My issue with Golden State when it comes to fouls is they pull the same crap over and over. They know the officials are not going to call it each time (Auburn football does this on offense).

In regards to GSW players, Klay seems to have an even demeanor on the court. You don't see him pull the crap that Curry does on a nightly basis. He is a basketball player. I like Shaun Livingston. He comes in, does his work, doesn't mix it up with anyone, and is a good guy off the court.

My issue with Klay is that he looks like the lead singer of Color Me Badd's love child.

Ed Malloy and Tony Brothers call a different game when the Warriors play.

So the NBA completely screwed up a game in favor of GS again. Shocker.

DannyDuberstein said:

---

That stretch was amazing where they essentially didn't get a single call right, and all in favor of GS. It was a train wreck and if I had anything to do with NBA officiating, I would have been absolutely mortified being associated with such an incompetent **** show being broadcast on prime time network tv.

---

The warriors have been getting significant stretches of extremely bad calls going their way in the second half of just about every close game they've played this postseason. You can't tell me that's not an underlying trend.

As a basketball fan, the gripe I have is with the league's lack of accountability. Bias aside, on a call that was 50/50, they went back and reversed it. In Harden's case, they didn't bother to review an obvious foul that took 4 points off the board, but they did that for Durant? The Warriors got two free points off of that call.

Having the officials inject themsleves into the outcomes it what the league has to adress. I have never seen the refs regroup for a questionable charge, review the tape an reverse it the other way.

Despite all that, the Cavs were within striking distance to win, but it boils down to the officials setting up the series of events due to their lopsided calls. There was no guarantee that James would have hit the game winner had JR passed it and Hill didnt choke the game becasue at least he tied it.

It is taxing to hurdle over bad officiating.

titanmaster_race said:

---

DannyDuberstein said:

---

That stretch was amazing where they essentially didn't get a single call right, and all in favor of GS. It was a train wreck and if I had anything to do with NBA officiating, I would have been absolutely mortified being associated with such an incompetent **** show being broadcast on prime time network tv.

---

The warriors have been getting significant stretches of extremely bad calls going their way in the second half of just about every close game they've played this postseason. You can't tell me that's not an underlying trend.

---

Regardless of the ref calls, the Cavs still should have won except.

a) Hill missed a free throw (the refs did at least call that foul against GSW with 4 seconds left putting Hill on the line with a chance to win the game)

and

b) JR Smith is an idiot

I feel sorry for LeBron who had an all-time historic game, but unfortunately his teammates let him down in the last 4 seconds. Those guys are professional athletes who are paid millions of dollars playing basketball. Make your free throws or, at least, know what the score currently is.

honestly if he makes that FT, the Warriors call timeout and with 4.4 or whatever it was, they have more than enough time to set up and make a cut to the hoop for a game winning layup or foul call.

It's not as simple as "make that FT." Way too much time on the clock, especially for a NBA game.

Yes JR should have not been an idiot but no guarantee there either.

I think the league is all too happy for the media and social media to spend the day making fun of JR because it takes pressure off what should be the topic today...horrific officiating in key stretches that all favored GSW.

The problem with this diagram is that Smith thought they were up 1 and was just trying to run out the clock. He's not going to pass it since he probably thinks he is a great FT shooter.

dcaggie04 said:

---

The problem with this diagram is that Smith thought they were up 1 and was just trying to run out the clock. He's not going to pass it since he probably thinks he is a great FT shooter.

---

Yep, he didn't know what the score was. Guy got paid $13 millions dollars this season to play basketball, but I guess $13 million doesn't buy court awareness to know when a game is tied.

CFTXAG10 said:

---

On the refs:
I think a lot of factors contribute to their **** officiating. They don't get fined for poor officiating, outside of the 2 minute report (which they hate btw) nobody is holding them accountable for their mistakes at the league level, and seniority rules. They are also told by the league what to call and what not to call, maybe not directly, but it has been out there for some time now that the league sends them information before games on what they should focus on. Lastly, I don't think Adam Silver and the rest of the league give a **** about fixing it because people still watch and the NBA is still pretty damn lucrative.

