And the officiating was absolute dogshit in this game, both ways. That shit is really making it harder and harder to watch the NBA because it just keeps getting worse.
yes. it absolutely disrupted the flow of the game on both ends of the floor, and the whistles were completely inconsistent for both teams. Somebody could get clobbered in the post and nothing was called, but bullshit touch fouls that were totally inconsequential would cause a stoppage of play. Players diving for a loose ball, where it would normally be called a jump, were called a pf, then later the EXACT same thing happens, and the whistles disappear. 67 personals were called in the game, a flagrant and two techs handed out. The one on Sloan was absolute bullshit, he wasn't even on the court. The duration of the game was 3 friggin hours. It was a joke.
JimBeam - YES EXACTLY. You just posted exactly what I was trying to say right when I did, haha. This shit is making the NBA unwatchable to me. It's as long as a fucking baseball game in extra innings!
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
You're supposed to realize the NBA is unwatchable when you are like 15 years old...then you get over it and learn to just watch it as is without the urge to constantly whine like a BEYOTCH.
The only questionable calls were the 2nd and 3rd on Fesenko...other than that stop whining....it was classic Jazz basketball and the Nuggets got suckered into playing Utah's game....when Denver tries to get overly physical they end up fouling a lot and whining more....typical Nuggets...typical Utah
Is edflowers really a Lakers fan? That explains everything. Now I know why he was on ignore when I came back to the Strut.
HarveyAnal - out of anybody on Soulstrut, you might be the biggest hypocrite of all talking about "whining like a BEYOTCH". When I was 15, the NBA was physical and the whistle didn't blow half as much as it does now.
Lucious Fox - Reading comprehension is important b/w Thanks for telling me what I would have or wouldn't have done!
Derek Fisher was trying to find Pau Gasol in the post. There were about five minutes left in a one-point game. Gasol is one of the most talented big men in the world. If he could catch that ball, the Lakers would have all kinds of fan-pleasing options, perhaps including Kobe Bryant cutting down the lane, catching a pass and making magic.
Playoff crunch time, with a thousand story lines in play. This is why people love the NBA.
But -- it happens! -- the Thunder's Serge Ibaka and Russell Westbrook converged on the ball as Gasol reached for it, and a whistle sounded. A foul on Ibaka. There were five minutes and six seconds left in the game.
Never mind. Dreams will come true on another play. From that point on, there were 24 possessions. 24 opportunities for something to happen. 24 players on the teams' active rosters, all of whom had trained meticulously just for moments like this. Somebody was bound to do something amazing. Something acrobatic, something daring, something that would make you stand and cheer.
Here's a little quiz. Out of those 24 possessions:
* How many buckets were scored? * How many times did a referee blow a whistle?
Here's my sad tally. In the final five-and-change minutes, the game featured:
* A grand total of three made baskets -- A Gasol layup, a Bryant jumper and Jeff Green's leaner in the lane. * 14 referee whistles -- 13 fouls and one basket interference.
There were also 11 missed field goal attempts to go with 21 free throw attempts.
Awesome!
I don't know that there's a moral to this story. Sure, Thunder fans will be miffed that ten of those 14 whistles were against their team, but I'm not sure any of those calls were bad, nor can I recall any blatant missed calls.
What does seem evident, however, is that in some of the games of this year's playoffs -- this one, for instance, and Utah vs. Denver the other night -- there seems to be a gulf between what the players and referees think is allowed.
The referees always seem to win that battle in the end, which is as it should be. They have to call them as they see them. But I can't wait until all parties involved get on the same page as to what is and what is not a foul in the playoffs. Because as the players and referees work that out night-by-night, us fans can be the real losers.
when Denver tries to get overly physical they end up fouling a lot and whining more....typical Nuggets
This is true.
Please try to speak only on that which you know about instead of cosigning this troll. How many Nuggets games have you watched this season?
Not as many as you. But it's hard to alter tendencies like reaching in, especially if you've never moved your feet and played team defense your entire career. Charles Barkley was right when he said Denver's gonna be scary when everyone's healthy (this was said about a year ago). What he forgot was that they don't play with the poise and smarts of a championship team...
George Karl's presence or lack thereof could very likely be the difference between advancing to the 2nd round and advancing to the Finals. No coach is gonna be able to step in and understand the nuances of the team right away. If the Jazz happen to win the series, it'd definitely be because they got out-coached.
Rock, you're right. Except Barkley will straight up call them knuckleheads, haha. The Nuggets don't really have any knuckleheads. Jr is the only one who plays without a conscience, really. Other than that, everybody is out there as a part of the team. Kenyon, Nene, Melo, these guys are all playmakers for their teammates. It's just a consistency issue. There's some stat from this season that shows the Nuggets are almost unbeatable in games when they have 25 or more assists. When they play games like that, they look like a championship team. Obviously, the consistency thing is the killer there. But the talent and team mentality is there, they just have to learn how to play that way night in and night out. They aren't quite there yet, but I've seen improvements throughout the season. Injuries hurt a little this year, and we were still only one win behind last year's regular season record.
yuichi - Please don't talk about reaching in with Ron Artest on your team. Dude's entire game is reaching in, slapping arms, hip checking, etc, and he gets a pass, somehow (and that awful bleach job should be an automatic personal foul each time he steps on the court). And again, don't speak on what you don't know. "Never moved your feet or played team defense" - watch more than 4 or 5 games before attempting these types of comments. It sounds like you watch too much ESPN and spend too much time with Kenny and Charles at half time. There are several excellent team defenders on the Nuggets. Billups, Andersen, Martin, Afflalo, etc. There have been several games this season where teams have been utterly shut down by the Nuggets' team defense.
