DCZards wrote:<snip>
There's nothing wrong with losing. That's what competition is about. But I do believe there is something wrong with WANTING to lose. Losing only develops a loser's mentality, which some of you seem to already have.
BTW, Hands, blaming the refs for a loss is downright silly.
On the losing, my perspective is I'm going to root for them to win every individual game. Cheer just as much at the games I attend. Rooting just as much when I watch them on TV or listen on the radio.
But, I'm also accepting the reality that this season "is what it is." It would be nice to see the current team improve enough to win some more games, but at the margin maybe the team is better off in the long run with a chance to pick in the top 5 than at 9 or 10.
If Gil and Haywood come back at the beginning of March and they go on an 18-4 tear to end the season, I would get caught up in it like everyone else. If it's a choice between the high draft pick and having those guys back at 100 percent I'm taking the latter. I agree that the pick in itself is no guarantee.
On the officiating, I didn't see the Bucks game, so I don't have a reaction on that. But is blaming the refs "downright silly"?
I was at the Donaghy game vs. the Nets toward the end of the 06-07 season when the Wizards were giving a point or two and ended up losing by a couple when Stevenson was mauled twice taking it to the hoop in the last minute or so.
I think the league's response to the Donaghy thing has been totally inadequate, and that there are still major questions about the integrity of NBA games. I expect the issue to blow up again. Hope I'm wrong, but I predict that crooked officiating will do more damage to the NBA than steroids did to MLB, if only because it will unfold in a more unforgiving economic environment.
If I had more time, I would be tracking point spreads, officiating crews, and patterns of questionable calls. I have no confidence that the league itself is doing that, and they should be.