Guest nikowwf Report post Posted April 25, 2003 How many of you stayed up to watch the T-Wolves/Laker game? I know the home team gets the calls, and superstars get the benefit of the doubt, etc. but I have NEVER seen a game where the calls went so blatantly in one direction until the home team had no chance. In the last few minutes of regulation and overtime REGULATION Down 5, Kobe shoots 3. Sczerbiak tries to avoid him, doesn't touch him, FOUL. Kobe gets four point play. Down 1, Kobe drives into Nesterovic who is standing straight with his hands up far outside the circle. Doesnt move. Kobe jumps into him. Blocking foul. (In the midst of this, Kevin Garnett is called for a touch foul and a phantom foul to get his fourth and fifth) T-Wolves try to inbound. Szcerbiak is SHOVED out of bounds by Rick Fox. No Call. OVERTIME 10 seconds in, Horry flops. 6th on Garnett. WTF? Game tied, Pargo drives to the hoop. Szcerbiak (poor guy) leaps backwards out of his way. NO CONTACT - yes, NO FUCKING CONTACT!!!! FOUL CALLED. There is another inbound play where the lakers tackle the t-wolf guard down practically, and there is also no call. It was horrible...im a knick fan, i feel no particular connection to either team. But the officiating was painfully biased...and just wrong. I don't see the point in watching the next game if the pre-ordained outcome is the lakers going to round 2. The only thing that saved it was the T-Wolves fought through it and won. niko Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Polish_Rifle Report post Posted April 25, 2003 Amen. I've been saying it for years, the refs, Stern and the networks are all in a conspiracy to let the Lakers win. I stayed up to watch in horror as the refs called not 1 but 2 phantom fouls on Wally. That game was just sickening to watch. The Lakers tried to cheat and steal this game and all they got at the end was embarassed. I got the following from NBA.com: LOS ANGELES, April 24 (Ticker) -- The Minnesota Timberwolves overcame the loss of Kevin Garnett and questionable officiating to post one of the biggest victories in team history. After Garnett collected 33 points and 14 rebounds in regulation, the Timberwolves made their free throws in overtime and escaped with a 114-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Three of their Western Conference first-round series. Minnesota, which never has won a postseason series, has recorded two wins in a playoff series for just the second time and first since losing a five-game series to Seattle in 1998. The Timberwolves regained home-court advantage after squandering a five-point lead with 22 seconds left in regulation. Garnett, who had just two fouls heading into the fourth quarter, picked up three in a three-minute span. He fouled out on the first play of the extra period, leaving Minnesota vulnerable in a game it had in its grasp. Part of the reason the game went to overtime was questionable officiating. Bryant completed a controversial four-point play late in regulation after Wally Szczerbiak was whistled for a foul, although he did not appear to touch Bryant. Szczerbiak also had his jersey grabbed by Lakers forward Rick Fox on the next play but was called for stepping out of bounds. With Garnett on the bench, Los Angeles had a golden opportunity and took its last lead on two free throws by rookie Jannero Pargo with 47 seconds to go. Pargo went to the line after Szczerbiak was called for another foul, although he again did not appear to make contact. Gary Trent was fouled at the other end and made a pair from the line to give Minnesota a 109-108 advantage with 24 seconds left and Bryant missed a contested shot in the lane for Los Angeles. Two foul shots by Marc Jackson made it 111-108 with 11 seconds left and the Timberwolves elected to foul Shaquille O'Neal. He split a pair, but Jackson did the same with seven seconds left for a 112-109 advantage. That gave the Lakers a chance to tie, but Bryant's 3-pointer hit the back rim with 2.6 seconds to go. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
moral suasion 0 Report post Posted April 25, 2003 I agree. The refereeing was horrible in that game. You are right about all those pro-Lakers calls. But there were a few bad calls that went the TWolves way. There was one "block" KG had on Kobe at the end of regulation that was a foul. I think they didnt call it to make up for all of the bad previous calls on KG. There was also a foul in OT that sent Marc Jackson to the line where the contact was questionable. I am exstatic that the Wolves won, but I'm just saying that there was bad calls on both sides. I think that was one of the craziest basketball games I've ever watched. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest nikowwf Report post Posted April 25, 2003 95% of the calls/non-calls went the lakers way. Everyone always points to the one call the other team gets, and says SEE, IT GOES BOTH WAYS. I totally agree Kobe got fouled at the end. The Marc Jackson thing i don't agree, but i can see your point. There was about 10 VERY BLATANT calls/no-calls that went the other way. If you want to get into questionable, it was insane. Fisher was whacking the PG of the twolves in the back to try to take the ball. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Polish_Rifle Report post Posted April 25, 2003 Danny Ainge is god! He's not afraid to tell it like it is unlike all the Laker-loving commentators. Did you hear how upset he got? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
