i'm not sure i've ever seen a team suddenly afforded as much respect in the playoffs by the refs as phoenix has been. you take out the end of game 4 against the lakers, and they have gotten every call possible. they went from an nba record 18 ft/game to suddenly going up 33% to 24 per game in the playoffs. the number of non-shooting foul free throws they get is amazing. they get those b/c they are constantly getting into the penalty on very cheap fouls. they got 3 fouls in the first 90 seconds of the 4th quarter, and not one of those was on a shot or a drive to the basket. they were little bumps and touches on the perimeter, which phoenix is almost never called for. then on defense, not since utah's heyday have i seen so many flops rewarded with offensive fouls. raja's antics are well-documented (maul the offensive player, then when he moves at all, flop like you've been shot), but the number of times other guys get posted up and then fall down and get the call is amazing. do the refs suddenly think they learned defense? look at that offensive foul on maggette on what should've been a 3 point play. marion wasn't there and that call always goes to the offense. no 3 point play, another foul on the clips, go the other way. then to end the game, they call a foul for nash after a missed free throw which was weak and of course gave him two free throws b/c they were already in the penalty, then they called another one. i think marion's 3 point play was the first free throw phoenix shot in the quarter when they were actually going to the basket. and of course nash pushes off on the last shot, an offensive foul if the clippers do it, perfectly okay if phoenix does it. top it off with barbosa, bell, thomas, and diaw playing easily their best basketball of the season (and crazy bounces going in for them) and phoenix is living a charmed life right now. edit: 26 to 19 on the fouls, 26 to 20 on the ft's both in favor of phoenix. it makes perfect sense as phoenix is a rugged inside team and the clippers just shoot a bunch of 3's. add in that phoenix was on the road and that road teams always get the calls and you can see why it happened. and phoenix went from shooting 6 less ft/game in the regular seasons than their opponents to 0.7 in the playoffs.
i really want the clippers to make the WCF they are much better placed to push the Dallas' and San Antonio's of this world than Phoenix, i just feel like they might be overwhelmed by the size of San Antonio. Although they are a good matchup with the Mavs I think they would do 'em in 5 or 6. shame the league , via its refs , is doing its level best to keep LA's second team out of it.
i dont know if you guys caught it when livingston crossed nash over in the 4th qtr and then tried to kick him as he fell to the ground i like how the announcers trivialized nash's karate kick by joking around and saying that he has a soccer background in his family if anybody else did that the announcers would be freaking and saying what a dirty play it was and how livingston could've been hurt also, why did dunleavy wait until a min left in the 4th qtr to bring sam i am back?
that was just disgusting Diaw plays like a quarted in a half with 4 fouls hacking Kaman and Brand to death Rocket River
theres nothing more annoying than people constantly whining and moaning about referees. i dont have any particular connections with the suns or anything, but seeing thirty posts complaining about referees is ridiculous. just shut up and enjoy the game, you can b**** about calls every once in a while but its really, really lame to do it so often. it's nothing personal, but just enjoy the game without putting it on the refs. in every single sport refs/umps are blamed for playoff losses. i dont think the refs care about the outcomes as much as you think they do. they get their pay based on the job they do, not based on who wins the game.
sam was having a bad night shooting the ball, but so was nash. he should have played more in the 4th instead of coming in ice cold like that. oh well, there is going to be a must win on sunday.
I like how Sam was supportive of his minimal time in the 4th qtr. http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-clippers13may13,1,1215301.story?coll=la-headlines-sports Cassell missed eight of 10 shots and scored six points. He had 28 points in Game 1 and 23 points in Game 2. "He really didn't bother me, I just didn't knock down open looks," Cassell said of Marion. "I just hope I have those same looks in Game 4." Cassell, considered among the best clutch shooters in the NBA, had few opportunities in the fourth quarter. With Shaun Livingston running the team and Radmanovic hot from three-point range, the Clippers overcame an 11-point deficit early in the quarter. Coach Mike Dunleavy left Cassell on the bench until 1:17 remained in the game. Seconds after he returned, Cassell missed a three-pointer that would have tied the score at 89-89. Trailing, 86-85, with 2:35 left to play, the Suns used a 7-0 run to take a 92-86 lead with less than a minute remaining. The Clippers got to within a point, 92-91, with 28.4 seconds left on Brand's three-point play and two free throws by Quinton Ross, but Nash connected on his clutch jump shot with Maggette guarding him. As for Cassell, he supported Dunleavy's decision. "Shaun was playing well, so I'm not surprised," he said. "The lineup that was in was doing well. We came back, so I have no complaints."
Down goes Cassell! Down goes Cassell! EDIT: I think he will be fine, he just rolled his ankle there, probably needs to walk it off.
Magette gets some of the most BS foul calls I have ever seen Does he have a rep among Refs? The way they calling fouls in this series is kind of. .. . . weird Rocket River
I wish we had kept him and Big Shot Bob who knows what could've happened for the Rockets. One thing I've noticed watching the playoffs is how good the guard play has been. These teams in the second round all have guards and big guys who can take it to the basket. Manu is a good example and guys like Barbosa of the Suns. Who would have thought they'd be this good after losing Q and JJ. They acquired Bell, Diaw, and Barbosa and all these guys look great for them. The Rockets don't have any penetrators besides T-Mac and occasionally Skip. I hope we draft some slashers in the draft.
