don't generalize, be specific to this particular game. fisher carried the ball (they counted the bucket), odem travels (they called that an and-1), kobe lowered his shoulder into yao (and you call that penetration, eh?) and yao was called for a block, scola got 3 fouls in less than 2 minutes. etc. kobe got most of his pts from the jumpers after he was blocked by yao at the half. go look at his shooting % tonight. gasol never got it going at anyone. bynum didn't do jack other than a few hooks when yao wasn't around. and ariza got his pts from fastbreaks and the 3 3's he usually can't swoosh. etc. and yet the ft's were 24-8, in our house. of course this was the #1 reason we lost the game. it's just a fact, not an excuse. what you said are generally right. but it doesn't apply to tonight's game.
Maybe it was the Lakers defense. They were letting our guys get to the rim with ease in the first quarter.
There is in fact nothing wrong with the refs. They just gave free-throws according to pre-game team record: Lakers - 30-6, therefore 24 ft. Rox - 24-15, hence 8 ft. They gave Rox one less - they just iscalculated.
It's so frustrating to lose a game because of the officiating, it makes me want to shot watching the NBA all together. On one hand I'm glad the Rockets are always underrrated and do not get many calls, especially no superstar nonsense like Kobe tonight and Lebron earlier this year, because it makes it that more special when they win. However, I'm starting to worry with these so called referees if they blow games like this. This game, the game @ the Cavs and maybe even more were partially due to refs. They have a big influence on the game and it's sad that a woman like David Stern and his staff is still in charge. There should be a watchdog that handles complaints which can overrule Stern and his officiating staff, because it's getting way out of hand. There are maybe a handful of referees who call what they see and do not decide based on which player it is and for which team he plays. Rewatch the game tonight and see how the Rockets do not get any calls and the Lakers do, and more.... The obvious ones: * Yao's blocking foul when Kobe lowered his shoulder --> bad call watch the replay from the NBA TV broadcast almost exactly from where the ref was standing and you see he simply gave him the call. The ref made up his mind even before the play and it's like he doesn't even want to see the truth. He just turns a blind eye to the play and gives it to Kobe. * The 2nd / 3rd foul on Scola where he stood at the top of the key and turned which made Derek Fisher fall --> bad call an obvious flop and a call that 99% of the times goes against the Rockets. Mainly Yao gets called for this, remember Ben Wallace ?? * The 4th blocking foul on Scola, where he was standing outside the circle for like 2 secs and took the charge --> bad call The ref decided to keep the game close by giving him the foul It doesn't matter if you a Laker or a Rocket fan, those were simply horrible calls that could've and should've been gone the other way. This doesn't mean the Rockets can blame it on the refs because they had a chance to win but that doesn't take away the fact the refs had a huge impact on the game. It's so obvious and ridiculous if you look at, a basketball court is not that big and there are THREE officials !! THREE !! If you watch football (soccer) there is one ref and two sidelines officials who have to cover much more ground an they make less mistakes. If they do make a mistake, it's because the play is too far for them to see it clear, especially for the ref who has to run at times to keep up. A basketball ref is most of the times within 5 feet so you cannot tell me that these guys miss that many calls. It's just not possible. I hope the Rockets will file a complaint and take the matter into their own hands, because IT'S TIME !! Last year, the refs handed the Jazz the series with two terrible calls: the flop by Kirilenko and the so called foul by Battier on an out of bounds Korver. In 04-05, same story so it time for some hard fouling, some technicals and some flagrants. Do something to show you're not going to take it anymore. That's the only thing I really dislike about Adelman and this team. The 90s Rockets would get ton of technicals, even the laid-back Don Chaney, and the refs didn't even do a bad job like they do now. Ron Artest is the only one who takes it upon himself to intimidate the opponents and refs. I'm glad Yao is showing signs of it, last night he was much more aggresive because he was mad about the calls and no calls. Did you see those dunks he thew down, that's the Yao we need to see more of. I just hope when the playoffs come, the team has shown it's not going to take these bs calls and no calls anymore because it's almost a guarantee one or 2 games are going to go against us because of it. Home court advantage ? Do not count on it, especially not in the playoffs (if we get it all)
That's one thing I hate about the Lakers. You are NOT GONNA attempt more ft then they do, it is impossible. I even remember something like that happening in the Finals. Refs LOVE Lakers, and they do HATE the Rockets. Kobe gets every call..
I hate the league when referees control the games, why Rockets always one of the victims. As a center, Yap only got 1 ft, and this is a technical fou,3rd qtr,yao was called three fouls in a row. At least, the 3rd foul is a wrong call, that should be an offensive foul of Odom. Then Yao was replaced by ?(Sorry I forgot thta guy).
Before the Rockets were forced to foul the lakers, it was just a 2 pts game. So those 'blocking fouls' in the 3rd quarter did matter. And lakers are not the better team. They are just luckier.
JVG said it is idiotic to not realize there are 3 teams on the floor every single night. Last night, 2 of them where playing for the Lakers. Without the officials help, Houston wins that game by 8 points...easily. DD
just call it on both sides or don't call it at all. Is that too much to ask for? And we were at home. that's the sad part.
QUESTION: If they sssooooo much better than the Rockets. . . why do they need the help? Shouldn't this have been a blow out? You logic . . . and I apologize in advance . .. is absolute bull***** In a game. . .Calls and fouls and refs AFFECT EVERYTHING cause the players are human If a ref calls three fouls on yao in the 1st 2 minutes and don't call another the rest of the game .. .IT AFFECTS HOW HE PLAYS aggressive versus not because he does not know what the refs will call If refs don't call blatant hacks a player gets frustrated . . and maybe try to over dramatize causing turnovers Players adjust to Reffing. . and bad reffing can lead to bad play Rocket River Refs have incredible amount of say so over a game
I hate players that flop a lot, I wish the NBA would do something about it....Derek Fisher is one of the worst, I swear he should be on the Italian national soccer team. DD
In a game like tonight i was not too frustrated with the officiating except for a few calls, in a game like the one where we played the Cavs, yes that has a huge outcome on the game bc it took our star player out for 3/4 of the game...
Yao got taken out last night to....maybe not for a long period of time but he only played 32 minutes because he picked up a 4th foul early. Those blocking calls especially the one where Kobe ducks his shoulder into Yao's chest are RIDICULOUS....if Yao is going to not get that call he should have thrown his elbows down on top of Kobe's head ...make him pay for jumping into him. DD
Completely agree. Some of those calls were so obviously bad that one has to wonder if the refs are incompetent, corrupt or both.
MAN! Pisses me off that the NBA Refs are all over Kobe's DACK and give him those baby calls! But man! throughout the game, weve made a statement that we dont need 2 superstars to get close to beating the Lakers. Rafer! wth is wrong with u in the clutch?
I like the following rule: Every half, the coach is allowed to cancel out one foul call (the count against a player, not the on the court effect of the foul). I mean, if I pay money to watch these guys play (like Yao, Kobe, Howard, etc.), I want to see the PLAY. I don't want some control freak, blind, bought-and-paid-for ref take that away from me. I'm not sure we can do much about the horrible officiating, but at least give me that.
