 87-82, Derek Fisher won a jump ball against … Kevin Garnett! The tipped ball went to Kobe who immediately made the outlet pass ahead to Artest who looked to have a couple of steps on Pierce. I can’t remember a player who moved so slowly with no one ahead of him. At that point in the game Artest has to go hard to the basket and possibly get a three-point opportunity. Instead he appeared to almost be waiting for Pierce to catch up to him and foul him which he did. Artest subsequently missed both free throws and the Lakers never got closer down the stretch.
My blown call of the game? Not so bad really. But it did come at a pivotal point and I’m sure had many Laker fans wondering the same thing I was. It was right before the jump ball with Fisher and Garnett and the Celtics had the ball with the shot clock running down. Ray Allen ended up launching a desperation three-pointer from about 26 feet out with time running down. The shot appeared to miss the rim but the rebound came off to Kendrick Perkins to no avail as the shot clock expired and the officials blew the whistles to signal the violation. However after huddling together the head official Jack Crawford indicated the shot had indeed hit the rim and gave the Celtics a fresh 24-second shot clock. I’ll give the Refs some leeway on this particular call since it happened very fast with the ball going over the rim and bouncing off the backboard on the far side. Television showed about 7 different angles of replays and the one thing I will say is that not a single one of those replays convincingly showed the ball hitting the rim. The two best replays I saw from above the basket appeared to be conclusive since the replay was slow enough to actually see the rotation of the ball as it floated over the rim. In those two shots, the ball never did stop spinning. I guess my question to the officials would have been … “Which one of you saw it hit the Rim?” … because we sure couldn’t see it from the TV replays.
Coming back to LA, Kobe is gonna need more help than he got in game #5. Pau Gasol absolutely needs to win the battle against Kevin Garnett and the Lakers need at least one more outside shooter to step up and knock down some shots. I found it interesting that Shannon Brown appeared to have lost his spot in the rotation and Coach Phil went with Sasha Vujacic who rewarded the decision by hitting a couple of big jumpers. At a few times the Lakers (other than Kobe) looked hesitant with their outside shots even though they were open and the one thing Laker fans know Sasha is not is hesitant. It would be nice to see Lamar Odom, but after 5 games I’m a bit skeptical. You have to appreciate what Andrew Bynum is doing on one leg. His numbers are not going to be there for the rest of the series since he’s essentially playing on one leg, but he’s giving the team all he has and refuses to give up when he’s in the game. I want to see a Game 7. For obvious reasons since I’m a Laker Fan, but it really would be nice to see a Game 7 or the first time since… 1998?
Friday, June 11, 2010
The Best NBA Finals Since ...
Ok, before I get started on my thoughts on game 4 of the NBA finals I just want to say this is already one of the most exciting playoff series in recent memory. Already guaranteed of going to a game six for the first time since 2008 these two teams are so evenly matched that I’ve been on the edge of my seat for the last three games. I understand if you’re a Lakers fan or a Celtic fan, but if you’re a basketball fan and you don’t enjoy what you’ve been seeing so far, see a physician.
Back in 2008, after the Celtics had defeated the Lakers in the finals the question of the day was “so what will the Lakers do to beat the Celtics.” When I was asked I always attempted to answer as honestly as possible admitting that there really was not very much the Lakers could do with regards to making any big changes. The Lakers were already over the Salary Cap and another big trade following the Pau Gasol deal was highly unlikely. But I did bring up the fact that the squad that lost the title to the Celtics was missing an injured Andrew Bynum and Trevor Arriza had not really recovered from broken foot. I felt those two players would have made a substantial difference in the outcome of that series. Although the Celtics were unable to get back to last year’s NBA finals for a re-match, the Lakers did and Andrew Bynum played a big part in containing Dwight Howard in the middle and Trevor Arriza shot 48% from the 3-point line as the Lakers won the championship. The Lakers replaced the sleek Arriza with bulky defensive specialist Ron Artest who has done a very good job of containing Paul Pierce. But Arriza fans haven’t forgotten that Trevor made a number of key defensive plays in crunch time throughout the 2009 post season.
