Lakers vs. Celtics

[Grammatron]

That is so last week . . . this week we blame Cassell.

--J.D.

Is next week Pierce's turn?

[Doctor X]

If you make it that far. . . .

--J.D.

P.S. Yeah . . . I know . . . but it reminds me of a story Bill Simmons told about an Angels fan in 2004

The classic Anaheim fan story: Hench and I were walking into the stadium and doing the "Let's go Sox!" routine every time we walked by someone wearing a Sox hat or jersey. I mentioned how there were a surprising number of Boston fans walking around, followed by Hench joking that the number of Angels fans at Friday's game at Fenway would either be zero or zero. So some Stepford fan turns around as sneers, "You gotta get there first!"

Um . . . what? Apparently the chip in his skull was malfunctioning.

"We're up 1-0 in a five-game series," Hench said. "I'm pretty sure we're making it to Game Three."

The Stepford fan came back with some "You guys have been losers for 90 years" and "1918!" material about 20 seconds too late. I think they immediately returned him to the factory for repairs. Reason no. 33, 452 why I'm glad the Sox won the 2004 World Series: Not having to deal with losers like that anymore.

Now I Can Die in Peace

[Doctor X]

it's a bitch dr. x when you want to talk BBall and we're trying to decide whether to wear pants or not

Posted on a blog.

Really not relevant, but I thought it was funny.

--J.D.

[Grammatron]

If you make it that far. . . .

--J.D.

P.S. Yeah . . . I know . . . but it reminds me of a story Bill Simmons told about an Angels fan in 2004

The classic Anaheim fan story: Hench and I were walking into the stadium and doing the "Let's go Sox!" routine every time we walked by someone wearing a Sox hat or jersey. I mentioned how there were a surprising number of Boston fans walking around, followed by Hench joking that the number of Angels fans at Friday's game at Fenway would either be zero or zero. So some Stepford fan turns around as sneers, "You gotta get there first!"

Um . . . what? Apparently the chip in his skull was malfunctioning.

"We're up 1-0 in a five-game series," Hench said. "I'm pretty sure we're making it to Game Three."

The Stepford fan came back with some "You guys have been losers for 90 years" and "1918!" material about 20 seconds too late. I think they immediately returned him to the factory for repairs. Reason no. 33, 452 why I'm glad the Sox won the 2004 World Series: Not having to deal with losers like that anymore.

Now I Can Die in Peace

Los Angeles has what I like to call "Hollywood Fans" which is like a Fair Weather fan except they know jack shit about the sport nor the team they are rooting for.

[clarsct]

Is it over yet?

[Evolver]

Los Angeles has what I like to call "Hollywood Fans" which is like a Fair Weather fan except they know jack shit about the sport nor the team they are rooting for.

Plus, you have all those stars, so ABC doesn't have to show those annoying replays. Isn't it better to see Spielberg taking a picture of himself than having to sit through a play you just saw?

[Doctor X]

They were like that with two football teams. They treated their "native" team like shit for so long--called them the "Lambs"--that I was happy the Rams won in St. Louis after the move.

Though the best came on a Patriots podcast: "Deep . . . GONE!"--Mike Lowell hits a HR!

Caller: I've been a Patriots fan since 2001!

Tom Cassale: Good timing.

Funny, regarding Mike Lowell, during a rain delay a guy calls the radio--a true "Sawx Fan"--blaming the offensive slump of the time on Mike Lowell . . . who was not playing since he was on DL. "We shudda nevah resigned him! We coulda got A-Rod!"

Fair weather fans. He got reamed by about every next caller.

Though the worse was the old drunk guy who claimed the Red Sox should trade Julio Lugo for Scott Kazmir.

"Do not waste my time," the finally infuriated host responded.

Now how many fans have dug their Celtics gear out of the closet? I am pleased I can fit into my old Cs shirt. Pays to exercise.

--J.D.

[Grammatron]

Los Angeles has what I like to call "Hollywood Fans" which is like a Fair Weather fan except they know jack shit about the sport nor the team they are rooting for.

Plus, you have all those stars, so ABC doesn't have to show those annoying replays. Isn't it better to see Spielberg taking a picture of himself than having to sit through a play you just saw?

My favorite is Denzel with a NY Yankee cap at an LA game.

[Evolver]

Wow, these refs have balls. With all the publicity over handing the 2002 playoffs to the Lakers, they start the game with a string of bad calls & bad non-calls, all leaning toward L.A.

[Doctor X]

!

--J.D.

P.S. Biggest comeback/choke in NBA finals history.

[ck]

:shock:

[Grammatron]

Ouch.