On the charge/block call: I listened to Lue in the post-game presser and he nailed it right on the head. You cannot even go to the video to review the call unless there is a question about whether or not the defender was in the restricted area. That is the baseline you need to meet in order to even get to a review. There is no way in hell you can say that there was any question about whether LeBron was in or out of the restricted area. He was clearly out and trying to make a play. Call should have stood according to the rules, but ref gonna ref.

---

Lue gets some slack for being upset, but he was wrong about the rules on what could be reviewed.

And IMO, it was a block.

But I'm biased... I grew up with the Warriors going back to before the 1975 team.

There is some narrative out there that he "had it 2 ft from the basket and dribbled out"

Am I the only one that noticed he rebounded it, almost falling down, more like 6 from away with his momentum carrying him from the basket.

Now he could still have tried to turn and go back up, of course, but you don't have to exaggerate the already crazy play

biobioprof said:

---

CFTXAG10 said:

---

On the refs:
I think a lot of factors contribute to their **** officiating. They don't get fined for poor officiating, outside of the 2 minute report (which they hate btw) nobody is holding them accountable for their mistakes at the league level, and seniority rules. They are also told by the league what to call and what not to call, maybe not directly, but it has been out there for some time now that the league sends them information before games on what they should focus on. Lastly, I don't think Adam Silver and the rest of the league give a **** about fixing it because people still watch and the NBA is still pretty damn lucrative.

On the charge/block call: I listened to Lue in the post-game presser and he nailed it right on the head. You cannot even go to the video to review the call unless there is a question about whether or not the defender was in the restricted area. That is the baseline you need to meet in order to even get to a review. There is no way in hell you can say that there was any question about whether LeBron was in or out of the restricted area. He was clearly out and trying to make a play. Call should have stood according to the rules, but ref gonna ref.

---

Lue gets some slack for being upset, but he was wrong about the rules on what could be reviewed.

And IMO, it was a block.

But I'm biased... I grew up with the Warriors going back to before the 1975 team.

---

CFTXAG10 said:

---

biobioprof said:

---

CFTXAG10 said:

---

On the refs:
I think a lot of factors contribute to their **** officiating. They don't get fined for poor officiating, outside of the 2 minute report (which they hate btw) nobody is holding them accountable for their mistakes at the league level, and seniority rules. They are also told by the league what to call and what not to call, maybe not directly, but it has been out there for some time now that the league sends them information before games on what they should focus on. Lastly, I don't think Adam Silver and the rest of the league give a **** about fixing it because people still watch and the NBA is still pretty damn lucrative.

On the charge/block call: I listened to Lue in the post-game presser and he nailed it right on the head. You cannot even go to the video to review the call unless there is a question about whether or not the defender was in the restricted area. That is the baseline you need to meet in order to even get to a review. There is no way in hell you can say that there was any question about whether LeBron was in or out of the restricted area. He was clearly out and trying to make a play. Call should have stood according to the rules, but ref gonna ref.

---

Lue gets some slack for being upset, but he was wrong about the rules on what could be reviewed.

And IMO, it was a block.

But I'm biased... I grew up with the Warriors going back to before the 1975 team.

---

---

So, the real problem was reviewing the obvious part where James was way outside the restricted area. That's not how I interpret the complaint. YMMV.

LeBron put his shoulder thru the arms of Durant
Def block and not a charge



Hate both teams but was rooting for Cleveland

Bunk Moreland said:

---

honestly if he makes that FT, the Warriors call timeout and with 4.4 or whatever it was, they have more than enough time to set up and make a cut to the hoop for a game winning layup or foul call.

It's not as simple as "make that FT." Way too much time on the clock, especially for a NBA game.

Yes JR should have not been an idiot but no guarantee there either.

I think the league is all too happy for the media and social media to spend the day making fun of JR because it takes pressure off what should be the topic today...horrific officiating in key stretches that all favored GSW.

---

The reason that national and social media has spent the majority of time laughing at JR Smith is pretty simple.

In the final 36 seconds, there was a controversial overturned charge call by the refs, a missed free throw by Hill, and Smith not knowing the score was tied and running off with the ball.

All three of the above went against the Cavs. Had any one of the above three not happened, Cavs may have very well won the game.

The first two (the ref controversy and missed free throw)....every game has missed free throws and many games there are complaints afterwards about refs either from fans and/or players. Ref complaints is part of basketball like milk with cereal.