That brings us to Game #4 on Thursday night and of course after the Celtics pounded the Lakers down low leading to 36-points in the 4th quarter, getting 21 points from their bench all the talk in Los Angeles was about Andrew Bynum’s injured knee. Glenn “Big Baby” Davis was dominant during a stretch of the 4th quarter as he repeatedly went to the basket or grabbed offensive rebounds and followed-up with easy scores. That was not happening earlier in this series as Bynum & Gasol were combining to dominate the inside wiping away those types of baskets with blocked or changed shots. Without Bynum the Lakers were unable to match the Celtics strength inside leading to the big 4th quarter and ultimately, the victory to tie the series at 2-2. However it should also be noted that Andrew Bynum only played 12 of the first 36 minutes in Game #4 and the Lakers held the Celtics to 60 points. He only played a total of 2 very ineffective minutes in the third quarter and yet Boston scored 18 points.
I had a little problem with Coach Phil Jackson’s rotation once it was apparent that Bynum would not be able to go in the 2nd half. I know these are highly conditioned athletes, but Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant played every minute of the 2nd half and Lamar Odom played all but 2 minutes in what are turning out to be extremely physical, grueling contests. In particular if it turns out that Bynum will not be able to go on Sunday or has to drastically reduce his minutes or effectiveness, Jackson is going to need to find at least one more Big Man off his bench that he can turn to to give him 5-7 minutes in the 2nd half and get Gasol and Odom a rest. Same for Kobe, I don’t know if it’s Shannon Brown who I believe Coach Phil has confidence in or Sasha Vujacic who he doesn’t but somehow Jackson has to find a way to sit Kobe down during the end of the 3rd quarter beginning of the 4th so he can be fresh for the stretch run of the game. In my opinion the starters, including Odom spent too much time on the floor and they all looked fatigued in the game’s closing moments.
Last, and of course not least it wouldn’t be a complete article without at least one blast across the bow of the SS David Stearn and the officiating crew. It’s a shame too because this officiating crew actually called a very good game despite all the boos from the Boston fans. BUT, there was one absolutely mind blowing call in the middle of the 2nd quarter that in the words of Arsenio Hall would have been put into the category of “Things that make you go hmmmm”. It wasn’t a big call and it didn’t impact the outcome of the game in any way, but about halfway through the 2nd quarter Boston inbounded the ball to Rajon Rondo who headed up the floor. It seemed like Rondo had barely crossed half court when the whistle sounded and either Greg Willard or Scott Foster (I’m not sure which official it was) pointed the other way while giving the signal for a 3-second lane violation on the Celtics and Kevin Garnett. Garnett, Doc Rivers, and about Boston 19,000 fans went bezerk especially when Rivers indicated that the 24-second shot clock … still had 20 seconds on it! Essentially, it was mathematically, theoretically, and physically impossible for the Celtics to have been charged with a 3-second lane violation and the crowd really got into it after seeing the replay which even in slow motion showed that KG had barely entered the Lane when the whistle sounded.
Game 5 on Sunday, for the sake of the Lakers and also for the sake of the series I’m hoping the extra day of rest benefits Andrew’s knee and he’s able to play 20+ minutes. We may see a Game 7!
Back in 2008, after the Celtics had defeated the Lakers in the finals the question of the day was “so what will the Lakers do to beat the Celtics.” When I was asked I always attempted to answer as honestly as possible admitting that there really was not very much the Lakers could do with regards to making any big changes. The Lakers were already over the Salary Cap and another big trade following the Pau Gasol deal was highly unlikely. But I did bring up the fact that the squad that lost the title to the Celtics was missing an injured Andrew Bynum and Trevor Arriza had not really recovered from broken foot. I felt those two players would have made a substantial difference in the outcome of that series. Although the Celtics were unable to get back to last year’s NBA finals for a re-match, the Lakers did and Andrew Bynum played a big part in containing Dwight Howard in the middle and Trevor Arriza shot 48% from the 3-point line as the Lakers won the championship. The Lakers replaced the sleek Arriza with bulky defensive specialist Ron Artest who has done a very good job of containing Paul Pierce. But Arriza fans haven’t forgotten that Trevor made a number of key defensive plays in crunch time throughout the 2009 post season.
