Great tipoff to the NBA season tonight with the Celtics beating the Cavs in Cleveland.
Next up, Lakers and Clippers. Unfortunately for the Clipsters, Blake Griffin is out with a broken kneecap. Talk about your star crossed franchises.
Great tipoff to the NBA season tonight with the Celtics beating the Cavs in Cleveland.
Next up, Lakers and Clippers. Unfortunately for the Clipsters, Blake Griffin is out with a broken kneecap. Talk about your star crossed franchises.
Originally Posted by Raisor
The NBA started tonight?Great tipoff to the NBA season tonight with the Celtics beating the Cavs in Cleveland.
Next up, Lakers and Clippers. Unfortunately for the Clipsters, Blake Griffin is out with a broken kneecap. Talk about your star crossed franchises.
the curse of los clippers strikes again. Tough break for the clips, but they played tough tonight against the lakers.
Boston looked like a seasoned champ tonight, and somehow Rasheed merged in without any techs or mouthing off. Could Sheed have finally matured?doubt it, but it is what it is. The Cavs look like a team that needs more work in practice, or in games against the non big five NBA teams this year. A lot of new faces in Cleveland and they looked a little unsure tonight, need to figure out minutes and match-ups.
This is going to be a great year for the NBA. Five teams that are head and shoulders above the rest, and the upcoming free agent class. Can we skip ahead to March already?
I'm pretty excited for this season. I watched a bit of the Blazers and Rockets game, I thought Oden's line was funny. 0pts, 5blks and 12rebs.
I want to think that they Pacers will be a playoff team this year, but I thought that last year. I think adding Dahntay Jones will help defensively.
Speaking of former Dukies, I read this about JJ Redick earlier today:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sport...,5021144.story•Van Gundy recently called SG J.J. Redick one of the team's top two perimeter defenders. Redick on Monday credited Van Gundy and Joe Rogowski, the team's strength and conditioning coach, for his improvement.I hope so, but I'll have to see it to beleive it.
"I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings."
Hitters who avoid outs are the funnest.
Watched the Boston vs. Cleveland game.
-Shaq has more lift than Garnett. Garnett looked beyond old last night. He is wiley and never dominated based on his athleticism, but he has to improve physically for the C's to win.
-'09 'Sheed = '02 Horry plus some post moves, passing, and an afro.
-The Cavs desperately need a 2 guard who can punish a defense off the dribble, ala Steven Jackson. Pull the trigger Danny Ferry.
-Ray Allen could do Ray Allen things until he is 45.
-Is Marquis Daniels trying to like like that blue girl from Star Wars?
Variatio delectat - Cicero
It's going to be interesting to watch those two as the season goes on and the mileage in their legs piles up.
Spurs looked deep last night in their opener, a win against the Hornets. Even if one of the Big Three (Duncan, Ginobili or Parker) have an off-night, there will be plenty of guys on the roster who can pick up the slack. Columnist in the local paper made the point that that even if their starting 5 aren't the best in the league, a strong case can be made for the second five being the best.
Last edited by Unassisted; 10-29-2009 at 12:03 PM.
The Spurs do look really, really tough. I hope to make to 6 or 7 games this year. For sure when the Pacers come in to get slaughtered. I heard all this talk about how the Pacers were going to play D this year and then they go out and let Atlanta drop 120 on them.
I also watched the Suns and Clippers last night. Nash took over the last 7 or 8 minutes in a way I didn't think he could any more. He looks as good as he's ever been. Amare, on the other hand, looked old.
"I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings."
Hitters who avoid outs are the funnest.
Who will be coaching the Cavs next month?
Avery Johnson...maybe...
Variatio delectat - Cicero
How can you you have an NBA thread without this link?
http://deadspin.com/5392030/the-book...nt-you-to-read
That very first time Jack and I bet on an NBA game, Dick was on the court. The team we picked lost the game, but it covered the large point spread and that's how we won the money. Because of the matchup that night, I had some notion of who might win the game, but that's not why I was confident enough to pull the trigger and pick the other team. The real reason I picked the losing team was that I was just about certain they would cover the spread, no matter how badly they played. That is where Dick Bavetta comes into the picture.
