AllHeart

I thought you were going to say Black for a funeral :help wanted3:

Hmmmm we won the game how is it fixed in favor of Miami? I just watched the again and some of the comments regarding the officiating are ridiculous. The 1st 4pt play was DEFINITELY a foul. Jones took away the shooter's landing space (Bruce Bowen style). On the 2nd 4pt play there is no way for us to see from the camera angle and distance if Bibby fouls Jones. However the official (who is standing INBOUNDS in the right position) has a great look at it. The reason Bibby (or any teammates) barely argued is probably because he hit his elbow on the way up. This was also DEFINITELY a shooting foul because he started his habitual motion to shoot. If you have a better video then the one I posted please post it. Why does a 14-0 run by the Heat have to be a conspiracy by the NBA for Wade or against the Hawks? Basketball is made of runs and the Heat did a great job of applying full court pressure and forcing turnovers. Thank You Northcyde for looking at the plays objectively! - The reason Bibby didn't get a foul call was because he had landed from his shot and he turns his right hip slightly into the path of the defender. Then he flops to the ground. - O'Neal was fumbling the ball the entire time and that is why it is NOT a travel. I questioned the play myself live but when they showed the replay he was clearly not in control of the ball. - The Hawks committed 25 fouls to Miami's 27 fouls.

I am all for this! :beer:

In the NBA there might be more perceived "questionable calls" because most NBA players act like they have never fouled another player in their entire career. Almost every call is questioned by coaches & players and in my opinion this makes a travesty to the game. Kids watch their idols and learn to blame others instead of accepting responsibility for their actions. There is a different standard in the NBA and this is a good thing. They hold their officials so much more accountable. Watching video is one of the best ways for officials to get better and the NBA sends 100's of videos to their officials each season. NCAA officials might have 10 videos posted on their website all year. Fans watch the game and have NO CLUE as to what is good officiating. I have seen numerous times where an official kicks a RULE (not a judgment call) and the coach, players, & fans have no idea that it was missed. Then an official will get a rule correct and they will go nuts. This is because the fans, coaches, players, & announcers think they know the rules but they absolutely DON'T. I used to be in the same boat before I started officiating. I thought I knew the rules pretty well. I played basketball just about everyday my entire life...I was constantly watching games on tv...I've gone to 100's of Hawks games. BUT when I started officiating I was shocked at how much I didn't know. There are so many myths that it makes your head spin. The NBA, NCAA, & NFHS all have different rules in place. The NBA's WRITTEN travel rule is different then the NCAA or NFHS. However the continuation rule is the exact same. Most fans, players, & coaches in a high school or college game will say this is not the NBA when a basket is counted on a drive after the player has gathered the ball and started their habitual motion to shoot. There is no question by anyone that knows anything about officiating that NBA officials are 10 times better then the NCAA officials. Sorry but this is not debatable. Please show me the video of this play. NOBODY knows what happened on this play besides it went to commercial and when they came back it was the Cavs ball. How many times does Lebron, Kobe, Wade b*tch during a game? ALL the time and those calls aren't reversed. So why would you assume that it was reversed in this situation b/c Lebron "bitched"? Please give me some better evidence to support your theory. Please look at the videos that I posted in the last email where Lebron did not have the refs in his pocket.