That brings us to Game #4 on Thursday night and of course after the Celtics pounded the Lakers down low leading to 36-points in the 4th quarter, getting 21 points from their bench all the talk in Los Angeles was about Andrew Bynum’s injured knee. Glenn “Big Baby” Davis was dominant during a stretch of the 4th quarter as he repeatedly went to the basket or grabbed offensive rebounds and followed-up with easy scores. That was not happening earlier in this series as Bynum & Gasol were combining to dominate the inside wiping away those types of baskets with blocked or changed shots. Without Bynum the Lakers were unable to match the Celtics strength inside leading to the big 4th quarter and ultimately, the victory to tie the series at 2-2. However it should also be noted that Andrew Bynum only played 12 of the first 36 minutes in Game #4 and the Lakers held the Celtics to 60 points. He only played a total of 2 very ineffective minutes in the third quarter and yet Boston scored 18 points.
I had a little problem with Coach Phil Jackson’s rotation once it was apparent that Bynum would not be able to go in the 2nd half. I know these are highly conditioned athletes, but Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant played every minute of the 2nd half and Lamar Odom played all but 2 minutes in what are turning out to be extremely physical, grueling contests. In particular if it turns out that Bynum will not be able to go on Sunday or has to drastically reduce his minutes or effectiveness, Jackson is going to need to find at least one more Big Man off his bench that he can turn to to give him 5-7 minutes in the 2nd half and get Gasol and Odom a rest. Same for Kobe, I don’t know if it’s Shannon Brown who I believe Coach Phil has confidence in or Sasha Vujacic who he doesn’t but somehow Jackson has to find a way to sit Kobe down during the end of the 3rd quarter beginning of the 4th so he can be fresh for the stretch run of the game. In my opinion the starters, including Odom spent too much time on the floor and they all looked fatigued in the game’s closing moments.
Last, and of course not least it wouldn’t be a complete article without at least one blast across the bow of the SS David Stearn and the officiating crew. It’s a shame too because this officiating crew actually called a very good game despite all the boos from the Boston fans. BUT, there was one absolutely mind blowing call in the middle of the 2nd quarter that in the words of Arsenio Hall would have been put into the category of “Things that make you go hmmmm”. It wasn’t a big call and it didn’t impact the outcome of the game in any way, but about halfway through the 2nd quarter Boston inbounded the ball to Rajon Rondo who headed up the floor. It seemed like Rondo had barely crossed half court when the whistle sounded and either Greg Willard or Scott Foster (I’m not sure which official it was) pointed the other way while giving the signal for a 3-second lane violation on the Celtics and Kevin Garnett. Garnett, Doc Rivers, and about Boston 19,000 fans went bezerk especially when Rivers indicated that the 24-second shot clock … still had 20 seconds on it! Essentially, it was mathematically, theoretically, and physically impossible for the Celtics to have been charged with a 3-second lane violation and the crowd really got into it after seeing the replay which even in slow motion showed that KG had barely entered the Lane when the whistle sounded.
