Biggest story in the finals is the refereeing MERGE

[Fencer reregistered]

FTA: 116 Celtics
FTA: 163 Lakers

But to make up for that, the Lakers are fouling harder. Perk is out for months, Ray can't practice, Rondo gets thrown hard to the floor, etc., etc.

[chakdaddy]

If you watch a replay of the play Perkins was injured on it is the perfect microcosm of the entire series. Kobe shoves him in the back positioning for the rebound, no call... Bynum clobbers him over the back, no call... Only when Perkins crumbles to the ground injured does the whistle blow.

Like I said earlier, I just don't believe what I am seeing anymore. Just like after the Supreme Court elected a president 10 years ago, and has lost all credibility since, the NBA has been losing credibility with me for years, and it's all come to a head in these Finals.

Very true about the Perkins injury. A large portion of the Lakers advantage with their length is how they get up in the air with their arms, distracting attention away from the hammering they're doing with their bodies.

I feel the same despair I did in 2000 as well. Chris Wallace = Scalia. It's hard to keep living in this world.

[UGA Hayes]

As much as people hate them I'm praying that Joey Crawford will get put on the game 7 crew (or mcallahann). It seems to me the most likely crew tomorrow is Foster (pro laker/anti celtic), Salvatore (pro home team/pro star players), Dan Crawford (pro home team). All three are also guys who blow the whistle a lot. Even if they call the game even its not the best crew for our playing style.

[jsimon]

It's hard to keep living in this world.

Nodding sadly.

I hate to be so negative, but I'm going into tomorrow's game feeling as though there is virtually no chance the refs will let us win. Every run will be stymied by some bogus charge call with Kobe blatantly moving his feet, every Laker drought will be revived by phantom whistles, Kobe will get every bump, Gasol, Sasha, and Fisher will be in full flop mode and get at least half of them. The Lakers would have to lay a real egg for us to win...

[chakdaddy]

It's hard to keep living in this world.

Nodding sadly.

I hate to be so negative, but I'm going into tomorrow's game feeling as though there is virtually no chance the refs will let us win. Every run will be stymied by some bogus charge call with Kobe blatantly moving his feet, every Laker drought will be revived by phantom whistles, Kobe will get every bump, Gasol, Sasha, and Fisher will be in full flop mode and get at least half of them. The Lakers would have to lay a real egg for us to win...

The fact remains, even with straight refs...with a healthy Bynum the Lakers might have had a better team. They were handed the advantage 2.5 years ago.

The only way we could get a sense of fair matchup is to replace Scal's roster spot with a healthy Al Jefferson or Amare Stoudemire. The equivalent of us getting KG or a Gasol level player for free.

It feels like the 2000 finals. The Pacers were a vastly inferior team, yet they put up an excellent fight. But the refs robbed them of their chance to pull a miracle.

[tfmiii]

i was hoping that after 'extending' the series to six we would get some balanced reffed games.

no dice

(i put extend in quotes because i don't think the league had to do anything to extend it, they are well matched teams, but it is my belief that they did manipulate calls in the misguided attempt to tinker with what could have been a classic series).

Read Doyel's column about how lousy a series it has been, and the key reason is that the refs have handicapped one team or another through most of the series. Yesterday the lakers could not commit a foul. Hard drives to the hoop, lots of over the top, but no whistles if you were wearing yellow. You look at some of the hits Pierce and Garnett were taking and it is hard to believe. Rondo - 17 stitches???

Now, they did not call a lot on the Cs either, and given the energy imbalance it could very easily been a Laker win, more than likely. But it would have been a much more competitive game if called correctly. The same can be said for at least three other games in the series. A potential classic has been aborted.

[jsimon]

For those whining about officiating calls......you are not getting screwed on foul calls as there have been bad calls both ways.

There are several instances of bad calls/no calls that could be pointed out on the other side....but to do that would be whining.....its just playoff basketball.

Lets do a little quick analysis shall we.

Adjusted for intentional fouls through 6 games, the Lakers have out shot the Celtics at the stripe 163-116. That is a whopping difference. Now if you were going to make the argument that the Lakers have been going inside all series and the C's have been shooting jump shots and camping out at the 3 pt. line, you could go down that path. It would be a ludicrous argument mind you, but you could try.

No, I tend to think the Lakers are primarily a jump shooting team, especially on the road. Fisher and Kobe both shot jumpers in Boston, Odom jumpers, Artest nothing but threes, even Gasol was nothing more than a jump shooter in Boston. Yet still they shot more FT's than us. The Celtics have been going inside all series long. Pierce has been driving, Rondo going to the hoop, Allen even goes to the hoop. KG has posted up at least as much as Gasol. The only Laker who almost exclusively plays inside is Bynum, and he's barely seen the court.

So the argument of going inside more often in my mind is rubbish. Both teams have been very physical on defense, and both teams are tied 3 games each in the win column, so the effort seems equal on both sides.

So tell me Laker fan John, all things being equal, and I believe that to be the case, I believe both teams have gone inside equally at worst, and both teams have been physical on defense, and both teams have won three games... how exactly do you white wash the whole debate by just saying "calls have gone both ways - that's just playoff basketball" when the Lakers have shot 47!!!! more free throws than us over 6 games?

How does that work exactly? If each team has had bad calls go against them, I'd say the Celtic's have had waaaayyyyyy more bad calls go against them than your team. These are the facts, and they are indisputable.

163-116.

