[ClutchFans] Podcast: On Game 3, Eric Gordon's impact and the officiating controversy

Nice. Let's see of your sour grapes about game 1 and the disparity in contact tonight are as sour as mine.

 

Great stuff as always. Thank you, guys.

 

Invaluable insight and discussion. Much appreciated. Go Houston Rockets!

 

I'm glad the Rockets leaked the study. The NBA and the fans already thought the Rockets were whiners. To be chastised for whining about empirical evidence of Warriors bias is silly. Game 2 Rockets lost, but it was a well officiated game by punk-ass Scott Foster. Leaking that study changed the series IMO. Rockets have a better shot at getting games called fairly.

Everyone already hates Harden and the Rockets, who cares if they hate us a little bit more?

 

lol the guest said the rockets "should just play through it" when games such as Game One are obviously rigged. i guess if the '02 kings, '00 blazers, '06 mavs, etc had just "played through it" they would have triumphed victorious indeed!

further goes on to state "the rockets look like crybabies" for leaking the league's own data from last year's series. "i don't think the league has a general interest in seeing one particular team win". yep, there is no financial motive and the league's biggest revenue generating teams just happen to get all the calls!

 

The whole “playoff whistle” versus regular season whistle thing is a sham. It’s just a wider range of inconsistency and gray area for the refs to hide behind. Look I’m good with it... let’s ramp up the energy and physicality. I’ll give defenders hand checks and hacks at the rim as long as James is allowed to chicken wing them every single drive he makes with the same impunity GSW defenders are enjoying. James is winning that one, so let’s go then. Let’s play “playoff whistles” all the way then. James gonna order the party pack from Buffalo Wild Wings on em. GSW won’t even field a team 2nd half they’ll all be having x-rays on broken ribs. Curry might die from an intentional elbow. The inconsistency is maddening, it’s almost worth saying whatever crew refs game 1 refs the whole series for the sake of one less variable.

 

I enjoyed the podcast as always, @Clutch, and MK, of course, but that last 10 minutes by MK appeared to me to be MK essentially doing what the media did after game 1. Discussing game 1, he focused on Harden’s 3 in the second half, where Green stepped into Harden’s space when he took the shot, as driving the narrative by the media that was dismissive of the 3 blatant fouls not called, which you brought up by taking the point of view so many of us had here during and after the game, just a lot more politely. Yet from my point of view, MK’s driving the narrative himself. “Cry babies after the fact?” Not MK’s finest moment, in my opinion, whether he’s talking about the reaction of the Rockets players, the coaching staff, the organization, or the fans. How could it be described as some missed calls or poor officiating, and not outright bias by the officials? I disagree with MK there. That’s how I saw it during the game, and still see it. It appears to me to be something MK was dancing around. He’s a good dancer, I’ll give him that!

I’m not going to get into Chris Paul’s “foul,” which I never got a good look at. The 3 techs or flagrant one’s not called consecutively in the first half on Harden’s 3’s should have been 12 possible free throws that weren’t taken by Harden, in my opinion. That could easily be called the difference between winning and losing the game, and I think it was. Instead of a split at Oakland, we’re behind 0-2. Those 3 non-calls affected my view of the game and the series going forward. I’ll likely go to my grave thinking the officials talked about how they would call those fouls on Harden’s step back threes before the game, and were apparently surprised by the reaction. Why else did they go into the Rockets locker room at halftime and tell MDA that they had “missed them?” Those 12 potential free throws weren’t coming back, regardless. The damage was done.

It’s unfortunate that James and Chris had 3 point attempts in the second half just controversial enough to drive a narrative that put the first half’s missed calls in the rear view mirror for most of the media, post-game. That’s where I agree with MK. I think Harden was fouled on that 3 by Green, but the play was a gift to so much of the media that seems bent on leaning Golden State’s way, as was the 3 point shot and foul on Chris. Those 3 fouls not called in the first half that should have been called were back breakers for the Rockets. Most of the media blew right past them.

There’s one thing I really wish you guys could have discussed. I know time was limited, but I would have loved to have heard both you and MK’s take on the slap at Harden’s eyes in the first half of game 3 by Green. That was clearly deliberate. Someone can claim that Green’s brutal foul on Harden wasn’t intentional in game 2. Perhaps it wasn’t intentional. I’ll put aside that a foul should have at least been called on Green. Regardless, the slap by Green at Harden’s eyes in game 3 was at least a flagrant 1, and I saw it as a flagrant 2 and Green tossed. I’ve looked at it multiple times and can’t see any other call by the officials. Yet again, no call. No review. Nothing. James shrugged it off and took the sweetest revenge by winning the game.

