NBA

[Guest res0nate]

Crawford is the ref tonight afaik, sounds like the Rockets are going to get peaced out.

[Guest derrek]

The Nuggets are playing out of control... Nuggets / Cavs final would be bomb. So exciting.

I think they're my favorite team right now. When they get rolling with Bird's blocks, dunks, JR Smiths unreal shooting, Nene throwing it down... damn, I love watching them play! Their offense = best right now. Their defense is suspect at times tho.

GO NUGGETS!!!!

[Guest kimbomynizzo]

Why so much hate on the Mavs and Lakers?

Both teams imo have exceptional starters ( not counting Bynum ). Sure, one can argue Birdman > Dirk , or Ming > Gasol.... but it's really too early to justify anything. I'm so disappointed in the Mavs right now. With the veteran allstars on that team, I figured they would play much better last night...

Hopefully the Black Mamba reigns supreme tonight!

[Guest 432521]

Crawford is the ref tonight afaik, sounds like the Rockets are going to get peaced out.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO please tell me this is a lie, I hate Joe Crawford with a passion, and he calls bs calls all the time to. Why can't we have bevetta he rules

I also want to add that I know that I can't just go spouting that the Rockets are gonna beat the lakers just because of one game because one game doesn't really say anything. One thing I will say is that the Lakers better pick up there play to another level if they wanna get to the finals, because even if they do beat the Rockets they have the Nuggets waiting for them, and with the way the Nuggets are playing right now they are the best team in the west.

[Guest nba3d]

David Stern wants a Lakers and Cavs finals, so he sent Crawford to ref game 2, so the Lakers can comeback in this series.

[Guest SurpriseSex]

The Lakers honestly do not need any help to beat the Rockets.

[1love]

Why so much hate on the Mavs and Lakers?

Both teams imo have exceptional starters ( not counting Bynum ). Sure, one can argue Birdman > Dirk , or Ming > Gasol.... but it's really too early to justify anything. I'm so disappointed in the Mavs right now. With the veteran allstars on that team, I figured they would play much better last night...

Hopefully the Black Mamba reigns supreme tonight!

Mavs became the laughing stock of the NBA when they lost to the 8th seed Warriors. I have no respect for that team.

I'm not hating on the Lakers, it's just that they have yet show me any fire and play all 4 quarter with the same high intensity as the Cavaliers or the Nuggets. If they Lakers play with high intensity for the whole game, the only team that might be better are the Cavs.

With a roster like the Lakers, I expected them to cruise through the Jazz. But they didn't play with intensity when they are up big and before they know it a 20 point lead becomes a 2 point lead, and they have to fight for the win in the final minutes. The only thing that is consistent in basketball is defense, they play no defense whatsoever in the 4th quarter when they are up big. (I sound like Barkley ) They don't have the championship team mentality.

The Lakers honestly do not need any help to beat the Rockets.

But the Lakers need help for the Kings in 2002 right?

See it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhlGYvIMPgQ

As a Laker fan, are you really proud of that 2002 championship?

[Guest SurpriseSex]

The league has denied any wrongdoing, and furthermore, the Kings shot themselves in the foot by melting down in the last two games. No one stepped up to take the big shot. Peja chucked airballs, remember that?

[1love]

Of course Stern denied it, if he admits it that it was rigged the NBA will lose all it's credibility. It was game 6, if Tim Donaghy didn't sent the Lakers to the line 27 times in the 4th quarter. And all those "fouls" on the Kings, Shaq stepped across the FT line every single shot and not being called, obvious flagrant foul by Shaq not being called, Kobe elbowed Bibby in the last minutes and Bibby got called for the foul, etc. Lakers would've been eliminated. Even Phil Jackson was smiling at the calls they were getting.

More stupid calls during that 4th quarter and game 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVfZ-CU-bx0

Kobe elbowed Bibby in the face and Kobe goes to the free throw line? I guess Kobe can elbow whoever he wants, and Laker fans would still say Kobe deserves the FTs.

[Guest kimbomynizzo]

Kobe is to Basketball as Pacquiao is to Boxing.

[Guest SurpriseSex]

It wasn't just Stern, federal prosecutors also did not find any evidence that there was any wrongdoing. And the video you posted was obviously made by a bitter Kings fan. It's just a side effect of Shaquille O'Neal on the court. Referees take into account his sheer mass and strength, and so should you. For an offensive foul to be called, the defender must set his feet and give no ground, it is natural for even the most rugged defenders to shy away from contact with a 7'1" 350 pound behemoth. Once the feet move, it's a defensive foul.

[1love]

I'll give you that flagrant foul on Shaq, can you justify the other calls? Shaq stepping across the FT like every single time he was on the line?

Why was Tim sentence to federal prison if there is no wrongdoing? He bet on the games, he made calls so the Lakers would get the win. The NBA is too big to lose all it's credibility and integrity. Even the gov't would help Stern in that case.

Almost ever single NBA fan including the real Lakers fans admit that the game was rigged. Only delusional bang wagoners keep trying to justify it.

