Official 2012-2013 NBA Playoffs Thread

[bigpimpatl]

I don't disagree about talent, but they are definitely outsized. Indy clearly outrebounds better and talent can't entirely fix that. It's hard to win a game when the other team is 20+ in the rebound column.

For Indiana to get those rebounds they need to play smash mouth, in your grill defense every possession. Miami is a great shooting team. If they make their shots there are no rebounds to collect. There is opportunity on the offensive glass but besides game 3 (which Indiana lost anyway), the team offensive rebounds have been pretty close.

I hope Indiana does play that way (as that's been their calling card all season) but...sigh I just don't see it.

 

[Red Storm]

The two most ridiculous things from last night's game in my opinion:

All three refs somehow not seeing the ball hit the rim and calling a shot clock violation on Indiana.

The ball clearly hitting Ray Allen on its way out, then no conclusive way to see if it touched West (it certainly looked like it did not, as the commentators also felt) yet Miami gets awarded the ball.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

The two most ridiculous things from last night's game in my opinion:

All three refs somehow not seeing the ball hit the rim and calling a shot clock violation on Indiana.

The ball clearly hitting Ray Allen on its way out, then no conclusive way to see if it touched West (it certainly looked like it did not, as the commentators also felt) yet Miami gets awarded the ball.

I think that gets made up for by the fact that LeBron James was called for his 6th foul for having the audacity to exist (he certainly didn't commit a foul). If he doesn't foul out, the Pacers are still probably favored to win. But they got spotted the ball with one minute left, a two point lead and no LeBron. That's pretty big. I bet Frank Vogel, if he had the opportunity to trade those two missed calls for having LeBron in for the last minute of the game, takes the bad calls every time.

 

[cheezy321]

The two most ridiculous things from last night's game in my opinion:

All three refs somehow not seeing the ball hit the rim and calling a shot clock violation on Indiana.

The ball clearly hitting Ray Allen on its way out, then no conclusive way to see if it touched West (it certainly looked like it did not, as the commentators also felt) yet Miami gets awarded the ball.

Shot clock violation was bunk. Ridiculous.

The out of bounds call was harder because they already called it to Miami. There has to be conclusive evidence to overturn it. I bet if they originally called it to Indiana the call would have stayed. I think it had more to do with how they originally called it and there not being enough evidence to overturn it.

 

[cheezy321]

I think that gets made up for by the fact that LeBron James was called for his 6th foul for having the audacity to exist (he certainly didn't commit a foul). If he doesn't foul out, the Pacers are still probably favored to win. But they got spotted the ball with one minute left, a two point lead and no LeBron. That's pretty big. I bet Frank Vogel, if he had the opportunity to trade those two missed calls for having LeBron in for the last minute of the game, takes the bad calls every time.

I wrote it right after the game ended and I will write it again now. If you watched the play in question, you will see that while Lebron was setting the pick he stepped on the defenders foot. I still think this is the main reason why the ref called the foul so quickly. Its pretty obvious that your feet aren't set for the pick if one of them is on top of the defenders foot.

 

[Red Storm]

I think that gets made up for by the fact that LeBron James was called for his 6th foul for having the audacity to exist (he certainly didn't commit a foul). If he doesn't foul out, the Pacers are still probably favored to win. But they got spotted the ball with one minute left, a two point lead and no LeBron. That's pretty big. I bet Frank Vogel, if he had the opportunity to trade those two missed calls for having LeBron in for the last minute of the game, takes the bad calls every time.

Thing is it was a foul, it's just not called very often in those moments. But it was a foul, compared to the two things I listed which were clearly wrong.

Shot clock violation was bunk. Ridiculous.

The out of bounds call was harder because they already called it to Miami. There has to be inconclusive evidence to overturn it. I bet if they originally called it to Indiana the call would have stayed. I think it had more to do with how they originally called it and there not being enough evidence to overturn it.

It most definitely touched Ray Allen, there isn't a single person that would argue it did not, and that was the only conclusive thing shown in the replay, and that's what the refs should have gone by.

I wrote it right after the game ended and I will write it again now. If you watched the play in question, you will see that while Lebron was setting the pick he stepped on the defenders foot. I still think this is the main reason why the ref called the foul so quickly. Its pretty obvious that your feet aren't set for the pick if one of them is on top of the defenders foot.

Not to mention he had his legs out wider than his body, which always gets called.

 

[dougp]

I wrote it right after the game ended and I will write it again now. If you watched the play in question, you will see that while Lebron was setting the pick he stepped on the defenders foot. I still think this is the main reason why the ref called the foul so quickly. Its pretty obvious that your feet aren't set for the pick if one of them is on top of the defenders foot.