Just want to add that the audio was fine, @Clutch. You shouldn’t hesitate to use your iPhone if you need to, in my opinion. I love these podcasts. Whether I agree with all of what’s discussed is immaterial. It’s fun to hear you talk about the games with someone. I look forward to the next one with MK, and tell him we all want to “enjoy the game!” I’ll enjoy it a lot more if we win!

 

exactly. the "i just want to watch the games" doesn't really mean anything. it's just a cop-out. there were 3 of the more blatantly obvious "landing-area" missed calls in recent memory and they just happened to happen in 1 half of basketball, all in favor of one team (not to mention 1 player), after a game 6 and 7 the previous year that already felt like screwjobs. "just play through it" and "i don't care about the refs" is a pointless way to discuss the refs. how long do you play through it? for a few more years? sure the warriors might have gotten 93 extra points last year and screwed us in game 1, but uhh, just play through it. i'm sure it'll even out magically.

 

Eric has been our best performer in the playoffs

 

We should trade him for jimmy butler

 

Spot on

Rocket River

 

Chris did not get a tech on that play . . . . he got a tech when Curry grabbed Ego's arm without a foul
but then again . . that would not help MK with his narrative

Rocket River

 

"They maybe cheating. . . but i want to stick my head in the sand because undermines the 'purity' of the game in my mind
and I would rather not think of that . .. so just allow them to cheat and don't say nothing about it so I can enjoy the game
though . . . . . you cannot enjoy rigged games"

Rocket River

 

Finally getting to listen and awesome as always.

I have to side with deck here as well wrt MK.

I like MK and he has a good unbiased, even view on the game, but I feel he kind of danced as well.

Look, the point of the matter is what Klay was doing was outright dangerous. I will not give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was just contesting hard because once he saw he was getting away with it it became more egregious.

To the point where he committed the absolutely ugly dirty play of back up further into his legs AFTER already landing in his space. It was ZaZa level tactics and wont let that be overlooked.

Missed calls are missed calls. I'm ok with the steph-out of bounds thing because its a bang bang play. But this was an issue presented to the refs during game by the players, multiple players, multiple times. It was addressed by the coach multiple times and admitted at half they missed multiple calls. Then proceeded to continue missing those calls, seemingly on purpose because otherwise how do you miss it since it's been a talking point all game.

That seems intentional.

As for Draymond, I respect his game defensively. Its on goats levels, imo, but why do we shy away from talk about how dirty he is and only focus on his on court antics.

Yes, his on court antics are shiit and deserve criticism but his dirty dirty dirty actions deserve more recognition.

He hit Conley in the face while he was wearing a mask for a broken face.

Repeatedly kicked people in the nuts.

Dragged Adam's down by the arm in an extremely dirty fashion.

Poke James in the eyes twice now in back to back games a year after doing it to LeBron.

And that's all I can remember just off the top of my hesd.

Otherwise great podcast as always.

 

I really enjoyed this podcast, as I always do with @Clutch and MK.

• I thought Clutch made great points about GSW being able to get a favorable whistle simply by the fact they have *more stars* than the Rockets. And stars get better treatment. I never looked at it quite that way but it makes sense.

• MK's point about Harden and efficiency and having to put up the offense that he does against top line stacked defense, Gobert in the 1st round and then vs Warriors Iggy, Thompson, Green, KD....the national media really doesn't take that aspect into account in terms of appreciating what Harden does and WHO he is going up against. That is important for the full context.

• I wanted the Rockets to *empty the clip* with their ref report after Game 1. I was pissed. In hindsight, it might not have been a good move. Clutch is 100% right that the *National Media Narrative* did a COMPLETE 180 on Harden and the Rockets. After the game there was sympathy for Harden. EVERYONE saw the missed calls. And then the report is leaked and all of that sympathy went away. Now, we don't know if that ref report leak is having a *ripple effect* on the reffing from that point on in the series. I am sure Morey doesn't give a F about national storylines if the *on court* reffing is to his benefits. But if not, then that will sting a bit.

 

MK was super frustrating. He says the Rockets should stop whining and just play but then later says the Warriors have conditioned the refs to favorable calls by consistently whining?!?

Then he talks about “uneven officiating” well the Warriors have “uneven talent” we literally can let anything slide if we are going to have even a shot!

Also have you heard the Rockets say anything since game 1 ? No, because it works and they have been much better since then.