[Doctor X]

Let Us Review the Catechism:

1. Lakers had the single biggest 1st Quarter lead in NBA Finals history: 24
2. Lakers had 18 point lead at the half.
3. Lakers had a 20 point lead with 7:00 to go in the third.

CHOKE!!!

4. No team has ever overcome a lead greater than 14 at the half in the Finals in the shot-clock era.
5. Greatest single comeback in NBA Finals history.
6. IN THEIR HOUSE!!!1!!!

--J.D.

[Evolver]

M. V. Pierce!!!

[Doctor X]

Ouch.

Kudos for taking it well.

I was using my neighbor's cat to locate wall studs in the first half. . . .

--J.D.

P.S.

http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/co ... 802913.jpg

http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/co ... 421203.jpg

http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/co ... 658621.jpg

http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/co ... 020991.jpg

[izittrue]

Awesome...
I says at halftime...Lakers will not score 100 points...
Where will kobe be next year?
Of course it ain't over till its....

[Doctor X]

Awesome...
I says at halftime...Lakers will not score 100 points...
Where will kobe be next year?
Of course it ain't over till its....

Indeed as Cleveland and MFYs fans will tell you.

However, you had more faith than 99% of C and L fans. Seriously.

--J.D.

[izittrue]

Well I think the Lakers got caught up with the fact they dominated and can do anything they want..Celtics dug deep and showed what a great defense they have..
As we all know better pitching beats better hitting...

[Evolver]

Kobe's post-game comments

An hour had passed before Kobe Bryant offered his thoughts on the Lakers' epic collapse in their 97-91 loss in Game 4, and all he could come up with was an invitation to drink - as if Lakers fans all around the Southland hadn't already gone there.

"A lot of wine, a lot of beer, a couple of shots, maybe like 20 of them," he said. "Digest it, then get back to work (today)."

20 shots? I'll bet he misses at leat 14 of them.

[Doctor X]

That, and I was going to write that the Cs in the first quarter could not find the basket the way some cannot find their own assholes with a flashlight and Bruce to give directions. Could not "blame the refs" for the fact that balls miss the hoop!

You are correct, the defense people wondered about showed up to keep them in the game then shut them down in the third quarter. Still, I did not think they were going to get over the hump--as Bill Simmons puts it in his "diary" of the game--thought the Lakers would hold on as the Cs did when they let the Lakers back into Game 2.

Linkypoo

--J.D.

[Grammatron]

Awesome...
I says at halftime...Lakers will not score 100 points...
Where will kobe be next year?
Of course it ain't over till its....

With the Lakers. With Bynum and the rest of the team healthy they have the best team for the next 4-5 years.

However, I am not counting the Lakers, particularly Phil Jackson out just yet. The tweaking obviously worked for the first 2 quarters, now he has to just fine tune the rest of the game. It can be done, look no further than Boston's baseball team :P

Yes it was a monumental shot out and if I was Boston I'd be gloating and in-your-face-ing every Laker fan I knew, but it's not over yet. This series has always been the Lakers' to lose not Celtic's to win, IMHO.

[Doctor X]

I will disagree with your last point--the Cs have always been the better team, they just did not play like that for part of the post-season. I agree with various wonks that Cleveland and Detroit would have beaten the Lakers as well . . . who only get older . . . and more fractured next year.

However, it "ain't fo' until it fo'!!"

--J.D.

[Grammatron]

I will disagree with your last point--the Cs have always been the better team, they just did not play like that for part of the post-season. I agree with various wonks that Cleveland and Detroit would have beaten the Lakers as well . . . who only get older . . . and more fractured next year.

However, it "ain't fo' until it fo'!!"

--J.D.

Well it would take pretty big balls for me to say Lakers are a better team with them being down 3 games in a best of 4 series in the finals, luckily...


Anywho, the Lakers lacked follow through and maturity of the bench and even couple of key players, to really display their abilities as a team. Pau, for all the bitching about the super-duper mid-season trade has been very lackluster in the finals. But, if he can step up the way Odom did they can win next 3. Not going to be easy, but then making history never is.

[Doctor X]

I generally hate the "the better team lost" arguments--*cough-cough*--but it is all about who plays best that day. The reason you do not hear too many Patriots fan bitch the "if we played them 100 times we would beat them 99.99937 times!" is because they know St. Louis fans would be more right with that argument!

. . . and . . . let us not bring up the Snow Bowl . . . it was in the rule book . . . not a fumble . . . no.

However, in a seven game series, the cream pretty much rises to the top--unless the refs give it to the Lakers! *cough* *cough*

Even in 2004 the Glorious Red Sox were generally favored. Had Schill had his surgery before his first start they win that game. They were two very close teams, but GRS pitching came through. Same with the 2007 Cleveland series.