I believe Reggie called it - when you watch the screen, James actually moves his left knee towards the pick, causing the contact. I don't remember seeing him step on the guy, but he was still moving to initiate the contact.

 

[vi edit]

The ball clearly hitting Ray Allen on its way out, then no conclusive way to see if it touched West (it certainly looked like it did not, as the commentators also felt) yet Miami gets awarded the ball.

The shot clock one was total crap. That absolutely should be reviewable at any point in the game. They review 3PT shots every time out, they can take an extra 30 seconds the very few times this actually happens and get the right call. Especially in situations where the offensive team gets the rebound and scores...you have to inbound the ball anyway. Just review it then.

I'm okay with the decision on the out of bounds call. Miami was awarded the ball on the original call, and it was inconclusive if West touched it or not after it went of Allen. It's only fair to stick with the original call.

 

[manly]

The two most ridiculous things from last night's game in my opinion:

All three refs somehow not seeing the ball hit the rim and calling a shot clock violation on Indiana.

The ball clearly hitting Ray Allen on its way out, then no conclusive way to see if it touched West (it certainly looked like it did not, as the commentators also felt) yet Miami gets awarded the ball.

what's so surprising about NBA refs making mistakes? Nothing new to see there. The commentators rightfully asked why the hometown clock operator missed the reset. Now they obviously blew an easy call, but the thing was that the ball grazed the rim on the way up. After it hit the backboard, it didn't hit the rim on the way back. If you missed the first part, you'd conclude the ball missed the rim.

The second botched call was explained as well. They originally ruled it off David West, so they needed conclusive proof to overturn the call. Somehow the refs didn't feel they had enough to do so.

This does not mean the refs saw the ball go off West in the replays, just that it wasn't clear enough for them to overturn the original call.

It was funny how Steve Kerr suggested the missed call on the shot clock resetting could potentially have an impact on the outcome, all the commentators in agreement once the Heat made a run, and then after the Pacers made a final push, they concluded the Pacers overcame the one call from the 8m mark.

 

[Miramonti]

Agreed...Lebron committed a foul on the screen. The only shocker was he didn't get star treatment on that play. (altho technically when someone like James doesn't get away with that, it's not called a shocker, it's called a miracle.)

I don't have a problem with the out of bounds call against West...they looked at the replay, saw what they saw (accurate or not), end of story.

The faux shot clock violation however was one that should get all 3 refs fined internally by the nba. That was inexcusable and nearly disastrous.

 

[dougp]

what's so surprising about NBA refs making mistakes? Nothing new to see there. The commentators rightfully asked why the hometown clock operator missed the reset. Now they obviously blew an easy call, but the thing was that the ball grazed the rim on the way up. After it hit the backboard, it didn't hit the rim on the way back. If you missed the first part, you'd conclude the ball missed the rim.

The second botched call was explained as well. They originally ruled it off David West, so they needed conclusive proof to overturn the call. Somehow the refs didn't feel they had enough to do so.

This does not mean the refs saw the ball go off West in the replays, just that it wasn't clear enough for them to overturn the original call.

It was funny how Steve Kerr suggested the missed call on the shot clock resetting could potentially have an impact on the outcome, all the commentators in agreement once the Heat made a run, and then after the Pacers made a final push, they concluded the Pacers overcame the one call from the 8m mark.

And if you were watching/listening to the game, you'd know that they came back on and apologized for falsely accusing the hometown operator because it was someone different.

 

[HendrixFan]

The officiating has been shit the whole series. The teams play fast (Heat) or tough (Pacers). Both are difficult to officiate, and it seems the refs from game to game and even within the same game aren't sure how they are gonna call things. They players don't know how to play within that uncertainty.

The Heat are +10 in the paint over four games yet are -35 on FT attempts. With those kinds of numbers you would think all four games were in Indiana. In a free flowing game the more athletic team will win. The Heat can play within the contstruct of a tightly officiated game because they have guys who can attack and get to the line. That is what they have done all season when refs are quick to whistle. In this series there is no real pulse for the officiating.

I read two articles today on Grantland about the series, and both were as disgusted by the officiating as everyone else. Both simply threw their hands in the air saying, "ya it is awful so let's talk about something else". The officiating is awful.

Awful.

But that will continue throughout this series so there really isn't anything else to discuss on that matter. Officiating has a huge bearing on this series but given it's wild state it isn't useful at all. We are witnessing a good slugfest and a good series that is unfortunately marred. I'll go with the grantland crew and just throw up my arms in disgust and move on to focusing on other things.