Game 5 on Sunday, for the sake of the Lakers and also for the sake of the series I’m hoping the extra day of rest benefits Andrew’s knee and he’s able to play 20+ minutes. We may see a Game 7!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
GAME #3 Lakers vs Celtics ... The Legend of Derek Fisher Continues
Another exciting game from the Lakers and the Celtics. Exactly how many stories will Laker fans have to tell their grandchildren that start out … “There was this little guy named Derek Fisher yada yada yada happily ever after”
Prior to Game #3 the Network flashed a statistic that Boston was undefeated in these playoffs when they held their opponents to under 95-points, they held the Lakers to 91 and lost by 7-points on their home court. Ray Allen going as cold as he was hot in Game #2 had something to do with that, but then again we all know who was guarding him all game long in Game #3 (#2 ). I gotta recognize Andrew Bynum for his contributions in this series. The young man is playing in pain, but he’s a beast. It’s not even his offense, which has been pretty effective so much as the way he clogs the lane on Defense. 7 blocked shots in Game #2 and when the Lakers finally decided they needed to shut down Kevin Garnett, they turned to Drew and the Big Ticket … shrank.
All right since I focused on the officiating for Game #2 I figure why stop now? But I’m going in a totally different, rather hypocritical direction to praise the officiating crew in last night’s Lakers victory over the Celtics. And rather than 5 poor calls which were the central focus of game two’s recap (rant) I’m just going to look at one call that occurred in the final minute of the game. I’m really hoping David Stern and the NBA front office get a hold of my articles since this one is going to focus on a rule change that was put in before the season and had the potential to impact Game #3.
The Rule change involved introducing instant replay to review 3-point shots during the game and during the final two minutes of the game to allow officials to use replay to review possession calls such as happened on three consecutive plays in Tuesday night’s game. Basketball is a free-flowing game that to a great extent involves rhythm and while I’m all for getting the calls correct, that was disruptive to the flow of the game as the players continually headed to their respective benches while the officials huddled around the replay monitor. Granted, it’s not as bad as the NFL, where the Replay Official has a mandated 2-minutes to review the play, but it does take time and the NBA may need to consider a sideline replay official if they are going to continue with this rule.
The Instant Replay rule came even more into play when with just about 49 seconds to play Lamar Odom rebounded a missed Celtics shot while being harassed by Rajon Rondo. It appeared that Rondo may have knocked the ball free from Odom and Danny Crawford, the Official standing right on top of the play immediately pointed the other way indicating Lakers ball. The Celtics bench and players immediately began shouting for a replay and the senior official on the crew, Bennett Salvatore came over to indicate they were going to look at the replay. If you have this game on DVR, take a look at Danny Crawford’s face as Salvatore indicates they are going to the replay. He was right on top of that play and had seen what happened. Read his lips and I believe that is just exactly what he says to Salvatore. “I saw the play”. Again Salvatore seems to be questioning Danny Crawford and indicating they are going to look at the replay and Crawford says it again. “I saw the play”.
However, the instant replay couldn’t be clearer, Danny Crawford was wrong and the ball did indeed go off the left hand of Lamar Odom. Of course, the reason it went off Lamar’s hand is Rajon Rondo grabbed Odom’s left wrist knocking the ball free and out of bounds. Right in front of Crawford who called it out of bounds off… Rondo, the player who committed the foul. To me, it was a very logical chain of events and something that all NBA fans are fairly familiar with. Danny Crawford saw Rondo foul Lamar Odom, but with under a minute to play in a tightly contested game he did not want to give the Lakers two foul shots (LA was in the penalty) on a play 94 feet from their basket. In this instance, Crawford did the right thing even though he made the wrong call. But the instant replay rule messed it up. Now Salvatore and company were able to clearly see the ball go off Odom and just as clearly Rondo foul Odom. They have the ability to correct one call, but not the other and in my opinion Danny Crawford didn’t like it and exercised a little discretion on the very next play.
With the ball out of bounds under the Celtics basket Boston got the ball to Ray Allen who was finally able to get free from Derek Fisher and immediately cut to the basket. As Allen closed in for what looked to be an easy lay-up suddenly the whistle sounded under the basket and Danny Crawford came flying out from behind Kevin Garnett & Pau Gasol’s entanglement to call an offensive foul on … Garnett ? Ok Laker fans, I watched the replay a few times and there is no doubt that KG got the elbow up a little high while he was screening Gasol from the basket. I also have no doubt that you are never going to get that call in that situation, on the opposing team’s home court in the final minute during the NBA finals. Danny Crawford showed a lot of integrity as he rectified the blown call and did it in a way that still did not give the Lakers two free throws. The very definition of a make-up call.