Tim Donaghy was definitely a "rogue" individual. Fans want to point to this every time their team doesn't get a call. Why would NBA refs want to risk a pay check worth $1##,### - $3##,### and miss out on something they love. Donaghy did it because he had a gambling problem and got in over his head. His family was threatened harm if he didn't follow through with it. He made the wrong decisions and that is very unfortunate. People (in all aspects of life) who are in a position of power need to be watched very closely for these kinds of things. If you sat down with some of the refs you would find out that they are intelligent, humble, ethical and remarkable individuals. They are the best officials in the world officiating the hardest sport in the world. Most would fall to the ground and start sobbing if they had to deal with the pressure and abuse that they deal with night in and night out. Please go officiate a basketball game in a packed house and let me know how you do. You would at least come out of it with a deep admiration and respect for what these individuals do. Officials have off nights just like players do. They are expected to be perfect yet players can shoot 40% from the field and that is acceptable. Officials get greater then 90% of their calls RIGHT but all that anyone remembers are the ones that they got wrong (or that the player, coach, fan thinks they got wrong). Lets look at the facts...Hawks shot 31 free throws while the Cavs shot 24. Looks like the NBA definitely told the refs to call fouls in favor of the Cavs. If your talking about the drive by Joe Johnson with 1:45 left in the 4th then it was definitely a good no call. The ball was blocked before any contact was made by anyone. Without seeing what the official saw from his (better) angle it is hard to judge if the call against Horford was right or not. None of the players looked like they thought it was a bad call. In fact they acted like it was the right call. Video Link - This is the only video I could find. If you have a different angle then I would like to see it. However, lets say that Horford doesn't even touch him, it doesn't prove that the NBA & David Stern have a policy in place that tells refs to call for the stars. It would mean that the official missed a call! I can't find video of this play please post a link. I didn't say that they don't market their superstars to the public. This is the NBA's marketing model and has worked for the last 25 years so why would they change it. The game has degenerated into isolation plays because coaches want the ball in their best players hands when it counts. The NBA attempted to lessen the benefit of the isolation play by allowing zone defenses but coaches still find a way to get the ball in their best players hands. I hate isolation basketball with no movement more then anyone but can you blame the coaches for running it if it works? If the hawks would draw a good rating nationally then they would be on broadcast on national tv! The NBA is about making money and when the Hawks can make them money on the National stage then they WILL be televised! The difference that I am referring to in Pro Wrestling are the rigged matches and the scripts that the "actors" follow. "We must protect our stars" - Stern was referring to opposing players "laying the wood" on superstars in order to get them out of the game or get them out of their rhythm. Stern has not "embraced" a non level system of officiating. What proof does anyone have besides players and announcers making statements like "that is a vet call"? There are sometimes in basketball where an official has to make an educated guess b/c he/she does not have the optimal angle on the play. Sometimes (rarely) they have to make an educated guess and they use everything involved to help them make that decision. If the 8th man off the bench (Mario West) does the same thing as Dwayne Wade but the official doesn't have the optimal angle and has to make an educated guess then Wade will get the benefit of the doubt more often then West. This is because Wade is less likely to commit fouls that will force him to the bench because he is so important to his team. West can take more chances and foul more because if he fouls out then the Hawks will not be handicapped. Some bench players come in with the sole purpose of being physical with opposing teams stars so that they may disrupt their flow. Coaches use this technique all the time. This is why Stern said that the "Stars must be protected". In the NFL the quarterbacks are also protected. Why doesn't Bruce Bowen (2/fpg) or Raja Bell (3/fpg) average more fouls per game? They usually guard the best players every night so the refs should be fouling them out every night, right? Of course superstars on average are going to shoot more free throws they have the ball in their hands more and they play more minutes then everyone else. They are the teams primary offensive players. - What happened here? Did the refs forget that Lebron is a "superstar"? Lebron gets foul called on him - Again the Cavs lose to the lowly Pacers because the refs made a call against the "superstar". Say it ain't so! :no-no:

There have been a bunch of b.s. myths floating around that I would like to SQUASH! 1) David Stern wants the Big CITIES and the Big STARS to win so that he can have the Big DOLLARS. WRONG, David Stern is an EXTREMELY smart, ethical, hard working individual that transformed the NBA into what it is today. In case you don't know much about the man here you go: David Stern's History David Stern grew up loving the Knicks so why hasn't he told the refs to "Give them the calls"? They are the biggest market but they haven't had a winning season since 2001. He cares about producing a product that will make money WHILE keeping the integrity of the league and not turning it into Pro Wrestling. 2) "The refs give all the calls to the stars." "The refs are the worst." "The refs are told to cheat for certain teams & players" I don't fault you for not knowing this but officiating basketball is the HARDEST sport to officiate BY FAR! On top of that the NBA is the hardest of all levels to officiate. The players are faster, stronger, smarter, and trickier. Every game and every call is watched under a microscope. If an official kicks (misses) a call then everyone is screaming for their heads to be chopped off. For every call that they kick the average person thinks they have kicked 10. The star players are not "given" anything. They work very hard to be the fastest, strongest and best players in the world. Doesn't it make sense that Lebron, Kobe, & Wade would have more fouls called for them. They have the ball in their hands most of the time and they are EXTREMELY hard to play defense against. For every call that you can show on YouTube that was "called for" a star, another 5 took place that doesn't show up on you tube where they "did not" get it called "their way". According to this statistically (i.e. FACTS) based study "NBA Foul Drawing" Leaders the top 2 league leaders for 06-07 were Chauncy Billups & Corey Maggette with Wade coming in at third. I'll bet if you did this same study this year you would find more of the same. Here are some stats for this year: http://www.82games.com/0809/CSORT9.HTM. Jamal Crawford is ahead of Wade in FTA during clutch time. Fans at high school games say "High School refs are the worst, we need new ones." Fans at college games say "College refs are the worst, we need new ones." Fans at NBA games say "NBA refs are the worst, we need new ones." I can at least you tell this: NBA Refs >>>> NCAA Refs NCAA Refs >> High School Refs This isn't to say that High School Refs are not good. There are thousands of excellent high school officials across the country but they are not close to the perfection that is expected from NBA officials. NBA officials break down EVERY game that they officiate. An observer is at every single game in every single arena across the country. NBA officials ARE graded throughout the season. They are only allowed to work 3 games a week to ensure that they are physically & mentally "fresh" for their games. Some NCAA officials work 30 out of 31 days in a month and they traveling from New York -> Florida -> Utah each night. Fans have "selective" memories where they remember the fouls & violations that went against them but don't think twice when the same call is made for the other team. Just remember that every time you think the official missed the call he/she probably didn't. Whew...I had to get that off my chest :smile: I could go on and on and I know I won't convince everyone but hopefully this will make someone think twice before they say "We lost because of those cheating refs"! :sobbing:. Oops I may have said to much there is a black helicopter circling my house! :speak:

