Like he deserves. 12 freethrows tonight. Only 4 from flopping Harden. Maybe the refs aren't out to get us. Also, we're the better team with the better players.
Yep. I thought the refs did a pretty good job all told. Some questionable calls in the 4th for both teams... but all in all... we won and the refs didn't have a huge say in it for once.
Lil is making a case for one of the best in the league. Everyone is now just seeing how good Aldridge really is, now that he doesn't play center.
Lillard had one of his "kind of a bad game that was actually pretty dang good when you look at the stat line" games... He was close to a triple double!
Yeah, Lillard wasn't hitting shots, but he knew it. He let his teammates get some work done. But Damian was smooth as silk for those clutch free throws.
That game was officated about as well as any NBA game. Sure the refs had a couple of runs where they'd make three quick calls in a row to keep the home team in it. That's standard NBA M.O. Overall, a well (meaning evenly) officiated game without many overtly blown calls either way.
Like I said in before the series started, there's no real inherent reason why the refs/NBA would favor the Rockets over the Blazers in this series. The way Lillard has been hyped recently, it seems quite the opposite, actually. The NBA needs a replacement for Derrick Rose, a slashing, exciting point guard who has huge balls and has a reputation for being an exciting closer in tight games. Lillard has a more marketable playing style and court demeanor than a guy like Harden. I would also add that Wes and Batum have completely mastered the art of the fadeaway shot distraction. The trick is that when Harden inevitably tries to jump into you, jump backwards at a 45 degree angle with your arms pointing straight up. You can't be whistled for the foul if you are nowhere near the guy. As a bonus, he seems so unused to shooting without contact that he does it pretty horribly, so oddly enough you are better off not touching him anyway. Most true superstars have another level they can turn it up to in the playoffs, making them even harder to guard. Kobe got his no matter how you planned against him. Aldridge seems headed that way. Harden isn't in that category. If a team has a 7 game series where they can game plan against him, he can be neutralized (provided the team isn't loaded with other talent).
