F'N RIDICULOUS!!!

[ACE_reppin_ATL]

While the officiating was bad, The Hawks blew this game. I think they scored only 16 points in the 4th and blew a 17 pt lead.

I watched the entire game and in my honest opinioin, the Hawks clearly outplayed CLE and the refs took the game out of the hands of the players in the 2nd half....There was numerous plays where a Hawks drove the ball aggressively and was bumped or pushed off his shot and got no whistle...One play that really was ridiculous was when Horford caught a pass inside and no one was in the paint but D.GIBSON!!! Horford caught the ball Gibson reached for the steal Horford got a step on him toward the rim, and 2 more CAVS immediately collapse on Al as he went into his shot...I clearly heard a slap as the popped loose and CLE came away with ball and Horford fell toward the ground....NO CALL and CLE got away with 5-6 calls like this on numerous drives...

On the other end, the refs whistle Hawks for touh fouls, reach-ins, loose ball calls, and nearly anything Lebron missed inside....Keep in mind this is all after they called the game like a playoff game in the 1st half where they let both teams play with plenty contact....Then when the Hawks continued to run way with the game, refs would almost simoutaneously call fouls on CLe to keep it close...IT LOOKED DELIBERATE TO ME and IT SICKENED me that the HAWKS fought and deserve that revenge win and yet the refs showed once again that officiating can dictate an NBA game like it or not...

[raleigh]

This is how the NBA has been officiated since Jordan.

Josh is right, and there's no point in dwelling on it, guys.

[jerrywest]

After Stern let LeBron cheat on the Hawks like he let Kobe cheat against the Sacramento Kings, I had to get Donaghy’s book.

http://www.amazon.com/Personal-Foul-Fir ... 551&sr=8-1

[AbC?]

Don't worry, the Hawks' scorekeepers will come through for you guys when the Cavs come to Atlanta.

[evildallas]

Don't worry, the Hawks' scorekeepers will come through for you guys when the Cavs come to Atlanta.

If they do that the league would grant a replay for them.

As for the refs, the superstar bias on calls is an inherent flaw with the NBA. What I really hate about playing the Cavs is that Lebron gets the benefit on both ends. On the offensive end he gets a lot of calls when he drives which is normal for a star, but he is also an active defender who creates a lot of contact and gets few fouls. He reaches, hacks and bumps a lot on defense with immunity and that sucks. He is made a more effective defender because of his star status.

I know Donaghy's allegations are unsubstantiated, but it is somewhat telling that none of his allegations seem at all far-fetched to a regular viewer of NBA games.

[Dennis 37]

In the NBA there seems to be teams that should win or at least beat the spread and ones that should not. It happens too many times for it to be accidental.

However this is pure Karma.

Toronto fans sure know what its like to be cheated by off court officials in Atlanta. Nov. 24 2006 No game replay for Toronto either as Toronto isn't one of the teams that is supposed to be successful.

[-Akronite-]

Please re-read that line a few times and then consider the ideas of "fair play" or "gamesmanship" ... or even "honor."

"As a Cavs fan," you should literally hate the league office for marginalizing your team's achievements by prostituting the refs on your behalf. Just take a look at James' future: how can he grow into the star he could be if he's allowed to continue to plow into defenders and be rewarded with blocking fouls?

What good is a game where your team is allowed to play football while the other team is handcuffed? Face it, outnumbered 8-to-5, the Hawks came in a kicked y'all's rear ends.

EVERY win y'all have will never be earned, only received.

I meant lopsided as in calls seemed to tilt in the favor of the Cavs, not some elaborate conspiracy to hand the Cavs all of their wins. You do realize we've never won a championship yet you're acting as if the team has not honor because so much has been handed to us. What the hell are you going on about?

Was the reffing as good as it should have been? No. But you can say that for basically every NBA game and I don't see you going on a crusade for any of those. You're only upset because your team lost after having a huge lead and blew it. If I was in your position I'd feel exactly as you do, except I will never go as far as to think the Hawks have all their success given to them, that's insane.

I do agree with the point that the Hawks outplayed the Cavs for the majority of the game, but the Cavs are just the better team so they came out on top anyway. You can make a case that the Cavs were helped out by the refs in this one but not to a point that it completely wiped out your 17-point lead, that's on you.

[JonFromVA]

"As a Cavs fan," you should literally hate the league office for marginalizing your team's achievements by prostituting the refs on your behalf. Just take a look at James' future: how can he grow into the star he could be if he's allowed to continue to plow into defenders and be rewarded with blocking fouls?

Wasn't that how Michael Jordan became the GOAT?

I wish LeBron would get the call every time he initiated contact like Jordan used to, but sadly it's not even close.

Personally, I wish the refs would all call the games the same way, but the rules don't really reflect how the refs like to call games. There's a disconnect. So instead they use the rules to help them keep control of the players, control of the fans, and control the game.

The NBA is what it is. It doesn't necessarily take a super-star to earn the respect of the refs and earn the benefit of the doubt. The refs used to let the Pistons hack away defensively at will. LeBron would never get the call earlier in his career when he'd try to drive his way through Ben, 'Sheed, Prince and got mugged. To this day Billups still initiates contact at every opportunity, and usually gets the call.

One way or another in the NBA, if you want to win at the highest level, you have to earn the respect of the refs - not that any of that has anything to do with a gaffe on the shot clock.

Once the next play was run, it's too late to turn back the clock. LeBron didn't get a "superstar call" on his goaltend and Atlanta had every chance to win the game.

[HMFFL]

The Hawks left Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday planning to protest to the league over an error in the shot clock. With about two minutes left in the game and the Hawks ahead by one, Cavs point guard Mo Williams missed a shot. The Hawks rebounded, but the shot clock didn't reset properly, denying them the allotted 24 seconds.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson said they would lodge a protest with the league, but as of early afternoon Thursday, they hadn't. A league spokesman said it would investigate should there be a protest. http://www.ohio.com/sports/80446002.html

[HMFFL]

Hawks file official appeal to NBA over shot-clock blunder

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf ... al_to.html