The games this season where there was some external forces playing into the outcome of the game for the Rockets. I can count four: 1. 1st Hawks' Game: Refs totally took over that game down the stretch after a very competitive 4th quarter and almost no calls the first 45 minutes of the game. 2. Bulls' Game: Free throw disparity was 33-5 Bulls; 2 of those were defensive three second technicals and another 2 came after the game was decided in the last possession. 3. 2nd Hawks' Game: We settled for a lot of threes in the 4th quarter but the Hawks got called for like 2 fouls the entire 2nd half! Plus the DMo "technical" is a WTF moment. 4. Tonight's Grizzlies' Game: 5 free throws against one of the most physical teams in the league and the Harden No-Call. Any others? I feel like this list will grow as we get into and in the playoffs.
The one that sticks out to me was the Portland series last year where they called a loose ball foul on Dwight which sealed the game for the Blazers, then said they blew the call the game after.
The Atlanta @Houston one was horrible, and the @Chicago one worse. The rest, I don't think we can peg on referee bias. In general, if you want a theme here, it's that the the NBA is trying to prop a fledgling and honestly incompetent Eastern Conference. Everything that goes on in that league is a joke compared to the West.
