OT NBA Refs Are a Damn Joke

[Ed O]

the thing is, they call that all the time. doesn't matter if i think they should or not, they make that call a lot. so it should come as no surprise that they would make the call there.

I agree. It looks like Dwight turned back towards AV and then yelled and pumped his fist in his direction. Howard could have turned clockwise, towards the center of the court, if he wasn't concerned with AV... but he turned counter-clockwise--towards the baseline and AV.

Looks like a technical foul to me, given the way taunting calls are made.

Ed O.

 

[Ed O]

I still don't think that that's a legitimate blocking foul. A defender is allowed to be in front of the ball-handler...that is the point of playing defense. The contact is initiated by James...he extends his off-arm into Pietrus' chest as he drives, just before he enters the paint, Pietrus falls backward and then James trips. I don't think it's an offensive foul, but it's also not a blocking foul, IMO. It might sometimes be called, but usually not. When it is called, it's generally considered a "bailout foul," saving a player who was out of control from a turnover.

It should have been a no-call and it would have been a turnover.

Agreed. It doesn't look like James had Pietrus beat at any given point... he leaned his whole body into the defender, it looked like, and was out of control.

I don't know what else Pietrus could do as a defender, except just get out of the way, to not draw a foul.

Ed O.

 

[illmatic99]

Bill Simmons wrote maybe his finest column in years, regarding the NBA and their terrible officiating.

It really is too bad that credible/non-humorist columnists can't write the same thing for The Network (tm), but politics are politics.

Completely agree. The column was fantastic.

For those who hate Bill Simmons usually (like me, for instance), throw aside the bias just once and read this: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090528&sportCat=nba