The guy’s making a desperation reach because Miller’s going to score, and somehow that’s a flagrant? Ridiculous.

On a night when the officials decide to foul Ray Allen out while the same Miller hooks him on a grotesquely illegal screen?

The Rondo foul was a hard playoff foul, nothing more.

Basketball is an extremely tough game to officiate. Just think how many judgment calls there are. Judgment calls can go either way, which means there will always be people upset about it. It has always been like that and it will never change. It’s just the nature of the game. Plus, players keep getting biggers, stronger, faster and it’s impossible to see everything. People scream at the refs after watching countless replays from different angles, slow-motion etc. But let’s keep in mind that refs don’t have the luxury to do the same.

Another thing: can you stop complaining about free-throw disparity? Many times it has to do with the fact team A is more aggressive, attacks the basket all the times and the only way to stop them is fouling them. And team B, on the other hand, prefers trying jump shots and never attacks the basket, meaning they aren’t going to draw any fouls, which is what happened in the Cavs/Pistons series. So lots of times free-throw disparity has nothing to do with the refs penalizing a certain team.

And can we please stop saying the league is fixed and crap like that? It’s ridiculous. If that was the case, the Spurs wouldn’t have won so many titles in the past few years. Remember: Spurs=lowest tv ratings ever. And the funny thing is that EVERY single fan base in the league thinks there’s a conspiracy against their team. And not just small market teams’ fans. Even Lakers, Celtics etc. fans think the league hates their teams, hate Kobe and don’t want them to win. Cavs fans are convinced LeBron should get way more calls and the league wants the Cavs to lose so that LeBron gets upset and leave for New York. Go figure.

People, just stop the madness. And stop accusing the refs of being criminals if you don’t have any proof (and no, don’t tell me that bad calls, blown calls etc. are the proof..this has nothing to do with being criminals and fixing games).

Instead, Matt choose that day to mail it in which lead to the inevitable boneheaded move by two otherwise genius players known for their fortitude and clutchiness.

Matt might try and deflect the blame for the Suns demise on to Steve Kerr and Shaq but we all know that the closing of the Suns window came on that fateful day in spring 2007 when Matt Moore phoned it in.

The preceding sentence has done irreparable damage to my thinkbox. Please type more carefully next time.

Also, with regard to your post in general, DK, he wasn’t saying you don’t have a right to be upset, he wasn’t saying you don’t have a right to your own opinion. Hell, he wasn’t even saying you don’t have a right to complain about individual situations (such as when refs are given seemingly inappropriate assignments). He’s simply saying–and I agree–that too much of the chatter going around the NBA blogosphere revolves around what has become all-too-common mantra of lazy pro hoops writers for the last half-decade: “waaaaaahhhh, the refs are bad and my team suffered for it.”

For what it’s worth, I do think the NBA reffing is sub-par, even taking into account that basketball is maybe the hardest sport to call consistently. And I agree, there should be much written about that. However, if you think you’re contributing to a discussion of the state of NBA refs when you whine that they’re not giving your team calls, you’re a fool. Those who pull for your team will agree and ignore the faults your team put on display for that game, and those that pull for the other will think you’re a hack. If you want to have that conversation, then have it–but don’t use it as cover to make excuses for your team.

/climbs off of soapbox, falls because soapboxes are slippery

Gimme a break, the Mavs choked hard core and Dirk missed HUGE free throws more than once that allowed the Heat to win. Its not the refs fault the Heat won, Wade is just that good and the Mavs choked that bad.