Maybe "knucklehead" in basketball terms needs to be defined?
Birdman - good help defender, can dish the ball in the paint, can clean up the boards, etc. He's not a reckless player. He's just not a great player. He doesn't argue or fight too much.
Kenyon - known to take some bad shots every now and again, but defensively, he's a very intelligent player, also a good help defender, also good at dishing the ball in the paint, and also good at cleaning the glass. I suppose his emotions can get the best of him from time to time.
Melo - I agree with you. But he can also get fired up from that and go off.
BATMON - You're mad late. I'd rant that much about any game with 67 fouls that took 4+ hours to get through.
yuichi - Please don't talk about reaching in with Ron Artest on your team. Dude's entire game is reaching in, slapping arms, hip checking, etc, and he gets a pass, somehow (and that awful bleach job should be an automatic personal foul each time he steps on the court). And again, don't speak on what you don't know. "Never moved your feet or played team defense" - watch more than 4 or 5 games before attempting these types of comments. It sounds like you watch too much ESPN and spend too much time with Kenny and Charles at half time. There are several excellent team defenders on the Nuggets. Billups, Andersen, Martin, Afflalo, etc. There have been several games this season where teams have been utterly shut down by the Nuggets' team defense.
#20 out of 30 teams in points given up is a sign that your team doesn't play defense with CONSISTENCY. Even OKC (the youngest team) players more consistent D than that.
Billups - No longer a good defender (questionable if he was EVER a great defender)
Comments
yes. it absolutely disrupted the flow of the game on both ends of the floor, and the whistles were completely inconsistent for both teams. Somebody could get clobbered in the post and nothing was called, but bullshit touch fouls that were totally inconsequential would cause a stoppage of play. Players diving for a loose ball, where it would normally be called a jump, were called a pf, then later the EXACT same thing happens, and the whistles disappear.
67 personals were called in the game, a flagrant and two techs handed out. The one on Sloan was absolute bullshit, he wasn't even on the court. The duration of the game was 3 friggin hours. It was a joke.
HarveyAnal - out of anybody on Soulstrut, you might be the biggest hypocrite of all talking about "whining like a BEYOTCH". When I was 15, the NBA was physical and the whistle didn't blow half as much as it does now.
Lucious Fox - Reading comprehension is important b/w Thanks for telling me what I would have or wouldn't have done!
I'm glad you did.....we need all the hoops knowledge we can get.
Will the Denver coach return for the Playoffs?
Does it matter?
At one point last night Dantley did have that "I could have made that damn shot" look on his face.
This is true.
Dude needs to take the whole summer off.
Please try to speak only on that which you know about instead of cosigning this troll. How many Nuggets games have you watched this season?
Not as many as you. But it's hard to alter tendencies like reaching in, especially if you've never moved your feet and played team defense your entire career. Charles Barkley was right when he said Denver's gonna be scary when everyone's healthy (this was said about a year ago). What he forgot was that they don't play with the poise and smarts of a championship team...
I love when the announcers talk about a player's "Low Basketball IQ"...in reality what they are saying is "This dude's a knucklehead".
You can win with one knucklehead but more than 2 will kill your team.
I think it matters a lot.
George Karl's presence or lack thereof could very likely be the difference between advancing to the 2nd round and advancing to the Finals. No coach is gonna be able to step in and understand the nuances of the team right away. If the Jazz happen to win the series, it'd definitely be because they got out-coached.
yuichi - Please don't talk about reaching in with Ron Artest on your team. Dude's entire game is reaching in, slapping arms, hip checking, etc, and he gets a pass, somehow (and that awful bleach job should be an automatic personal foul each time he steps on the court). And again, don't speak on what you don't know. "Never moved your feet or played team defense" - watch more than 4 or 5 games before attempting these types of comments. It sounds like you watch too much ESPN and spend too much time with Kenny and Charles at half time. There are several excellent team defenders on the Nuggets. Billups, Andersen, Martin, Afflalo, etc. There have been several games this season where teams have been utterly shut down by the Nuggets' team defense.
Birdman = Knucklehead
KMart = Certainly capable of being a Knucklehead.
Melo = Not a Knucklehead but you can get inside his head too easily.
Birdman - good help defender, can dish the ball in the paint, can clean up the boards, etc. He's not a reckless player. He's just not a great player. He doesn't argue or fight too much.
Kenyon - known to take some bad shots every now and again, but defensively, he's a very intelligent player, also a good help defender, also good at dishing the ball in the paint, and also good at cleaning the glass. I suppose his emotions can get the best of him from time to time.
Melo - I agree with you. But he can also get fired up from that and go off.
BATMON - You're mad late. I'd rant that much about any game with 67 fouls that took 4+ hours to get through.
The Mavs gameplan against Denver is to get into Melo's head.
Go look at his lines against the Mavs this year.
#20 out of 30 teams in points given up is a sign that your team doesn't play defense with CONSISTENCY. Even OKC (the youngest team) players more consistent D than that.
Billups - No longer a good defender (questionable if he was EVER a great defender)
Martin - Good defender
Afflalo - Good defender
Melo/Smith - ?????