From my earliest involvement with Bavetta, I learned that he likes to keep games close, and that when a team gets down by double-digit points, he helps the players save face. He accomplishes this act of mercy by quietly, and frequently, blowing the whistle on the team that's having the better night. Team fouls suddenly become one-sided between the contestants, and the score begins to tighten up. That's the way Dick Bavetta referees a game-and everyone in the league knew it.
Fellow referee Danny Crawford attended Michael Jordan's Flight School Camp years ago and later told me that he had long conversations with other referees and NBA players about how Bavetta propped up weak teams. Danny told me that Jordan himself said that everyone in the league knew that Bavetta cheated in games and that the players and coaches just hoped he would be cheating for them on game night. Cheating? That's a very strong word to use in any sentence that includes the name Dick Bavetta. Is the conscious act of helping a team crawl back into a contest "cheating"? The credo of referees from high school to the NBA is "call them like you see them." Of course, that's a lot different than purposely calling more fouls against one team as opposed to another. Did Bavetta have a hidden agenda? Or was he the ultimate company man, making sure the NBA and its fans got a competitive game most times he was on
the court?
Studying under Dick Bavetta for 13 years was like pursuing a graduate degree in advanced game manipulation. He knew how to marshal the tempo and tone of a game better than any referee in the league, by far. He also knew how to take subtle-and not so subtle-cues from the NBA front office and extend a playoff series or, worse yet, change the complexion of that series.
The 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings presents a stunning example of game and series manipulation at its ugliest. As the teams prepared for Game 6 at the Staples Center, Sacramento had a 3–2 lead in the series. The referees assigned to work Game 6 were Dick Bavetta, Bob Delaney, and Ted Bernhardt. As soon as the referees for the game were chosen, the rest of us knew immediately that there would be a Game 7. A prolonged series was good for the league, good for the networks, and good for the game. Oh, and one more thing: it was great for the big-market, star-studded Los Angeles Lakers.
In the pregame meeting prior to Game 6, the league office sent down word that certain calls-calls that would have benefitted the Lakers — were being missed by the referees. This was the type of not-so-subtle information that I and other referees were left to interpret. After receiving the dispatch, Bavetta openly talked about the fact that the league wanted a Game 7.
"If we give the benefit of the calls to the team that's down in the series, nobody's going to complain. The series will be even at three apiece, and then the better team can win Game 7," Bavetta stated.
As history shows, Sacramento lost Game 6 in a wild come-from-behind thriller that saw the Lakers repeatedly sent to the foul line by the referees. For other NBA referees watching the game on television, it was a shameful performance by Bavetta's crew, one of the most poorly officiated games of all time.
The 2002 series certainly wasn't the first or last time Bavetta weighed in on an important game. He also worked Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Trail Blazers. The Lakers were down by 13 at the start of the fourth quarter when Bavetta went to work. The Lakers outscored Portland 31–13 in the fourth quarter and went on to win the game and the series. It certainly didn't hurt the Lakers that they got to shoot 37 free throws compared to a paltry 16 for the Trail Blazers.
Two weeks before the 2003–04 season ended, Bavetta and I were assigned to officiate a game in Oakland. That afternoon before the tip-off, we were discussing an upcoming game on our schedule. It was the last regular-season game we were scheduled to work, pitting Denver against San Antonio. Denver had lost a game a few weeks prior because of a mistake made by the referees, a loss that could be the difference between them making or missing the playoffs. Bavetta told me Denver needed the win and that it would look bad for the staff and the league if the Nuggets missed the playoffs by one game. There were still a few games left on the schedule before the end of the season, and the standings could potentially change. But on that day in Oakland, Bavetta looked at me and casually stated, "Denver will win if they need the game. That's why I'm on it."
I was thinking, How is Denver going to win on the road in San Antonio? At the time, the Spurs were arguably the best team in the league. Bavetta answered my question before it was asked.
"Duncan will be on the bench with three fouls within the first five minutes of the game," he calmly stated.
