In his latest column, Bill Simmons takes the NBA to task for its poor officiating. It’s a good (if long) read.
Tag: NBA Playoffs (Page 5 of 16)
John Hollinger writes that the uptick in free throws this postseason is nothing new.
This phenomenon has gone on since prehistoric times as clubs enforce the no-layups policy with greater zeal, and garbage-time situations become fewer and farther between. These playoffs’ free-throw rates have increased over the regular-season rates similar to past seasons’ rates, even though high-foul teams are overrepresented this time around.
Denver led the NBA in free-throw attempts per field goal attempt this season by a wide margin.
Orlando averaged .351, good for third in the league, with center Dwight Howard leading the league in free-throw attempts.
Sum it up, and that’s six conference finals games with an above-average number of fouls, but we also have a far greater sampling of 67 games from the first two rounds of the playoffs. And in those two rounds, we had no deviation from the historic trend whatsoever. The only noteworthy development is a phenomenal increase in the frequency of technical fouls, with 1½ being called a game in this postseason, compared to less than one per night just here years ago.
But as far as live-ball action goes, the evidence for the “refs gone wild” theory is skimpy at best. Basically, we’re getting all bent out of shape over a six-game sample when a sample of 10 times as many games shows the opposite conclusion.
The bottom line is that teams and players don’t care if the refs call it close or loose, they just want consistency throughout the game. Officials can’t “let guys play” in the first quarter and then start calling ticky-tack fouls late in the game. The players adjust based on how the game is being called early on, but if that changes throughout the course of the game, all hell breaks loose.
The Denver Nuggets were in position to win Game 5. They were up 71-64 with 6:31 to play in the third quarter and they had the Lakers on their heels. If they had shown patience and executed, they could have pushed the lead to double digits or at least have a modest lead going into the fourth quarter. But the Lakers tightened up their defense, and the Nuggets committed four straight turnovers late in the third to let L.A. back into the game.
The Nuggets were stuck on 76 from the 2:25 mark in the third quarter until the 7:52 mark in the fourth. That’s almost six and a half minutes without scoring a single point. The Lakers deserve some credit for playing pretty good defense, but the Nuggets were sloppy with the ball and took a ton of bad shots.
Lamar Odom finally showed up. He posted 19 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and three assists, and was the single biggest reason that the Lakers won this game. I grow tired of hearing how talented of a player he is and then watch as he misses bunny after bunny at close range. Shannon Brown also played well of the Laker bench. He and Odom were on the floor when L.A. made its run.
The series moves back to Denver for Game 6, and the pressure is squarely on the Nuggets, as they face elimination.
Wisely, I might add…
The NBA announced Wednesday that it has rescinded Howard’s sixth technical foul of the playoffs, which he was given for taunting Anderson Varejao after a layup in the fourth quarter of the Magic’s 116-114 overtime victory Tuesday night. Cleveland’s forward had draped his arms around Howard in a failed attempt to stop him from scoring.
Howard’s total of technicals for the postseason is thus back down to five. Players receive a one-game suspension after reaching seven technical fouls and further one-game suspensions for every other technical thereafter.
I don’t like taunting, but what Howard did wasn’t taunting. He didn’t stand over Varejao for any length of time or show him up. He made a nice play and celebrated; he should be allowed to glance at the player he just worked over for a split second. Heck, the refs let Mo Williams whip the ball at Howard in Cleveland, and he didn’t get a tech.
Brian Windhorst of Cleveland.com…
What you have here is a team playing at its peak playing against a team on its heels. It is a rather classic situation. The Magic are not a team of destiny, they are a loaded team hitting on all cylinders. It is rather impressive you have to admit. The Cavs were going to have their hands full beating the Magic just playing to their season averages. Playing the way they are now, it isn’t happening. Remember that 4-1 Pistons series victory over the favored Lakers in the 2004 Finals. When Kobe Bryant hit a miracle shot to win Game 2? That is what this feels like watching.
Michael White of the Magic Basketblog.
MJ himself could not win a title with the stiffs LeBron is carrying.
The Cavs might come back and win this series, but how in the world have they gotten this far with such a laughable supporting cast?
Imagine if Van Halen was just Eddie and 3 Michael Anthonys? You might still get “Eruption,” but you’d never hear anything close to “Hot for Teacher.”
The refs are better friends to him than the schlubs who share his uniform.
Think about the players Jordan, Bird and Magic ran with. DJ. James Worthy. Pippen. McHale. Even Horace Grant. If James had just one player of that caliber, he’d probably already have a ring and be working on another.
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