 

[007ELmO]

don't put an asterix on this when the heat lose, it's a series of games, not just one game. unless there's gambling going on with the refs still (could be).

nba is probably one of the "best" sports for home court advantage. during the regular season at least. i really hate home court advantage when the refs affect the outcome.

 

[JTsyo]

You have got to be kidding.

Because they both flopped.

Lebron looks like he got punched in the face by Casper the ghost.

And this is why they removed me from reffing after 1 quarter for our work league. Each team had to provide 2 refs each week. :$

 

[lupi]

Sources: NBA reviewing fallout from Game 4 calls

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/k...urces-nba-reviewing-fallout-from-game-4-calls

 

[fustercluck]

I actually didn't think officiating was a big deal in that game. I hate how the NBA is turning into Soccer with the ridiculous flopping all around. I thought they were going to start fining players for flopping but obviously they are not serious about going through with that.

Pacers just owned the heat all game 4. I know the heat lead at some points but I felt like the Pacers dominated it. Still think the Heat will win the series in 6.

 

[DesiPower]

I actually didn't think officiating was a big deal in that game. I hate how the NBA is turning into Soccer with the ridiculous flopping all around. I thought they were going to start fining players for flopping but obviously they are not serious about going through with that.

Pacers just owned the heat all game 4. I know the heat lead at some points but I felt like the Pacers dominated it. Still think the Heat will win the series in 6.

http://www.sbnation.com/2013/5/29/4376802/joey-crawford-the-nbas-worst-referee-the-daily-win

 

[Red Storm]

LeBron, West, Stephenson fined $5,000 for Game 4 flops

James and West were penalized for the same play during a messy Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. James spun and fell and West tumbled toward the baseline during what looked like a poorly choreographed dance routine as the NBA's MVP defended the Indiana forward.

Stephenson was fined Thursday for exaggerating the contact after a slight elbow from Ray Allen following a Pacers basket.

Lol

 

[Schfifty Five]

LeBron, West, Stephenson fined $5,000 for Game 4 flops



Lol

Stephenson's "flop" didn't look that bad to me. Not anywhere along the same line as Lebron/West's double flop. I don't think he Stephenson should have gotten a $5K fine for that.

 

[dougp]

Stephenson's "flop" didn't look that bad to me. Not anywhere along the same line as Lebron/West's double flop. I don't think he Stephenson should have gotten a $5K fine for that.

Stephenson flopped a few times, and they were rather comical. Not sure why they picked that one to fine him for.

 

[007ELmO]

Damn, what about Wade? For crying out loud! He would owe over his gamecheck per game in fines.

Gee, this is the Heat's first flopping foul all year. Are you kidding me. They are only calling it on the defensive end, what about Wade on the offensive end?

 

[007ELmO]

Stephenson flopped a few times, and they were rather comical. Not sure why they picked that one to fine him for.

Yeah, they must have picked on that elbow then because if I even fake elbowed you to the face, you're going to have a reaction.

Unless you're Kobe Bean Bryant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUdLLdR8Pow

Lebron James is going to tear it up tonight, it will be interesting to watch. No more of his lackadaisical I need to get my scrub team mates involved in the first half, when I could take over the game at any point or any time.

 

[jman19]

LeBron, West, and Wade should be downright embarrassed about their flopping. LeBron is a great ambassador for the game - admits flopping is a viable strategy and then acts like he's getting tossed around like a rag doll. The guy is a physical freak of nature in size and stature yet he's always flying across the court looking for fouls. Pathetic.

 

[Schfifty Five]

There are some instances where a natural reaction gets mistaken for a flop. And then there are actual instances of a player clearly exaggerating a reaction (aka Wade, LeBron).

 

[Attic]

LeBron, West, Stephenson fined $5,000 for Game 4 flops



Lol

Fines will not work. Flops are done because they are perceived, rightfully so, to advantage the flopper. Fines, particularly at 5k, don't change that equation.

Flops need to have a negative impact in a winning/losing sense for their abuse to stop. As longs as flops advantage the flopper in a winning/losing sense, as I believe they do, then the most ardent competitors are somewhat justified in their use IMO. I don't know what a meaningful disincentive for flopping would be, but I know 5k is squat in regular season and especially playoff ball for a lot of these athletes.

Refs can't compete with the speed, tenacity, and cunning of the the top athletes in the NBA. I think you just accept they are biased, human, and make mistakes and enjoy around that. A great player ought to be able to play the ref environment in any given game as well as he can shoot a free throw, refs are at least as important (due to their imperfections to be polite) in the result of games.