Smith's bonehead mistake however, was much more rare and unique event, with only a few comparable cases back through the years (like Webber calling a timeout that he didn't have in the NCAA championship game). So that of course is going to get a lot more play time on the airwaves and in social media.

PatAg said:

---

There is some narrative out there that he "had it 2 ft from the basket and dribbled out"

Am I the only one that noticed he rebounded it, almost falling down, more like 6 from away with his momentum carrying him from the basket.

Now he could still have tried to turn and go back up, of course, but you don't have to exaggerate the already crazy play

---

That's what I thought too, but after looking at the replay a few times, he catches the ball cleanly on the restricted area arc and voluntarily dribbles out of it. He was surrounded by Durant and Green, though, so his shot would have almost undoubtedly been blocked had he gone back up with it (in his mind, there was no reason to do this). The bigger problem is that once he dribbles out, LeBron is open at the top for what would have been a really memorable game-winning three (of course we don't know if the shot would have gone in).

That's exactly what happened, but they won't admit it. They go with the ref in the better position in the moment. Whether it's a block or a charge, there was no reason to review because lebron wasn't close to the restricted area. Should have gone with the original call. That'd be like the nfl overturning a holding call in the super bowl to keep the team down by 3 in field goal range. Absolutely joke of a call if you ask me and I think it was a block. The reasoning behind the review is what gets me.

I agree that you shouldn't be able to review judgment calls because of the can of worms that it opens, but it is a little like the cops doing an illegal search of your car and finding 300 lbs of cocaine in the trunk, followed by you saying "this is bulls***, that search wasn't legal!"

Well, to add a layer to it, it was a 50/50 call so you would go with the official who was in the best position which was Ken Mauer with a charge. Brothers was much further away staring at KD's back with a block call. If they get together and determine one was right over the other then fine, but under the current rules they cheated the system by saying they needed to review the restricted area. LeBron was clearly out.

And fwiw I have watched that play countless times and still think you can make an argument both ways for a charge or a block

Quote:

---

Well, to add a layer to it, it was a 50/50 call so you would go with the official who was in the best position which was Ken Mauer with a charge.

---

That's what should have happened. The reason for the review was absurd. I also think that it was very clearly a blocking foul.

There really couldn't be a more perfect representation of LeBron's season. That picture better communicates what a number of posters have been trying to get across in this entire thread in just one snapshot. Basketball is perfect.

Lebron vs his own team:

Lebron:
51 8 8
60% fg. 42% 3pt

Cavs:
63 45 10
37% fg. 23% 3pt

So Lebron got some help rebounding.

Not gonna happen; too much money will be lost if that happens- advertisers, Vegas, tv, etc. will not be happy if that happens.

The referees will control the games to make sure it goes at least six. It has happened for years. Not too long ago a ref was busted for betting on games. He admitted refs were guided by the league when to get tougher and easier on calls. Of course the league said no way, sour grapes, etc.

TXAGBQ76 said:

---

Not gonna happen; too much money will be lost if that happens- advertisers, Vegas, tv, etc. will not be happy if that happens.

The referees will control the games to make sure it goes at least six. It has happened for years. Not too long ago a ref was busted for betting on games. He admitted refs were guided by the league when to get tougher and easier on calls. Of course the league said no way, sour grapes, etc.

---

9 of the last 19 Finals have gone 5 games or less.

People won't let facts like that get in the way of their narrative

So Thompson only got fined but not suspended for game 2.

I thought this was amusing

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23680278/draymond-green-golden-state-warriors-pleased-tristan-thompson-cleveland-cavaliers-avoided-suspension

Quote:

---

The Warriors organization feels that if Green had committed a similar act, he would've been suspended for Game 2. Green took the high road when asked about the perceived double standard.

"I maybe would have gotten suspended, but ain't nobody else me, so I really don't care about that," he said.

---

This game might be ugly

Nothing ugly yet with the Warriors leading in the game by 11 points right now.

I thought he was referring to it headed for a GS blowout. After such a close, painful loss in game 1, I was expecting Cle to take a beating tonight and just try to regroup after back home for game 3. Seems to be drifting that way.

Kevin Love is having his usual stellar NBA finals game. 2/10 no show.