Let's see. This season Yao fouled out: Jan 23 (Win vs. Pacers) Dec. 31 (Win vs. 76ers) So by plenty of times, you mean twice. Neither of these games came down to the wire. (BTW, going back to the beginning of January, he had 5 fouls in a big loss vs. the Mavs, and win vs. Lakers-when Shaq fouled out, blowout vs. Jazz.)
In the last couple of minutes the following accured. 1. Shaq did a spin move and placed his elbow under the chin of MoT sending him to the floor. Shaq then dunks and no foul is called. 2. As the picture above clearly showed, Shaq got every inch of Yao Mings fore arm as he tried for a shot that would have put the Rockets in the lead. 3. Shaq very clearly kicks the ball from Steve Francis and then dunks to give the lakers the lead for good. All of those happened in the last couple of minutes and if the refs call just one of those then last night is probably a different story. The non-call that hurt the most was the kick ball. If the Rockets would have taken it down to the other end and scored then they would have been up by 3 or 4 points depending if the basket was a 2 or a 3. Now, what do the Faker fans have to complain about again?
While I understand that officiating an NBA game is extremely difficult due to the speed and physicality of the players, there are some philosophical fallacies I constantly hear from commentators that are just plain wrong: 1. "Let the players play. Refs shouldn't determine the outcome of the game" -- as if a wrong non-call somehow has less impact to the outcome than a wrong call. 2. "Stars players are given the benefit of the doubt over lesser players, especially rookies" -- as if stars need favoritism from the refs to be able to maintain their star status. 3. "If you play aggressive, the refs will adjust to your style" -- as if the game should reward the physically aggressive style over the finesse style.
Game PFs Mins October 30 Thu Denver 5 20 November 13 Thu @ Dallas 4 29 14 Fri Phoenix 5 37 16 Sun @ Toronto 5 50 (2OT) 24 Mon @ L.A. Clippers 5 30 29 Sat @ Seattle 5 44 December 3 Wed Utah 5 48 (OT) 6 Sat Detroit 5 39 16 Tue @ Minnesota 4 28 17 Wed @ Cleveland 4 30 20 Sat @ Phoenix 5 20 23 Tue Indiana 4 32 25 Thu @ L.A. Lakers 5 30 31 Wed Philadelphia 6 34 January 3 Sat Utah 5 28 5 Mon Golden State 4 23 23 Fri @ Indiana 6 36 February 4 Wed Milwaukee 5 28 11 Wed L.A. Lakers 5 37 21 Sat @ Dallas 5 30 22 Sun Atlanta 4 49 (3OT) 24 Tue @ San Antonio 4 32 25 Wed Cleveland 4 30 27 Fri Portland 4 28 March 3 Wed L.A. Lakers 5 37 1. What I consider foul trouble - 4+ PF or 3+ PF in obscenely few minutes (eg. 3 in 23 Jan 5 GSW) 2. What I DIDN'T include - Yao sitting extended period of time due to foul trouble but came in late in the game With the exception of a few games which went in OT or which Yao played HEAVY minutes, generally he gets in foul trouble which keeps him on the bench more than he usually sits. What I am seeing is a disturbing trend: 1. Yao is getting called more often 2. He averages less minutes when he does get called The offciating towards Yao was actually GOOD early in the season. This can been seen by BOTH the number of times Yao gets in foul trouble and the number of minutes he plays when he DOES get in foul trouble. For example, in november, Yao got in foul trouble 5 times but 3 of these he played over 37 minutes. The more fouls could merely be due to extended minutes. In december he was in foul trouble 8 times, only 3 of which he actually played more than his average minutes. But he did play ~31 minutes even when in foul trouble, so I'm more annoyed with the fact that he's in trouble more often than the minutes he gets when he does get in foul trouble. In february however, he got in foul trouble 7 times, only 2 of which he played more than his usual minutes. Not only that though. His minutes when he does get in trouble dropped to ~28, 5 minutes below his average. It is also important to state that I DIDN'T include games in which he was in foul trouble then sat the rest of the way, which would even further reduce his minutes. So what I AM seeing here is: 1. Yao is getting called more often 2. He's being kept out of the action more often. It's not just the minutes either. When you get in foul trouble you play more tentatively.