Prior to Game #3 the Network flashed a statistic that Boston was undefeated in these playoffs when they held their opponents to under 95-points, they held the Lakers to 91 and lost by 7-points on their home court. Ray Allen going as cold as he was hot in Game #2 had something to do with that, but then again we all know who was guarding him all game long in Game #3 (#2 ). I gotta recognize Andrew Bynum for his contributions in this series. The young man is playing in pain, but he’s a beast. It’s not even his offense, which has been pretty effective so much as the way he clogs the lane on Defense. 7 blocked shots in Game #2 and when the Lakers finally decided they needed to shut down Kevin Garnett, they turned to Drew and the Big Ticket … shrank.
All right since I focused on the officiating for Game #2 I figure why stop now? But I’m going in a totally different, rather hypocritical direction to praise the officiating crew in last night’s Lakers victory over the Celtics. And rather than 5 poor calls which were the central focus of game two’s recap (rant) I’m just going to look at one call that occurred in the final minute of the game. I’m really hoping David Stern and the NBA front office get a hold of my articles since this one is going to focus on a rule change that was put in before the season and had the potential to impact Game #3.
The Rule change involved introducing instant replay to review 3-point shots during the game and during the final two minutes of the game to allow officials to use replay to review possession calls such as happened on three consecutive plays in Tuesday night’s game. Basketball is a free-flowing game that to a great extent involves rhythm and while I’m all for getting the calls correct, that was disruptive to the flow of the game as the players continually headed to their respective benches while the officials huddled around the replay monitor. Granted, it’s not as bad as the NFL, where the Replay Official has a mandated 2-minutes to review the play, but it does take time and the NBA may need to consider a sideline replay official if they are going to continue with this rule.
The Instant Replay rule came even more into play when with just about 49 seconds to play Lamar Odom rebounded a missed Celtics shot while being harassed by Rajon Rondo. It appeared that Rondo may have knocked the ball free from Odom and Danny Crawford, the Official standing right on top of the play immediately pointed the other way indicating Lakers ball. The Celtics bench and players immediately began shouting for a replay and the senior official on the crew, Bennett Salvatore came over to indicate they were going to look at the replay. If you have this game on DVR, take a look at Danny Crawford’s face as Salvatore indicates they are going to the replay. He was right on top of that play and had seen what happened. Read his lips and I believe that is just exactly what he says to Salvatore. “I saw the play”. Again Salvatore seems to be questioning Danny Crawford and indicating they are going to look at the replay and Crawford says it again. “I saw the play”.
However, the instant replay couldn’t be clearer, Danny Crawford was wrong and the ball did indeed go off the left hand of Lamar Odom. Of course, the reason it went off Lamar’s hand is Rajon Rondo grabbed Odom’s left wrist knocking the ball free and out of bounds. Right in front of Crawford who called it out of bounds off… Rondo, the player who committed the foul. To me, it was a very logical chain of events and something that all NBA fans are fairly familiar with. Danny Crawford saw Rondo foul Lamar Odom, but with under a minute to play in a tightly contested game he did not want to give the Lakers two foul shots (LA was in the penalty) on a play 94 feet from their basket. In this instance, Crawford did the right thing even though he made the wrong call. But the instant replay rule messed it up. Now Salvatore and company were able to clearly see the ball go off Odom and just as clearly Rondo foul Odom. They have the ability to correct one call, but not the other and in my opinion Danny Crawford didn’t like it and exercised a little discretion on the very next play.
