and fwiw Leonard's 19-19 is the third best perfect FT performance in playoff history Nowitzki had a 24-24 game, and Paul Pierce had a 21-21 game http://www.basketball-reference.com...2stat=ft_pct&c2comp=gt&c2val=100&order_by=fta
Fans always think their team should be allowed to rape people without getting fouls called for the raping. They also think every time one of their players gets touched on the finger they should shoot FT's. Utah fans are the worst at this, obviously. In fact, if the entire state of Utah somehow disappeared at this very moment, I doubt anyone would notice it.
Comparing FT attempts and using that to show bias isn't the greatest idea. That implies that every team plays the exact same way. Some teams simply foul more because of their defensive schemes, defensive philosophy, personnel, etc. Having said that, I didn't watch the game... lol. Maybe there was a bias there. There are a lot of great playoff series and a limited amount of time. This is one series I will be skipping. Although I do read the recaps and browse some game threads for the series I do skip.
Whether it's true or not, you gotta respect Fizdale for what he said in particular the part about Pop and him being a rookie coach who will not accept being treated like one. It's obvious referees are intimidated and in awe of the great Pop and it definitely influences games.
You are right, can't look ahead, unfinished business. Thunder will regroup, but I don't think they will win the series. They could, but hopefully, they won't.
deserves its own thread, seriously. had to dig around to find this interview this morning. great stuff.
That's true. He does b-tch a lot to work the refs. He picks his spots. He doesn't do it the entire game like Doc or Thibbs, but when he does go after them, the officiating almost immediately swings in favor of the Spurs. I only watched some of Game 2 last night, but Fizdale has a point. There were several times the refs swallowed the whistle when Conley or Randolph got hacked attacking the hoop. I think he did this to A)fire up his team heading into a must win Game 3 and B)putting the onus on the NBA to send the Grizzlies to the line anytime they come within an inch of the paint(at least in Game 3). We'll see if it works.
Coach Fizz gets major props. Someone needs to put it down on the zebra striped clowns. Too many bad decisions each and every game
That doesn't counter what I said at all though. The Grizzlies foul, a lot. The regular season shows this, could it be that this is a result of their 'Grit & Grind' style? Yes.
I saw parts of the game in the first half and there as a play where Conley drove and got hit across the face and he was livid after the call. Fiz was going off on the bench and on the replay it showed Lee's arms coming across and hitting Conley in the face. Another play where Marc Gasol shot an off balance hook because he was pushed and he threw it up there hoping to get the and-1 but no whistle was blown. so at least in the few minutes I did see of this game I saw evidence for justification for this rant. Officiating is not easy and there should be a flow to the game but I do think for a fast moving game like basketball there needs to be a 4th official and the officials basically make a box around the court so all the angles can be covered. Also I absolutely LOVE that Fizdale did this. While the NBA is trying to preach transparency of late there is very little accountability it seems for poor officiating, especially if it has a direct outcome on games.
Can't say I noticed the free throw disparity or specifically the lack of calls for Memphis when watching the game, but there's been tons of games at AT&T where the Rockets get screwed by the refs as well so I'm not surprised.
I hope freaking JaMychal Green shows up. We need Memphis to give the Spurs a run and this has been a cake walk. The young guys are laying serious eggs out there. Selden, Green, Ennis, Harrison, Daniels all look WAY out of their element. Hopefully the playoff shock is over and they settle down. Maybe we can give them back Troy Williams for a game or two.
Jamychal Green has been largely a failure in the playoffs. He isn't guarding at a very high level, he is invisible on the offense and he torpedoes our rotations with early fouling. Ennis and Harrison in the second half played well defensively, and Harrison is running the team really well when mike goes out. If Harrison could ever learn how to scorer, I could see him being a difference maker on this team.