Bavetta went on to inform me that it wasn't the first time the NBA assigned him to a game for a specific purpose. He cited examples, including the 1993 playoff series when he put New Jersey guard Drazen Petrovic on the bench with quick fouls to help Cleveland beat the Nets. He also spoke openly about the 2002 Los Angeles–Sacramento series and called himself the NBA's "go-to guy."
As it turned out, Denver didn't need the win after all; they locked up a spot in the playoffs before they got to San Antonio. In a twist of fate, it was the Spurs that ended up needing the win to have a shot at the division title, and Bavetta generously accommodated. In our pregame meeting, he talked about how important the game was to San Antonio and how meaningless it was to Denver, and that San Antonio was going to get the benefit of the calls that night. Armed with this inside information, I called Jack Concannon before the game and told him to bet the Spurs.
To no surprise, we won big. San Antonio blew Denver out of the building that evening, winning by 26 points. When Jack called me the following morning, he expressed amazement at the way an NBA game could be manipulated. Sobering, yes; amazing, no. That's how the game is played in the National Basketball Association.Of course, Stafford had some friends in the league, too. I worked a Knicks game in Madison Square Garden with him on February 26, 2007. New York shot an astounding 39 free throws that night to Miami's paltry eight. It seemed like Stafford was working for the Knicks, calling fouls on Miami like crazy. Isiah Thomas was coaching the Knicks, and after New York's four-point victory, a guy from the Knicks came to our locker room looking for Stafford, who was in the shower. He told us that Thomas sent him to retrieve Stafford's home address; apparently, Stafford had asked the coach before the game for some autographed sneakers and jerseys for his kids. Suddenly, it all made sense.
Relationships between NBA players and referees were generally all over the board-love, hate, and everything in-between. Some players, even very good ones, were targeted by referees and the league because they were too talented for their own good. Raja Bell, formerly of the Phoenix Suns and now a member of the Charlotte Bobcats, was one of those players. A defensive specialist throughout his career, Bell had a reputation for being a "star stopper." His defensive skills were so razor sharp that he could shut down a superstar, or at least make him work for his points. Kobe Bryant was often frustrated by Bell's tenacity on defense. Let's face it, no one completely shuts down a player of Kobe's caliber, but Bell could frustrate Kobe, take him out of his game, and interrupt his rhythm.
You would think that the NBA would love a guy who plays such great defense. Think again! Star stoppers hurt the promotion of marquee players. Fans don't pay high prices to see players like Raja Bell-they pay to see superstars like Kobe Bryant score 40 points. Basketball purists like to see good defense, but the NBA wants the big names to score big points.
If a player of Kobe's stature collides with the likes of Raja Bell, the call will almost always go for Kobe and against Bell. As part of our ongoing training and game preparation, NBA referees regularly receive game-action video tape from the league office. Over the years, I have reviewed many recorded hours of video involving Raja Bell. The footage I analyzed usually illustrated fouls being called against Bell, rarely for him. The message was subtle but clear-call fouls against the star stopper because he's hurting the game.
Pretty scary stuff but until someone else can back up this info, I'm still somewhat skeptical. What does Donaghy have to lose by writing this book?
Anyway, why would the NBA have let the Spurs, known as the destroyers of NBA ratings, ever win four titles. They could have very easily given the Cavs the series last year if they wanted to, but they didn't. How is the Kings-Lakers game in 2002 any different than the Steelers-Seahawks Super Bowl in the level of suspicion? The Kings lost becuase they went 2-20 from 3 point range and 16-30 from the line, not because of the refs.
Last edited by improbus; 10-29-2009 at 01:58 PM.
Variatio delectat - Cicero
Rogue refs in the NBA?
Get out.
What Donaghy is saying is what everyone has already known for years. It's just more gasoline on the fire.
The refs are just company men.
I disgaree. The Cavs were pitiful against the Magic last year and the refs did everything possible to give it to them. Lebron tripping on his own feet and getting a blocking call on Orlando and Mo Williams shoving a player pretty hard right in front of the official are 2 examples right away.
And the Kings lost the series in game 6, not game 7 because of the absolutely pathetic officiating. You can talk all you want about officials not deciding games, but their calls do very much whether people want to admit it or not.
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