With the ball out of bounds under the Celtics basket Boston got the ball to Ray Allen who was finally able to get free from Derek Fisher and immediately cut to the basket. As Allen closed in for what looked to be an easy lay-up suddenly the whistle sounded under the basket and Danny Crawford came flying out from behind Kevin Garnett & Pau Gasol’s entanglement to call an offensive foul on … Garnett ? Ok Laker fans, I watched the replay a few times and there is no doubt that KG got the elbow up a little high while he was screening Gasol from the basket. I also have no doubt that you are never going to get that call in that situation, on the opposing team’s home court in the final minute during the NBA finals. Danny Crawford showed a lot of integrity as he rectified the blown call and did it in a way that still did not give the Lakers two free throws. The very definition of a make-up call.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Officials: Lakers v Celtics Game #2
It was a very exciting game last night. The Lakers did a good job of wiping out the Celtics early 14-point lead and looked to be taking control of the game in the third quarter. Unfortunately the officiating crew had a very inconsistent evening. You never blame the referees for a loss and that holds as true during the NBA finals but there were Five Calls that left me seriously questioning the ability of last night’s officials.
1) Kobe’s 2nd Foul. – Ray Allen is riding Kobe’s hip all the way to the basket. There’s absolutely NO WAY for Allen to draw a charge from Kobe in the defensive position he’s in. Allen is behind Kobe and moving at the same time. Kobe didn’t jump backwards or sideways. In fact it looked like he leaned in to the basket and there was very little, if any contact. Kobe made the shot, at best it should have been an “And One”, at worst a no-call and a Lakers basket. Instead they wipe away the basket and Kobe has foul #2.
2) Kobe’s 4th Foul. – This one was even easier to call than the first one and any Youth Basketball Official could have made this call. Kobe drives the key and pulls up for a 12-foot jumper over Glenn Davis. On the replay it’s clear as day, Kobe takes to the air, at which point Davis scoots his feet forward to close the distance on Kobe who comes down right into Davis’ chest. You can’t move once the player leaves his feet to draw a charge and you MUST give the offensive player room to land. Davis moved his feet and did not give Kobe any room to land. The result: Offensive foul on Kobe for his 4th personal foul.
3) Kobe’s 5th Foul – Maybe even easier to call than the first two. I’ll give Rajon Rondo credit for reaching around Kobe and tapping the ball away. However, it was right on the sideline and you can see as soon as Rondo knocks the ball away from Kobe, Bryant puts his hands up in the air to allow the ball to go out of bounds. The only chance Rondo had was to dive out of bounds and possibly attempt to throw the ball off Kobe. Kobe is still standing there with his hands up in the air when Rondo initiates contact from behind to try and save the ball. How could that be a foul on Kobe? Standing still, hands in the air and a guy jumps into your back. If anything it was a foul on Rondo, but better it should have been a no-call and Lakers ball. Instead it’s foul #5 on Kobe
Did Michael Jordan ever have to deal with this kind of biased officiating against him?
4) Maybe the easiest call of the night for the officials and the best example of how poor a job they did was the ball knocked out of bounds in the closing minutes by … Pau Gasol? In fast motion it was clearly off Kevin Garnett but at least they were able to look at the instant replay where unless you are color blind you can easily see the ball going off Kevin Garnett. Three officials on the court plus a replay machine, and they still blow this call? In the final 2 minutes. Interesting to note that while replay is definitely the right thing to do in Football, and baseball is getting closer on-board with replay, it apparently won’t make any difference in the NBA since the officials can’t even use it correctly.
5) Ok, I actually saved the easiest call of them all till the end. It was the last one. And it certainly had a lot of impact on the outcome of the game. With the Celtics leading by 5 points but struggling to get the ball out of the back-court the officials generously granted a time-out to the Celtics coach, Doc Rivers. The problem is the Ref’s didn’t actually see Rivers call the time-out until Doc was halfway across the court in the middle of the play. You can’t do that! The correct call in that situation was a technical foul on the Celtics bench for interfering with the play AND the ball should have gone back to the Lakers due to the 8-second time violation. As I said, this was the easiest call of them all. As a referee you know a coach can not be on the floor when the game is in play EVEN to call a time out. If the officials missed the time-out call you can’t penalize the Lakers, who were playing good defense, by allowing the game to be stopped and giving the Celtics possession of the ball. I guess I should be grateful that Kobe didn’t foul out on this play; it would have been in line with the rest of the calls.