moral suasion 0 Report post Posted April 25, 2003 95% of the calls/non-calls went the lakers way. Everyone always points to the one call the other team gets, and says SEE, IT GOES BOTH WAYS. I totally agree Kobe got fouled at the end. The Marc Jackson thing i don't agree, but i can see your point. There was about 10 VERY BLATANT calls/no-calls that went the other way. If you want to get into questionable, it was insane. Fisher was whacking the PG of the twolves in the back to try to take the ball. Agreed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Polish_Rifle Report post Posted April 25, 2003 95% of the calls/non-calls went the lakers way. Everyone always points to the one call the other team gets, and says SEE, IT GOES BOTH WAYS. I totally agree Kobe got fouled at the end. The Marc Jackson thing i don't agree, but i can see your point. There was about 10 VERY BLATANT calls/no-calls that went the other way. If you want to get into questionable, it was insane. Fisher was whacking the PG of the twolves in the back to try to take the ball. Don't forget Rick Fox trying to rape and molest Wally without getting 1 foul called on him until Wally elbowed him. The refs tried to earn the cash that Jerry Buss and David Stern gave them but the Wolves were just too resilient. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
moral suasion 0 Report post Posted April 25, 2003 So if the Wolves can overcome that badly biased officiating, do you guys think they can win the series now? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Polish_Rifle Report post Posted April 25, 2003 I'm just crossing my fingers and waiting for the refs to put KG and Hudson in foul trouble before the 2nd quarter in the next game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Spaceman Spiff Report post Posted April 25, 2003 Was it worse than Game 6 of last year's LA/Sac series? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Human Fly Report post Posted April 25, 2003 Was it worse than Game 6 of last year's LA/Sac series? Yes, but that one will be remembered longer just because it was in the Western Finals and the Lakers would've been eliminated. My roommate is a die hard Lakers fan, and even he was saying that it was crazy all of the calls they were getting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Zero_Cool Report post Posted April 25, 2003 Danny Ainge is god! He's not afraid to tell it like it is unlike all the Laker-loving commentators. Did you hear how upset he got? Danny Ainge is a badass. He wasn't and isn't afriad to speak his mind. Remember when he get up Jordan's ass (figuratively) in the 93 finals? I didn't see the Lakers/Wolves game, but it's always been that way. The Lakers always get the calls. Fuck them and their ugly yellow jerseys. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Lethargic Report post Posted April 25, 2003 Yeah, the Lakers always get calls but I have NEVER seen it THIS bad. Last night was pretty much a comedy. It wasn't fouls that you could say, ok, they just messed that up, I understand. It wasn't one or two fouls where you thought something was goofy. It was basically the entire 4th quarter and overtime. Every single call had me screaming WHAT?!?!?? It was very obvious that there was a bias going on. It was just totally over the top. I wasn't really a T-Wolves fan before last night but I am now. Seeing them go through that but yet keep their cool and not start getting T'ed up left and right gave me a lot of respect for those guys. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest NaturalBornThriller4:20 Report post Posted April 25, 2003 Also... Remember... They were in L. A . I'd also like to add that, Flops suck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted April 25, 2003 Flops do suck. But it's probably difficult to ban them. How do you know what a flop is, and what a regular push is? The refs don't have the benefit of instant replay. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Robfather 0 Report post Posted April 25, 2003 I hate the Lakers. I hate the refs. I hate the NBA. Yet, I still watch... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Polish_Rifle Report post Posted April 25, 2003 2 more losses and all will be right in the world. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest GameCop Report post Posted April 25, 2003 I don't know about you guys, but I have no problem with the Lakers cheating in order to win. As Los Guerreros say, "CHEAT 2 WIN, baby!!!" BTW, do you realize that if the Lakers are eliminated in the first round, interest in the NBA Playoffs will dramatically drop? I bet the Spurs and especially the Kings would be pissed if the Lakers are ousted in the first round. The Timberwolves aren't winning the championship, so I have no problem with crooked refs making sure the Lakers advance to face the Kings in the conference finals -- a matchup the Kings will certainly win. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Lethargic Report post Posted April 26, 2003 BTW, do you realize that if the Lakers are eliminated in the first round, interest in the NBA Playoffs will dramatically drop? Why would that happen? If the Lakers losing does anything it'll make the playoffs jump WAY UP in interest because it becomes a wide open field where many teams have a shot at winning. Instead of seeing the exact same damn team for four years straight, we get something new, fresh and exciting. The last few playoffs have sucked horribly because there was nobody to compete with the Lakers. This year's has been very good partly because it doesn't feel pointless to watch anymore. Lakers aren't invincible which has given me a lot more interest in watching it. Why would the Kings and Spurs be mad if the Lakers lost? You better step into the real world, those two teams are praying that the Lakers go out in the first round. I don't think the Lakers would play the same way against the Kings as they are against the Wolves. The Kings are their rival. They'd be all over them. I still don't think the Kings can beat them. The Spurs have never shown the ability to compete with the Lakers come playoff time. Hell, they can barely handle the Suns. I'm sure they'd MUCH rather have to deal with the Wolves than the three time defending champions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted April 26, 2003 People do like dynasties. The people who like the Lakers wanna see if they can win a 4th title. The people who aren't fans wanna see if someone can knock them off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Still Fly Report post Posted April 26, 2003 Oh Boy, here we go again. Whine all you want, the Lakers will always get the calls. Why? Because they are the champs. Look at the Bulls, or the Showtime Lakers or the Celtics. They get all the calls. Im surprised that a Clipper fanboy can say anything about a team that is one of the best in NBA history. His team hasnt made the playoffs in 8 years! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Spicy McHaggis Report post Posted April 26, 2003 Was it worse than Game 6 of last year's LA/Sac series? Or the quickly forgotten Game 5, when Sac got every call in the book? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest GameCop Report post Posted April 26, 2003 If I were Chris Webber, I wouldn't feel like a champion unless I dethroned the three-time defending champions, Los Angeles Lakers -- a team that has defeated the Kings for three consecutive years. Webber and the Kings want vindication; the title won't mean as much if they don't plow through the Lakers to attain it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest NaturalBornThriller4:20 Report post Posted April 26, 2003 Im surprised that a Clipper fanboy can say anything about a team that is one of the best in NBA history. Whoa... One of the best teams in NBA history ? You took that comment a wee bit overboard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Smues Report post Posted April 26, 2003 As Los Guerreros say, "CHEAT 2 WIN, baby!!!" BTW, do you realize that if the Lakers are eliminated in the first round, interest in the NBA Playoffs will dramatically drop? Are you fucking kidding me? The Lakers losing INCREASES my interest. They're just like the Yankees in baseball, make me lose interest in the sport. If they lose the playoffs will actually mean something because LA won't win it all. FUCK YOU SHAQ. IT's the same way in baseball, the yankmes make me lose interest, then someone like the angels beats them early and suddenly i care about the playoffs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest nikowwf Report post Posted April 26, 2003 Cheat 2 Win is fine. Lakers can cheat their asses off. That's fine. THE REFEREES are the one's cheating on their behalf. That's not fine. Don't act like Horry's flop was the only thing that happened. There were 10 other bad calls down the stretch, and most of them had nothing to do with what the Lakers were trying to do. Niko Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Spicy McHaggis Report post Posted April 26, 2003 Im surprised that a Clipper fanboy can say anything about a team that is one of the best in NBA history. Whoa... One of the best teams in NBA history ? You took that comment a wee bit overboard. They aren't? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Snappy Nappy Dugout Report post Posted April 27, 2003 Im surprised that a Clipper fanboy can say anything about a team that is one of the best in NBA history. Whoa... One of the best teams in NBA history ? You took that comment a wee bit overboard. Even though I hate the Lakers and I'm a Kings fan at heart, I'm going to have to agree that the Lakers Is one of the best teams in history. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bob_barron Report post Posted April 27, 2003 Im surprised that a Clipper fanboy can say anything about a team that is one of the best in NBA history. Whoa... One of the best teams in NBA history ? You took that comment a wee bit overboard. They aren't? They only won 50 games. Best team ever? Hardly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest kingkamala Report post Posted April 27, 2003 As far as I'm concerned Lakers aren't even in the top 5 greatest NBA teams of all time. Maybe top 10 but not top 5. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
