I know this is probably an unwritten rule that everyone knows, but damn, it still makes a mockery of the game...
Yep. It's part of the reason I hate the Fakers. When Shaq got his fifth foul, he then proceeded to push Madsen out of the way for a rebound. The ref was right there. Didn't blow the whistle. He blew Shaq, but not the whistle. (Can I get away with that? Bad joke as it is?) And I mean, it wasn't a light push. It was a SHOVE from a 400 pound man.
I think a more accurate statement is it why teams with superstars will get preferential treatment. The only superstar I've never seen get preferential treatment is Olajuwon. Other than that, it doesn't matter what city they play in. The NBA has been marketing players, since Bird and Magic. I've seen Duncan get preferential treatment, and he plays in probably the smallest television market in the NBA.
Totally disagree. Superstar comes with profile, and prifile comes with market. Yes, it's possible to become a superstar in a lesser market, but not commesurate with your abilities; nowhere near, and you won't get the same kind of ref treatment until you are well into the latter part of your prime. Hakeem didn't get the star treatment, but so haven't many others; David Robinsion never got the treatment that other stars got. Wilkens and Drexler never got anywhere near what Jordan got. McGrady, Allen, and especially Carter don't get anywhere near what Kobe, Pierce and Iverson do ( Forgot to include Boston and Philly in the cities that get 'it'.) Duncan gets some of it, so does Garnett...but nowhere near what Shaq and Kobe get and who have been the better players the past couple of years? Refs base calls on profile...calls effect quality, so it's a self fulfilling activity, and the beginning of the process is what market you play in and therefore how much you are endorsed, how often your picture appears on products, in ads, etc.
So my question is, who defines who is a "superstar" in order to get the preferrential treatment. To me, the Dream was as big a superstar as I have seen, yet it was embarrassing how few calls he got, and that is not an understatement. Some of you stat guys could probably check on this, but I remember a time when Hakeem was in his prime that he went several straight games w/o going to the foul line. We are talking about a guy that would shoot over 20 shots in a game, with at least half from in the paint, and not go to the foul line. Ridiculous!!!!!! I'm guessing if he were in la or ny this never would have happend due to the media.
One of the best examples of how silly the whole thing was, especially as it applied to MJ, was his 'final shot' against Utah. It's clearly obvious he pushes off...on his own, on the perimeter, with everyone watching...and yet, shockingly, no call. That's not the best part, though. Afterwards, when discussing how obvious of a foul it was, a commentator ( I think it might have been Isiah Thomas) said something like this: " But that's what makes Michael so great. He knows just what he can get away with." Now if you can push someone off of you with everyone watching, and not get called, I guess that means you can "get away with" just about anything. Knowing that wouldn;t really be all that much of a feat. But I do agree with the general gist of the comment: That play against Utah definitely showed all of us what made Jordan so great.
Russell fell down. He thought Michael was going right, he left (Michael's right),when he realized Michael was pulling up he couldn't stop his momentum. There is no way Jordan was strong enough to push Russell to the floor with is left hand while dribbling with his right.
Superstars just have happened to play in large markets. I don't think Shaq got any less calls when he played in Orlando, and the league tried to hype him and Penny just as much as they market him and Kobe. The fact is other markets do win championships and when those teams are on top and they usually get calls. Detroit got away with murder during their two championships. As far as Chicago is concerned, Jordan made the Bulls, and the Bulls were never a media darling before MJ, and they definitely aren't now. He's a prime example of the NBA marketing players and not teams.
that was a good no call by the refs. not even Russell should complain ... beaten fairly, Jordan's arm merely echoed Russell's errant momentum. had that been called, true bball fans should cringe. talk about ticky tack!
You've played basketball, right? Classic playground move; change direction against a running defender and push him along. I could nudge Shaq a bit if he was pursuing hard, and I'm no Jordan, and Russel's no Shaq. Come on, it was clearly a push.
I'm not arguing that Jordan didn't get some ridiculous calls, but on that play it was a good no call. Russell was clearly faked. Maybe the little nudge helped him to the ground, but his fall was more of a panic than Jordan's push. I think the violation that Jordan got away with more than anything on that play is palming. But as strong as Jordan is, think about it, his body is pulling up, while his arm is pushing out. He would have had to push Russell down, using nothing but arm strength, while gathering himself to shoot.
Naw, you use the guy you're pushing off of to counter your own momentum. Happens all the time, in the paint, but wide open like that, it should have been a call, easy. If it's Russel pushing/shooting, Jordan going down, championsip on the line, do you have any doubt about what the call would have been?
How do you define Superstar? This is not being a Rocket homer, but Hakeem never got the calls even when we won the two titles. I'm not saying this is b/c of where he played. I know Barkley still got all his calls when he was here in Houston. I think if Olajuwon was a media darling like MJ, the Rockets could have possibly inched a couple more wins over the Sonics and given us a couple more titles IMO.
Olajuwon never received the media attention he deserved. I won't deny that. And therefore, he never received the Super Star status he deserved. There are several theories as to why he never received the attention. One I hear is that he never spoke English clearly enough to become a commercial star like other athletes. I don't know about that, but I admitt that he's an exception to the rule.
The NBA is a joke. I love basketball and I love the Rockets, but it's getting harder and harder to consider myself a true NBA fan. This new information is just a drop in the bucket. The true crowning moment of corruption was the ridiculous Lakers-Kings series two years ago. Since then, I've become extremely disillusioned with the league.
No suprise, pretty much every basketball fan knows this. Jordan used to get calls go his way like crazy, Kobe is getting the same treatment. I just don't get why Yao doesn't get this respect, the guy gets murdered on offense and then barely touches someone on D and gets called for a foul. Even Carmelo gets more respect. Very frustrating. Peace.
Anyone who believes a player can knock down a 6-7, 220-pound player with his off hand; while dribbling in the opposite direction, while putting all his base strength into pulling his two legs back to jump off his tip-toes for a jump shot ... well, you need to get back on the court and rediscover the immutable physics of hooping. The lengths at which some people go to in order to discredit champions (Lakers get all the calls, Bulls get all the calls, Spurs won in an asterisk years, Spurs only one because Shaq was fat) is astounding. Try to appreciate brilliance when you see it and save your cynicisms for something besides a basketball game.