This is why, actually, I was very concerned with facing the Lakers. All the Celtic-Fan-Boy arguments that the Lakers played "easier teams" aside, the Lakers destroyed their opponents in the post-season. The Celtics? They could not win on the road. They also lost badly on the road. They may have been "The Better Team" [Tm.--Ed.], but the Lakers appear to me to be playing a lot better.

And, frankly, the team that wins in the post season is the better team. I know a lot of people who point to a banner with "116 Wins!" as if it represents something.

Sort of like "Five Straight Division Titles."


:Waaaah:

--J.D.

[izittrue]

Almost another meltdown...makes interesting viewing.
NBA needs revenue...lets play another game.

[Doctor X]

Almost another meltdown...makes interesting viewing.
NBA needs revenue...lets play another game.

Let's call a foul a steal.

Granted, it helps if you can make your free throws. . . .

--J.D.

[izittrue]

Are you suggesting NBA needs replays?
OK...Boston your star players will get in foul trouble...We will give Kobe 4 fouls...but that's all he gets...

[Doctor X]

After putting the Cs starters in early foul trouble.

Michael Holley does not blame the refs, but he does note that Stern has a major problem with some of the refs. Apparently, Simon traced how one particular guy has been involved in every game in which it would be "beneficial" for the NBA if a series extended. I will try to find it.

Conspiracy theory? Probably, but the point Holley is making is with all the hooplah of "Spy Gate"--I would add steroids in baseball--there is now a general impression that officiating is highly subjective.

Will it matter?

Probably not. NBA is too popular. It is not like people are going to watch hockey or soccer in the late winter and early spring.

--J.D.

[izittrue]

I think the "scholared" fan knows there is something a bit fishy (and I don't mean xtian) with the refs and the calls. But that can be argued in every sport ..except perhaps America's past time...but hey they may bring in replays for home runs and stuff...
Yes no one will watch hockey unless it's the original 6 teams and do away with expansion.

[ck]

Why the hell was Derek Fisher benched so long? He's a very smart player, very dangerous, and so should be on the court as much as possible. I think this may have also helped the Celtics get back into the game. Not that I mind at all, certainly not, keep making choices like that, Phil...

Yes no one will watch hockey unless it's the original 6 teams and do away with expansion.

Yes that seems to be the case, and I think expansion has largely killed the sport. Hell, the Redwings won the Stanley Cup this year. I live in Michigan, and have yet to encounter anyone who gives a shit.

[Grammatron]

I think the "scholared" fan knows there is something a bit fishy (and I don't mean xtian) with the refs and the calls. But that can be argued in every sport ..except perhaps America's past time...but hey they may bring in replays for home runs and stuff...
Yes no one will watch hockey unless it's the original 6 teams and do away with expansion.

No one will watch the games if they are not in big markets.

Who the hell cares if it's Grizzlies vs. Magic?

I don't think there's any big conspiracy further than refs are influenced by the home court. Going back to Boston you'll see that shit reversed...once again.

[izittrue]

Yep home court refs...that is what the NBA is all about.

[Doctor X]

Which it really should not be.

You can never make a sport utterly completely 110 % fair. No one argues for that. Get the calls right that the technology allows you to get right.

I am glad the Luddites of Baseball are starting to realize that fans do care when you fuck up HR calls. Fans also understand these are not always easy calls to make at the time. However, when you see the play thrown up on a big screen in "slow-mo" and everyone can see the call was wrong . . . it breeds conspiracy theories.

There was a poster HERE who would claim the NFL games were "fixed." Whatever the outcome, of course, he could find "fixed." I listened to a commentator at the time who dealt with the "fixed" claim from a caller--"fixed for Peyton Manning" to my recollection.

"So stop watching NFL!" was the response. If it is "fixed," why do you watch it? The guy did not have an answer.

It is not so much of the reality of "fixed," but the impression. The same commentator explained Spy Gate in that way: you can argue all you want whether or not Belichick--"HOW do I REEECH these KEEEDS?!"--gains a "material advantage"--the impression is he did. Period.

Of course, it does not help the situation when an NBA ref is caught fixing games and accuses a bunch of other ref who have a reputation of "questionable calls." As another put it, "why is a formerly suspended ref refereeing a FINALS game?"

--J.D.

[Grammatron]

Which it really should not be.

You can never make a sport utterly completely 110 % fair. No one argues for that. Get the calls right that the technology allows you to get right.