I wouldn't include any games before the Washington game when Haywood (or whoever) put Yao down on the floor, because prior to that Yao didn't really play like an allstar and really didn't get treated much like one (by the officiating crew). I'm gonna stick to my guns and say one reason refs don't shy away from calling fouls on the guys defending Shaq is 'cause Shaq is only about a 50% free throw shooter. If Shaq could make people pay at the free throw line more, I think he wouldn't get to the line as much. Yao has to REALLY earn his trips to the line (as opposed to Shaq). And no, I won't deny that it's frustrating to see Yao get called for a ticky-tack bump when on the other end he has guys hanging on his back and wrapping up his arms. I think on the "fouling" end, Yao gets away with some things and he is called for some weak fouls, but overall it pretty much evens out. HOWEVER, on the "getting fouled" end, that's where the refs give Yao no love. Still, the refs don't wanna be seen as "giving the game" to the Rockets, so unless the Lakers drew blood, I didn't expect to get a call in the last minute (though I wanted one just as bad as you guys). And STILL, if the Rockets would learn how to close out games, it wouldn'tve (and SHOULDN'TVE) been this close in the end. Period. We simply lost that game.
Because typically nothing is a (called) foul, so the advantage is even -- except to the poor schlump with the ball who gets creamed. As you said, In my opinion the idea is for the referees to maintain that both teams play fairly and under the rules. That is what is not occuring, IMO.
There were non calls that did indirectly affect the outcome of the game. The 3 second rule does not exist for Shaqille O Neal. There was one 3 second call in the entire game. Shaq lived in the paint. Why don't they just rescind the 3 sec rule if they do not enforce it??
I'm just pissed that the refs don't call that chicken-wing move on Shaq. He straight elbowed MoT in the face and then dunked it.
I think that was a different play, but yeah, MoT got an arm to the face once and then was called for a foul.
He didn't get a foul on that, but there defenitely should have been a foul called, on Shaq. MoT got called for a foul for standing his ground with his arms up. MoT gets called for the foul, but when Shaq does it to Yao it's not. But I can't say I'm not suprised.
First of all let me say that I don't think that Yao DOESN'T foul. I am also willing to admit that he does get away with calls and he does fall for the pump fake too easily. On the other hand however, I don't think he's getting the calls he deserves. I'll refrain from commenting what is a foul and what is not, as that is subjective and differs from ref to ref. I'll also refrain from saying what OTHERS get called for because everybody knows star calls exist in the NBA and at this point, Yao is not yet a superstar. What I WILL say is based on Yao's foul numbers alone. To start off, Yao DOES foul. However, he DOESN'T foul as much as some fans imply. I can clearly see in certain games, he's making a conscious effort to avoid fouls and still gets in foul trouble. We've also seen other teams foul Yao and gets away with it and Yao gets whistled for less serious offences on the other end. As mentioned before already, in november, he got called a lot less than he does now, when many Rockets fans see no distinction in the way he was playing then and now (from a foul PoV, not performance wise). I am even to give the refs the benefit of the doubt on that and basically ASSUME Yao is getting called more because he is more aggressive/made some stupid mistakes. What I CAN'T stand is the frequency in which he gets called. Think about this: a team plays at most 15 - 16 games per month. Yao is in foul trouble for 7 - 8 of them. How do they expect a team to do when the star player of that team is in foul trouble in HALF of his games. As I've said, I'm not blaming Yao's inconsistencies on the refs. I just wish they call things more evenly both ways.
Toast, If the Rockets learned to close out every game, they would be the first team in the league to go 82-0 and then sweep every one of their playoff series. No team has ever accomplished that. The game should be called fair and square. If it had been called fair and square, the Rockets would have closed this game out and we would have been talking about how they closed it out and overcame a poor 4th quarter. Nothing would have been different regarding the play but the scoreboard because the refs blew the whistle. Could they have played better and won the game? Maybe. But what if they had played better and Yao would have been whistled for #6 because LA was still down 11 with 4 minutes to play? And then what if MoT is given #6 with 3 minutes to play and LA down 8 after Mo's sixth and a free throw by Shaq? See how you can keep going on and on and on and on? It doesn't matter how out of reach the game gets if the refs are gonna let the other team back in it. It doesn't matter how well the Rockets have played up to that point, if the refs blow #5 on Yao and then blow a foul on Steve for fending off an attacking, obviously fouling, Gary Payton. It's as if the refs are gonna make sure the game goes down to the wire. It's ridiculous. Just call the game fair and square. Quit making exceptions for players and the time of the game.
The most blatant foul was Koby grabbing Yao Ming arround the body to prevent him moving over to defend Shaq or go for a rebound. Did anyone else notice this non call?
yeah then on the replay the espn 'expert' sean elliot was like thats a great pick by kobe to free up shaq. i live in the la area i've seen soo many calls go in the lakers favor that changed the momentum i think it was more our failure to execute at the end that lost us the game rather than the refs but the refs did play a huge hand in it. yeah i told my friends at halftime that if the lakers win this game they are gonna get some fishy stuff their way in 4th qtr like the noncalls on shaq. Like in the earlier game when shaq and five and yao hit that spinning left handed layup where shaq was clearly all over his back and nothing was called.
