If there's one thing I've learned in my time of being a casual NBA fan that for the most part doesn't have time to watch basketball except for during the playoffs, it's that the Miami Heat is a shameless team. They're shameless for a number of reasons, notably their ability to flop at every man that comes across their path and somehow getting just about every call, but also for their concept of revenge.
Now I'm not a Miami Heat hater for no reason at all. I actually have some respect for LeBron James as I cannot see one fault in his game and he always makes everyone around him better. Dwyane Wade on the other hand...I hate him. I haven't hated a single player in the NBA so much since Dikembe Mutombo got away with multiple goaltendings against Jason Caffey in game 7 of the 2001 or whatever Eastern Conference Finals.
I'm going to start off with a few comments on the Pacers series. The incident that first sparked my interest was Tyler Hansbrough fouling Dwyane Wade in the head. It was a hard foul but his intent was undoubtedly for the ball. On the next possession, Hansbrough had a wide-open jumper that he took while Udonis Haslem jumped in with both hands to the white guy's face. Yes, he was called for a technical, but if I were a referee, I would have tossed the little shit out of the game. He had no shame whatsoever; in fact, he went out of his way to make it look like he wasn't going for the ball. This kind of "you get my guy, I'll get yours" philosophy is totally a baseball thing and it shocked me to see it in basketball. And later in the game, while it was already out of hand, benchwarming Heat player Dexter Pittman shot an elbow to Lance Stephenson's neck that would have made even Ron Artest cringe. And yes, he was caught winking at the camera shortly afterwards. And yes, it by no means was going for the ball; he was going at Stephenson. Of course, Stephenson notoriously made a choking face and motion to LeBron once. So I guess that warrants attempted murder on the court. And he only got a 3 game suspension.
Now I'm not one to bitch about officiating but tonight in game 2 against the Celtics things were out of hand. I didn't see game 1 but I can say the tech on Ray Allen was ridiculous. Nevertheless tonight probably topped it. LeBron got away with a goaltending that led to a DWade 3-point play on what was clearly a clean block and should have been either a travel or a jump ball. Rajon Rondo was called for a foul when LeBron James fell on him. Kevin Garnett was called for a technical foul when he tried to get control of the ball after getting punched in the face, more or less. Paul Pierce fouled out on one of the clearest straight-up plays I've ever seen; and yes, I know he left the ground, but you can do that and have it still be a charge if you're straight up and there before Wade, like he was. Dwyane Wade hit Rondo in the face on one of Rajon's layups and went uncalled. Dwyane Wade did his signature kick on Kevin Garnett as he went in for the layup and KG was called for it.
The call that pissed me off perhaps the most, though, was actually the right call. Rondo made a deep 2 that was called a 3. The replay clearly showed that he was on the line, but it was ruled a 3 on the court and wasn't changed until 2 possessions later. That made no sense to me that it could be changed that much later. It would have made sense if after he made it, the Heat called a timeout and they overruled it, but no, the refs waited until after Miami had made another basket. If Miami had known that was a 2, their strategy could have been completely different. That's the equivalent of someone making a field goal in the NFL and having it overturned in the next quarter, saying he didn't make it. The time in between just baffles me. And if they can change one thing like that, why can't they change another? Why couldn't they go back and call the Wade smacking Rondo in the face a foul? He was clearly hit and you couldn't deny that was a foul. This just doesn't make sense to me.
Now I'm always hesitant when it comes to conspiracy theories and there was some talk after game 1. I'm not going to go so far as to say David Stern is behind this, but I can say that that was some of the worst officiating I've ever seen. The Heat got every call possible, and they so happen to have 2 of the most popular players in the game. Draw whatever conclusions you want.
No comments:
Post a Comment