David Stern was heckled by the LA Faithful all the way out of the arena last night and if I were him, I wouldn’t come back for Game 6.
1) Kobe’s 2nd Foul. – Ray Allen is riding Kobe’s hip all the way to the basket. There’s absolutely NO WAY for Allen to draw a charge from Kobe in the defensive position he’s in. Allen is behind Kobe and moving at the same time. Kobe didn’t jump backwards or sideways. In fact it looked like he leaned in to the basket and there was very little, if any contact. Kobe made the shot, at best it should have been an “And One”, at worst a no-call and a Lakers basket. Instead they wipe away the basket and Kobe has foul #2.
2) Kobe’s 4th Foul. – This one was even easier to call than the first one and any Youth Basketball Official could have made this call. Kobe drives the key and pulls up for a 12-foot jumper over Glenn Davis. On the replay it’s clear as day, Kobe takes to the air, at which point Davis scoots his feet forward to close the distance on Kobe who comes down right into Davis’ chest. You can’t move once the player leaves his feet to draw a charge and you MUST give the offensive player room to land. Davis moved his feet and did not give Kobe any room to land. The result: Offensive foul on Kobe for his 4th personal foul.
3) Kobe’s 5th Foul – Maybe even easier to call than the first two. I’ll give Rajon Rondo credit for reaching around Kobe and tapping the ball away. However, it was right on the sideline and you can see as soon as Rondo knocks the ball away from Kobe, Bryant puts his hands up in the air to allow the ball to go out of bounds. The only chance Rondo had was to dive out of bounds and possibly attempt to throw the ball off Kobe. Kobe is still standing there with his hands up in the air when Rondo initiates contact from behind to try and save the ball. How could that be a foul on Kobe? Standing still, hands in the air and a guy jumps into your back. If anything it was a foul on Rondo, but better it should have been a no-call and Lakers ball. Instead it’s foul #5 on Kobe
Did Michael Jordan ever have to deal with this kind of biased officiating against him?
4) Maybe the easiest call of the night for the officials and the best example of how poor a job they did was the ball knocked out of bounds in the closing minutes by … Pau Gasol? In fast motion it was clearly off Kevin Garnett but at least they were able to look at the instant replay where unless you are color blind you can easily see the ball going off Kevin Garnett. Three officials on the court plus a replay machine, and they still blow this call? In the final 2 minutes. Interesting to note that while replay is definitely the right thing to do in Football, and baseball is getting closer on-board with replay, it apparently won’t make any difference in the NBA since the officials can’t even use it correctly.
5) Ok, I actually saved the easiest call of them all till the end. It was the last one. And it certainly had a lot of impact on the outcome of the game. With the Celtics leading by 5 points but struggling to get the ball out of the back-court the officials generously granted a time-out to the Celtics coach, Doc Rivers. The problem is the Ref’s didn’t actually see Rivers call the time-out until Doc was halfway across the court in the middle of the play. You can’t do that! The correct call in that situation was a technical foul on the Celtics bench for interfering with the play AND the ball should have gone back to the Lakers due to the 8-second time violation. As I said, this was the easiest call of them all. As a referee you know a coach can not be on the floor when the game is in play EVEN to call a time out. If the officials missed the time-out call you can’t penalize the Lakers, who were playing good defense, by allowing the game to be stopped and giving the Celtics possession of the ball. I guess I should be grateful that Kobe didn’t foul out on this play; it would have been in line with the rest of the calls.
David Stern was heckled by the LA Faithful all the way out of the arena last night and if I were him, I wouldn’t come back for Game 6.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
