Hmm... y'know that's very true especially come playoff time and definitely if they have to play a really tough defensive physical opponent and the tempo slows down.
Couldn't watch the game... had to listen on radio. Rockets may've had some calls go against them, but "Allen, wide open 3" was said more than once in the 4th Q. Ray had his season high scoring yesterday. My best guess says, refs + Rockets, was the problem. We didn't make a FG the final 4 minutes... only 2 FTs.
Better execution under pressure and smart defense to avoid giving easy baskets to the opponents. These are the inputs from the coaching team and playoff experiences. Why Howard need to touch the ball after his teammate making the basket?
In actuality the defense three seconds call was also bogus. You can't be in the lane for three consecutive seconds, not away from your man. Dwight wasn't following Bosh to the three point line, but he wasn't in the lane either. The refs were clearly looking for calls to be made against the rockets. It was almost unbearable, and JVG knew it.
As far as I'm concerned, the refs spotted the Heat the following: Delay of game tech (1 point) Missed Lebron illegal screen for easy Allen lay-up (2 points) Fell for egregious Wade flop on Howard rebound costing Rockets possession (1.1 points for standard possession) That's a 4.1 point swing - throw in the Beverley technical if you want for 1 point, though I agreed with it. There's 5.1. Rockets lost by 9. So unless you really believe that momentum is a force of destiny that you can't beat even by playing well, I'd say that I place the blame pretty squarely on our team (though I acknowledge the poor calls).
It wasn't just the refs screwing us we screwed ourselves. Still don't have faith in Lin against certain teams at the end of games. I don't have a lot of faith in Mchale but I know the team is young and he has to put these players through the fire... I just hate he has innovation or creativity gameplan wise.
Our offense at the end of the game just stopped playing smart and it cost us. We had the lead and could have driven in the dagger. Instead our offense fell apart.
We should have seen after the early first bogus call for delay of game when Beverly passed the ball right to the ref after a made three that we were going to need to be up by 10 with a minute or two left to win this game. They obviously wanted us to earn it more than we did. Games like that one are why I temper my appreciation of the sport with a good dose of "Sometimes the officials seem to like to decide who should win and coerce it." Doesn't mean we shouldn't try harder, but that is what happened. We finished the game hoping it would be fair, instead of getting pissed and taking it to them. Bron cheating with that hold on Lin, all those calls... all while they were acting like they were dominating. I found the whole thing rather disgusting. That said, no excuse for tucking our tail between our legs when it mattered most. I personally just call that a win, save for our lack of fortitude. Basically, they had to cheat to win. Sadly, we let it happen when we could have taken care of business.
The referees certainly affected the flow of the game, but when the Heat started locking down defensively, we crumbled. Our lack of ability to run a simple pick-and-roll in the last 5 minutes doomed us. Teams like the Bulls and the Heat have the perimeter length to deny entry passes and switch on picks, and those types teams always give us trouble because we don't have the consistent shooting that it takes to beat them. The referees don't help a damn thing when they're clearly out to meddle, but these losses fall squarely on our lack of execution.
From my standpoint, the refs saw we were up 5 and decided they needed to intervene and change the course of this game. Not to say we didnt make mistakes. Mchale's decision to take Jones out and replace him with Lin still leaves me scratching my head. Lin's pull up jumper without even looking to pass was just beyond stupid. But the refs completely changed the momentum, just like the OKC game. That's why I said after the OKC game that this was just a prelude to the playoffs or any important game we play against a elite team. The NBA does not want their "special" big market teams losing without them and they're minions (refs) having a say. OKC isn't big market, but they have the best player on the planet in KD. It is important the headlines read either KD or Lebron, so ESPN can have a storyline
3 seconds in the paint for Dwight twice, LeBron blatantly holding Lin around a screen, delay of game call twice that I haven't seen all season, phantom technical, LeBron free arm shoving Lin on a drive.... All towards the last few minutes of the game. Hmmmm, 6 point spread in Vegas on this game, the 3 instances in bold where the Heat were awarded free throws all occurred in the waning minutes of the game, Rockets lose by 9 instead of 6. NBA MAKES MONEY
