Comments on: Spurs nip Lakers in a beauty http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/01/15/spurs-nip-lakers-in-a-beauty/ The National Sports Blog Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:52:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: John Paulsen http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/01/15/spurs-nip-lakers-in-a-beauty/#comment-315411 John Paulsen Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:01:48 +0000 http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=12178#comment-315411 The two calls were very different. Mason was in the act of shooting and Fisher bumped him from behind. Ariza drove to the hole (and didn't look confident doing it -- refs can see that) and the contact sort of happened on the drive. Van Gundy thought it should have been a no call (on the foul). I agree with him that it wasn't a travel after seeing the replay, but the drive was so awkward and drawn out that it looked like a walk in real time. I don't agree with you when you say you can't call a travel that late in the game. A travel is a travel -- I don't think that players should get to take an extra step in crunch time because it gives them an extra advantage that they didn't have for 99.9% of the game. If I'm a Laker fan (and I'm not), I really don't want to see a healthy Spurs team in the playoffs. LA has as much talent as anyone in the league, but I don't have confidence that they can win several games in the clutch given the way that talent plays together. Still, it's early. They have plenty of time to work things out. The two calls were very different. Mason was in the act of shooting and Fisher bumped him from behind. Ariza drove to the hole (and didn’t look confident doing it — refs can see that) and the contact sort of happened on the drive. Van Gundy thought it should have been a no call (on the foul). I agree with him that it wasn’t a travel after seeing the replay, but the drive was so awkward and drawn out that it looked like a walk in real time.

I don’t agree with you when you say you can’t call a travel that late in the game. A travel is a travel — I don’t think that players should get to take an extra step in crunch time because it gives them an extra advantage that they didn’t have for 99.9% of the game.

If I’m a Laker fan (and I’m not), I really don’t want to see a healthy Spurs team in the playoffs. LA has as much talent as anyone in the league, but I don’t have confidence that they can win several games in the clutch given the way that talent plays together. Still, it’s early. They have plenty of time to work things out.

]]> By: Chris http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/01/15/spurs-nip-lakers-in-a-beauty/#comment-315223 Chris Thu, 15 Jan 2009 06:55:31 +0000 http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=12178#comment-315223 Good God, I was screaming so much during the final couple of minutes. That Tim Duncan floater at the end was a stroke of luck. Also, how do you call a foul on Fisher and not call one when Ariza was driving in the final seconds? I saw the same amount of contact. No question, Spurs got lucky on this one. Obviously, there was no travel, but if Mason was fouled, so was Ariza. No way can you call a travel that late in the game, anyway. Just made me angry. As far as the small forward situation goes, it looks like Ariza is more comfortable playing the shooting guard. Lakers have such a tall line that I could see how confusion sets in. If Radmonovich were just more aggressive and Bynum was really, I mean, really 100%, the Lakers would be unstoppable. This team is just so unfamiliar with each other. They'll get the hang of it, hopefully. Just those god damn Spurs. I can't stand them. Good God, I was screaming so much during the final couple of minutes.

That Tim Duncan floater at the end was a stroke of luck.

Also, how do you call a foul on Fisher and not call one when Ariza was driving in the final seconds? I saw the same amount of contact. No question, Spurs got lucky on this one. Obviously, there was no travel, but if Mason was fouled, so was Ariza.

No way can you call a travel that late in the game, anyway.

Just made me angry. As far as the small forward situation goes, it looks like Ariza is more comfortable playing the shooting guard. Lakers have such a tall line that I could see how confusion sets in. If Radmonovich were just more aggressive and Bynum was really, I mean, really 100%, the Lakers would be unstoppable. This team is just so unfamiliar with each other. They’ll get the hang of it, hopefully. Just those god damn Spurs. I can’t stand them.

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