Anyway NBA credibility is dying slowly. The refs are talking to coaches, putting arms around the waist of players, bringing cookies for coaches before the games, calling coaches outside of games, etc. Refs, coaches, team managements, and players should never become friends. I can't tell whether or not the calls are biased or unbiased anymore.

[Guest SurpriseSex]

Why was Tim sentence to federal prison if there is no wrongdoing? Again the NBA is too big to lose all it's credibility and integrity. Even the gov't would help Stern in that case. Why Lakers fans just admit that the game was handed to them by the refs. Real Lakers fans admit that the game was rigged. Only delusional bang wagoners keep trying to justify it.

He was sentenced to federal prison for other crimes in other games, not these. You should really do your homework.

Referees are not perfect, everyone can agree to that. But during the first few years of the post-lockout era, the new perimeter handchecking fouls were coming into play, people were unfamiliar with them, and when they were called, understandable indignance and confusion did occur. Those so-called "invisible" fouls back then are being called every night right now. Hand check fouls, moving with the ballhandler fouls, they are called all the time. Yes, the Lakers were helped by the refs, because the refs did their job. They called fouls that were supposed to be called. The clips of the "suspect" fouls in that video you posted would totally be called by referees again today. Obviously, the scrutiny of the referees differ throughout games and even in games, sometimes a foul will be called, sometimes it won't. On a big presence like Shaquille O'Neal, the hammering and the shoving around in the paint is much more visible since the visual object in question is larger and therefore easier to see, making it easier to call. On the flipside, when O'Neal plays defense, he is so strong that his movements and actions appear less forceful than they actually are, compounded by the other players trying with all their might to push him and move him, it will look as if the other player is exerting excessive force upon O'Neal. Again resulting in a foul for the opponent. That's not to say that the foul is not legitimate; oftentimes when players face O'Neal, they change their entire defensive approach, and in efforts to stop him, they do indeed commit more fouls, simply because O'Neal is so strong that many defenders just cannot possibly defend him without hacking.

So I guess I should apologize on behalf of the NBA for not being perfect? And for taking an objective look at the issue?

"Real" fans know what they're talking about.

[1love]

You believe everything Tim Donaghy said? He tried to put the blame on another 2 ref, he said they said it's best to add another game to the series. So these 2 refs wanted to extend the series to 7 games" He could've lied to save himself from more jail time, we will never know what went through the ref's mind in that 4th quarter.

Again I don't care about Shaq's fouls. I'm asking you about his stepping over the FT line every single time and not being called for it. Kobe's elbow to Bibby, which Bibby was called for the foul.

Nobody would've care as much if the calls were consistent through out the whole game. Why suddenly the 4th quarter it all favored the Lakers?

Oh and Scot Pollard wasn't a small guy either. And he fouled out within 10 minutes of playing time?

[Guest SurpriseSex]

Shaq stepping over the free throw line? Simple: he did not.

The Bibby situation should have been a double-foul. Bibby was holding Kobe, Kobe was trying to fight through. When NBA players try to fight through screens or defenders off the ball, they go over the shoulder. Bibby is shorter than Kobe, and "perfect" height for the elbow. Not that it shouldn't be a foul, but it's understandable. But if Bibby weren't holding Kobe so tightly, you can't wrap someone up like that, then Kobe would not have needed to go through him with such force. It's a bangbang play.

[1love]

I don't know what you see on the video. From the video, Kobe elbowed Bibby before Bibby held on tightly. Kobe was trying to fight through the screen, he elbowed Bibby first, then Bibby held on to Kobe's waist. Bibby held on tightly probably because it's a natural reaction to hold on to something when your falling. The ref was right in front of this, saw it happened and made the worst call he could make for that situation. Usually the player who goes down with the bloody nose goes to the line, especially with 12 seconds on the clock.

Bad calls with 3 minutes to go, Vlade Diva fouled out for a loose ball foul. 12.6 seconds left to go, Kobe goes to the line because Bibby took a elbow to the nose.

Oh well tired of this, in the end we can only blame Donaghy, Bavetta and Delaney.

[Guest YSK]

Anyone see how close battiers hand was to kobes face on that early three? And he still made it...ridiculous...

[1love]

So the bad calls are piling up favoring the Lakers...

Offensive goaltending? That ball was clearly out of the cylinder. The ref was RIGHT there too.

Lol @ Phil jackson...Now he wants to coach. The team blew a huge lead, and he never called a timeout. Let them play it out right? When it goes wrong, call a timeout!

[Guest xsilentangel]

Rondo bounced right back up from Game 1. Triple-double plus a sick dunk. Pierce had an off night, but he only played 15 minutes because of foul trouble. Bench was great, especially Eddie House with 31 points. He got a slap from Alston on the head after banking in a shot. Effective defense that contained Howard.

I wonder if they are going to review it.. It got a good laugh out of me.

Houston back up WOO!

The bench is damn good.

[Guest res0nate]

Lol officiating and blowing the lead.

Good times.