Hmmmmm.....how many people would pay $100 for a ticket when you could just buy $10 and move down in the 2nd quarter? I think its okay to do in extreme cases, for example back in the 90's there was a pretty big snow storm and less then 1,000 fans came to the game. They announced to everyone that they could move down to the lower levels. I was probably 15 and it was a blast! Does anyone remember that game and when it was?

Does anyone know of any promotions or tickets on sale for tomorrow's game? I am going to buy 4 tickets but I wanted to first see if there are any possible deals out there. Or if you have tickets and can't go to the game, I'm looking to buy...

Quote: I can't be the only one who thinks this is a good thing. Seriously, this has been a fantastic series and it would be a shame to see it tainted by suspensions, just like it was a shame last year when Amare and Diaw got suspended. All personal interests aside, as a basketball fan, you have to like the fact that the league is going to let a memorable playoff matchup be settled on the court and not in the league office, no? AGREED!

Quote: I can't believe this isn't an outrage. If Joe Johnson had done this he would be suspended. Did an NBA representative tell you that? There is no reason to think that Joe Johnson would have been suspended if he did this except for the paranoid local fans.

Quote: Had any other player on the court, other then Garnett, pushed the ref there would have been a different out come. And you know this because of what evidence?

Quote: Plastic_Man wrote: There is only one reason she is an NBA ref and it's not because she's good or tied to the mafia. Quote: TheTruth wrote: I'm sure she is good at something...if you know what I mean... These are extremely ignorant comments. If you want to post that she missed certain calls then by all means please do. But why insinuate that she is only officiating in the NBA because she is female or because she is good at "sex". Are you threatened by a female in an authoritative position? Do you say the same thing regarding your mother or wife? Quote: JackB1 wrote: That female ref was calling way too mnay touch fouls for a playoff game. I hope the guys tonite let the boys play! According to Coverwire.com Violet Palmer's crews in 2007 averaged 44.7 fouls per game. There were 27 male officials that called more fouls per game then her. So if you want the "guys" to "let the boys play" then it would be better for her to be officiating then Rush and McCutchen whom both average more fouls called per game then Violet Palmer.

Hands on Buckets "With this stat, we add the field goal total of a player to his assist total and then divide by the overall number of field goals a team has made in order to get a percentage of buckets a player helped make over the course of a season." 2007/08 Season Chris Paul, Hornets...............49.2% LeBron James, Cavaliers.......46.0% Deron Williams, Jazz.............43.4% Steve Nash, Suns.................41.1% Allen Iverson, Nuggets..........39.3% Joe Johnson, Hawks.........38.0% Kobe Bryant, Lakers.............37.9% Baron Davis, Warriors...........37.6% Andre Miller, Sixers...............37.1% Vince Carter, Nets................34.1% Jose Calderson, Raptors.......33.4% Raymond Felton, Bobcats......33.2% Jamal Crawford, Knicks.........33.0% Brandon Roy, Blazers............33.0% Hedo Turkoglu, Magic............31.4% Chauncey Billups, Pistons......31.3% Tracy McGrady, Rockets........30.9% Tony Parker, Spurs..............30.6% Michael Redd, Bucks.............30.4% Paul Pierce, Celtics...............30.3% Dwyane Wade, Heat.............29.6% Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks.......29.4% Al Jefferson, Timberwolves...27.5% Earl Watson, Sonics..............27.4% Kirk Hinrich, Bulls..................27.0% Mike Dunleavy, Pacers.........26.0% Rudy Gay, Grizzlies..............25.7% Caron Butler, Wizards..........25.2% Corey Maggette, Clippers.....23.3% All-Time John Stockton (90-91)...........51.6% Oscar Robertson...................48.6% Wilt Chamberlain (63-64)......47.2% Michael Jordan (88-89)..........46.9%

Some websites I came across for statistical analysis. Last Game vs Milwaukee: Atl vs Milwaukee - Game Flow All Games: All Games Color coded court of where shots are historically attempted and made. Link If you've seen others that are good please post them here.

Horford vs D. Howard "Say Hello to the Bad Guy.....Call him Mr. Al Horford."