I am glad the Luddites of Baseball are starting to realize that fans do care when you fuck up HR calls. Fans also understand these are not always easy calls to make at the time. However, when you see the play thrown up on a big screen in "slow-mo" and everyone can see the call was wrong . . . it breeds conspiracy theories.

There was a poster HERE who would claim the NFL games were "fixed." Whatever the outcome, of course, he could find "fixed." I listened to a commentator at the time who dealt with the "fixed" claim from a caller--"fixed for Peyton Manning" to my recollection.

"So stop watching NFL!" was the response. If it is "fixed," why do you watch it? The guy did not have an answer.

It is not so much of the reality of "fixed," but the impression. The same commentator explained Spy Gate in that way: you can argue all you want whether or not Belichick--"HOW do I REEECH these KEEEDS?!"--gains a "material advantage"--the impression is he did. Period.

Of course, it does not help the situation when an NBA ref is caught fixing games and accuses a bunch of other ref who have a reputation of "questionable calls." As another put it, "why is a formerly suspended ref refereeing a FINALS game?"

--J.D.

Indeed.

NBA keeps saying they will change the way the officiate games and this shitstorm just might push them to it. However, short of reviewable plays I don't see how they can accomplish it. It's a very face-paced game with a couple guys trying to watch the entire fucking court while people think you are scum from few feet away.

[Evolver]

I don't think there's any big conspiracy further than refs are influenced by the home court. Going back to Boston you'll see that shit reversed...once again.

Agreed. I heard Tommy Heinsohn on the radio a few weeks back saying that the refs get caught up in the home court cheering, and somewhere deep down they feel the crowd is cheering for them.

[Doctor X]

NBA keeps saying they will change the way the officiate games and this shitstorm just might push them to it. However, short of reviewable plays I don't see how they can accomplish it. It's a very face-paced game with a couple guys trying to watch the entire fucking court while people think you are scum from few feet away.

It will have to be more than simply fining the shit out of owners and coaches who state the obvious. I am now repeating what I heard--so take it with the appropriate scoop of salt--but there seems to be a denial on the part of Sterns and the Powers that Be with regards to better training of officials and, more importantly, demoting and getting rid of those who simply do not past muster.

I cannot recall the incident off the top of my head, but there was an official who was suspended for calling fouls on . . . Lebron? I forget . . . because he did not like him. Sorry. That ref never works again. Period. When it is that obvious, he has to go. He does not later officiate a playoff game where that player is involved!

--J.D.

[You May Award The Try]

NBA keeps saying they will change the way the officiate games and this shitstorm just might push them to it. However, short of reviewable plays I don't see how they can accomplish it. It's a very face-paced game with a couple guys trying to watch the entire fucking court while people think you are scum from few feet away.

Some rules probably need to be changed so that virtually every drive to the basket does not result in a foul that stops the game. No more defensive fouls when the offensive player in any way seeks to inititate contact for one. Look to create less whistles, not more.

Add that to extensive review to make calls more consistent from ref to ref and to weed out the poor performers. Make up for the extreme demands and quick hook by paying refs on par with the players, which will also make buying a ref a bit more expensive.

[Evolver]

And a pony for every fan.

[Grammatron]

NBA keeps saying they will change the way the officiate games and this shitstorm just might push them to it. However, short of reviewable plays I don't see how they can accomplish it. It's a very face-paced game with a couple guys trying to watch the entire fucking court while people think you are scum from few feet away.

It will have to be more than simply fining the shit out of owners and coaches who state the obvious. I am now repeating what I heard--so take it with the appropriate scoop of salt--but there seems to be a denial on the part of Sterns and the Powers that Be with regards to better training of officials and, more importantly, demoting and getting rid of those who simply do not past muster.

I cannot recall the incident off the top of my head, but there was an official who was suspended for calling fouls on . . . Lebron? I forget . . . because he did not like him. Sorry. That ref never works again. Period. When it is that obvious, he has to go. He does not later officiate a playoff game where that player is involved!

--J.D.

Not sure if this the referee you were thinking of:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-3 ... erees.html

Crawford is very highly regarded. But just a year ago, Crawford was suspended indefinitely, reportedly for challenging Tim Duncan to a fight in the middle of a game.

Yikes.

[Doctor X]

I think so.

I heard a discussion on how Stern notes that they review the tape of every call in the NBA . . . blah . . . blah . . . yet, for some reasons, the same refs keep coming back. As one put it, "he just does not see it," as in he just does not see the problem.

--J.D.

P.S. Oh . . . and this just in: Sen. Alan Specter--taking a cue from Hillary Clinton--is suspending his investigation of "SpyGate." When asked about investigating the growing NBA referee scandals, Specter commented that he was "not interested."

Lolz.