If we didn't deserve to win because WE missed free throws and because WE didn't rotate effectively every time, then Dallas sure as HELL didn't deserve to win. Because despite our mistakes and a series of UNBELIEVABLE calls, they still only won by three. So why don't we just play game 5 over since neither team deserved to win?
The ref didn't call the foul on Dirk on that play. They made the correct call and called on Josh Howard. Dirk already had 5 fouls at the time, and Steve Kerr was commenting that it could've easily been the 6th foul. Please get your fact straight first.
I also found it real funny that Dallas fans still bring up Game 2 to justify that we shouldn't say something about Game 5. Looks like they still couldn't get over that call even after 3 straight wins. Talk about hypocrisy.
With three referees, one of them has the job of watching the baseline. We're not talking about a few inches out of bounds. Both feet were a foot and a half out of bounds. Are you saying that if it was just complete incompetence, it's O.K.? Or that it's O.K. not to call the foul on Dirk and give it to the next closest guy instead, once you realize it would be his 6th? How can you really be so sure, given the entire circus surrounding the JVG $100K fine, that having four or five HORRIBLE calls go against the Rockets in the last four minutes was JUST incompetence? I would be laughing off the conspiracy theory if the last 4 minutes hadn't provided so much evidence. It might be sheer incompetence. Heaven knows the NBA refereeing is at an all time low -- and 10 years ago I wouldn't have believed it possible for it to get worse -- but how can ALL the incompetent calls go one way in the last 4 minutes of a close critical game? I don't see how any team could keep its composure enough to hit those free throws under these circumstances. Most teams have enough trouble just dealing with the pressure of being in the playoffs for the first time together. Fatigue from the comeback just might have entered into it as well. We could be winning this series in spite of the unbelievably bad officiating, but WHY should we HAVE to be playing 5-on-8? Yes, the players need to learn to focus and not get caught up in the distractions. That's called PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE, which we don't have as a team. But we're sure getting it!! If they could learn to deal with this level of distraction and calls THIS bad without losing their concentration, they could be unbeatable in the future. Because, in spite of it all, they have been so close to beating what I previously thought was a very good team. And still might.
I whole-heartedly agree. That and secure the damned rebound after you play solid defense. Don't give up 2nd, 3rd, 4th chances. GRR!
Just to take this a step up from whining... Everyone should agree that- 1. Our players blew free throws and other assorted plays that were critical to the games outcome. 2. The refs blew some calls that were critical to the game's outcome. Ask David Stern himself which of these should decide the outcome of a game and I think we would emphatically say only the first one. In other words the NBA themselves will say all day that the refs do a great job 94% of the time and they do not affect the final outcome of a game. That is the raging hypocrisy of this whole deal. Not that we couldn't have won the game, not that we didn't kill ourselves with poor free throw shooting in the 4th. That is obvious. I agree. We should have won and overcome. But stop denying the fact that with proper calls the outcome would have been different and also that we deserve to have a well officiated game. There is NO excuse for the Finley steal on Barry. NONE. The ref blew it and it hurt us big time in a big game. OK it happens, call it luck, conspiracy, or part of the game, but don't tell me that it is right after our players gave every ounce of blood sweat and tears to win. I think those calls damage any player and the effect the outcome of a game more than a good play by the other team. I would have rather TMac miss every shot and Yao miss every free throw than have a ref mistake change the outcome of play. Sorry, I am sure I will feel better at some point today.
Rhester speaking for myself I'm not denying that the refs costs us the game. I'm just saying that we need to get beyond that and look at how the Rox could've capitalized on the opportunities they were given and overcome those bad calls. As I said in the nuclear option thread I recognize that the refs are terrible but I think all of this beyatchin is unproductive even from a fan standpoint. If people are convinced the league through the refs are out to get the Rox they should boycott the NBA since all of your fan support and money is going to support a corrupt organization that's not going to let your team win. I personally think the refs are bad but I don't believe in a conspiracy and am still watching even what I know to be a flawed product and believe the Rox legitimately can win even with officiating as long as they take advantage of every opportunity they have.
Rhester, I am understanding your point. The refs calling the game correctly could of made a big difference. The problem I have had over the years is that every time we come to the playoffs, the BBS fills up with people whining about the refs and some conspiracy. Listen, I agree the refs were horrible. They should all be banned. They should all be shot.Whatever. But we STILL had the chance to win. We lost by three. Hit HALF of the7-8 misses at the line and nobody talks about this. Now, saying all that, we can STILL win the damn series. How? Play like we did when we got back into the game in the 4th quarter. Better yet, if YAO freakin decides to be the dominant force he can be, we would all be talking Suns in a few days. Do you see how Yao can't even get position in the low box most times? Amazing. He is literaly 70 pounds heavier than the guy guarding him and he gets no low post position. YAO can take us home in this series if he can just do what he did last night and in game 2.
Yeah, the refs are inconsistent and you NEVER know what they're gonna do to the flow of the game. You simply can't control how the refs call a game. You CAN control your free throws and your defensive rebounding. And ball control. We need to focus on the things we CAN do to give ourselves a better chance and not dilly-dolly over these so-called referees.
Our players played their hearts out, you just cant biath about how they missed the free throws and missed the boards. Those bad calls had been made corretly, it would have been a tie ball game. Pure and simple. The refs are piad to do their job correctly, but they didnt and we lost largely because of that. Not saying refs are bad, but there gotta be a reviewing system for calls like that. If they can check if shots made before the buzzer at the end of every quarter, why cant they check things like that in the last two minutes?
Yao can't get position on the low block because opposing players are allowed to manhandle him with all kinds of illegal moves. See Yao's Henderson foul, game 5. Yao's fourth foul was an offensive foul because Yao was fighting for position while Henderson had two hands in his back - clearly illegal yet nothing was called. So Yao grabbed his jersey and was promptly whistled killing Houston's momentum. Any non YOH saw what happened. Almu, you've been riding Yao and hoping that he'd be traded all season. Please don't try to hop on the Rockets bandwagon now. It's sickening.
First thing I want to say gocartMozart is that we're all on the same side here, we all bleed the same color so I just want everyone to keep that in mind. I know, that game 5 was another badly called game, BUT I can look you straight in the eye that this time, I can attribute our loss to the ref's boneheaded incomptence and the Rockets poor 4th Q FT shooting and defensive rebounding. The difference between game 3 and 4 (together) and game 5 was that the refs weren't purposely targeting our team or Yao. I've been on JVG side ever since he's made the ref comments and eventhough we lost game 5, we had a legitimate shot at winning the game...game 3 and game 4 on the other hand were different stories where I clearly feel that the refs were "steering" the game out of the Rockets' reach throughout the 4th quarters. Want I'm trying to say that there's a difference between incompetence and intentional siding (especially if it contradicts home court advantage like game 3 and 4). BTW, I honestly believe that it was in the interest of the NBA to stretch the series out, meaning no way were the Mavs gonna get swept. Look dude...maybe I'm just jaded now... I mean it's been a miserable officiated series overall, starting with game 1...have I gotten used to and accepted bad officiating over blatent targeting? I don't know what else to say...I don't care if it's 8 on 5...screw the refs and screw the Mavs.
We wouldn't be fans if we didn't b*tch and whine about the refs. It's what we do. I get your point about making ft's, etc - but one can certainly make the argument that the out-of-bounds play affected the outcome of the game. This is a very evenly matched series. The team (right now it's Dallas) who gets more lucky bounces, calls, etc. is probably going to win.
The thing is, if the refs called straight games throughout the series starting from game 1, the series would be already over.