[Banks2Pierce]

I'm doing a rewatch of game 5 right now....and 6 minutes in, there have been 6 bad calls or non calls in the favor of LA and 0 the other way around. We should've had a much better cushion to withstand their shooting onslaught that lasted for another quarter and a half. Also had forgotten how early Perk was out of this game.

[mr_sunshine]

Kobe and Gasol: 93 FTAs
Pierce and Garnett: 48 FTAs
Pierce Garnett and Allen: 68 FTAs
Pierce Garnett Allen and Rondo: 85 FTAs

What is wrong with this picture? Gasol and Bryant have shot only like 25 less FTAs than our entire team....

[theman]

For those whining about officiating calls......you are not getting screwed on foul calls as there have been bad calls both ways.

There are several instances of bad calls/no calls that could be pointed out on the other side....but to do that would be whining.....its just playoff basketball.

Lets do a little quick analysis shall we.

Adjusted for intentional fouls through 6 games, the Lakers have out shot the Celtics at the stripe 163-116. That is a whopping difference. Now if you were going to make the argument that the Lakers have been going inside all series and the C's have been shooting jump shots and camping out at the 3 pt. line, you could go down that path. It would be a ludicrous argument mind you, but you could try.


How does that work exactly? If each team has had bad calls go against them, I'd say the Celtic's have had waaaayyyyyy more bad calls go against them than your team. These are the facts, and they are indisputable.

163-116.

FINALS POINTS IN THE PAINT
Game 1: L.A. 48, Boston 30
Game 2: Boston 36, L.A. 26*
*Not including the 25 FT attempts by Bynum/Gasol.
Game 3: Boston 50, L.A. 38
Game 4: Boston 54, L.A. 34
Game 5: Boston 46, L.A. 32
Game 6: L.A. 40, Boston 32

Total Boston 248, L.A. 218

The numbers actually show it is the Celtics who have been playing in the paint. So the jump shooting argument is obviously flawed.

Here is an interest stat. Free Throw attempts per point in the paint
Boston .47 L.A. .75

Put another way for every basket the Celtics make in the paint they average less than one trip to the foul line. On the other hand the fakers average One and a half trips to the free throw line for every basket in the paint they make.

[TonyMontana]

Kobe and Gasol: 93 FTAs
Pierce and Garnett: 48 FTAs
Pierce Garnett and Allen: 68 FTAs
Pierce Garnett Allen and Rondo: 85 FTAs

What is wrong with this picture? Gasol and Bryant have shot only like 25 less FTAs than our entire team....

You have three players other than Paul that are playing the perimeter and match-up oriented, and the roles change from match-up to match-up. Kobe plays both and if you look at the amount of touches he gets 20 to 30 sometimes 40 which include both driving and shooting abilities. Majoirty of Pauls game is on top of the elbow so he's basically a shooter. Same goes for Ray he's basically JUST A SHOOTER. Also K.G isnt the old K.G who dominates the paint like he use to in his earlier days, so you can also label him as a shooter.

My point is the style of these five players you mention are different. Also Kobe like Lebron, Wade, Melo, players that are more exggressive and they drive to the basket get the fouled.

Also take a look at rebounding in these finals as well, you can clearly see that the Lakers have outrebounded the Cs.

[jsimon]

FINALS POINTS IN THE PAINT
Game 1: L.A. 48, Boston 30
Game 2: Boston 36, L.A. 26*
*Not including the 25 FT attempts by Bynum/Gasol.
Game 3: Boston 50, L.A. 38
Game 4: Boston 54, L.A. 34
Game 5: Boston 46, L.A. 32
Game 6: L.A. 40, Boston 32

Total Boston 248, L.A. 218

The numbers actually show it is the Celtics who have been playing in the paint. So the jump shooting argument is obviously flawed.

Here is an interest stat. Free Throw attempts per point in the paint
Boston .47 L.A. .75

Put another way for every basket the Celtics make in the paint they average less than one trip to the foul line. On the other hand the fakers average One and a half trips to the free throw line for every basket in the paint they make.

Phenomenal info. that only further proves the point that we have been screwed by the refs this series... Win or lose, this series is tainted.

[CelticFaninLBC]

For those whining about officiating calls......you are not getting screwed on foul calls as there have been bad calls both ways.

There are several instances of bad calls/no calls that could be pointed out on the other side....but to do that would be whining.....its just playoff basketball.

Lets do a little quick analysis shall we.

Adjusted for intentional fouls through 6 games, the Lakers have out shot the Celtics at the stripe 163-116. That is a whopping difference. Now if you were going to make the argument that the Lakers have been going inside all series and the C's have been shooting jump shots and camping out at the 3 pt. line, you could go down that path. It would be a ludicrous argument mind you, but you could try.


How does that work exactly? If each team has had bad calls go against them, I'd say the Celtic's have had waaaayyyyyy more bad calls go against them than your team. These are the facts, and they are indisputable.

163-116.

FINALS POINTS IN THE PAINT
Game 1: L.A. 48, Boston 30
Game 2: Boston 36, L.A. 26*
*Not including the 25 FT attempts by Bynum/Gasol.
Game 3: Boston 50, L.A. 38
Game 4: Boston 54, L.A. 34
Game 5: Boston 46, L.A. 32
Game 6: L.A. 40, Boston 32

Total Boston 248, L.A. 218

The numbers actually show it is the Celtics who have been playing in the paint. So the jump shooting argument is obviously flawed.

Here is an interest stat. Free Throw attempts per point in the paint
Boston .47 L.A. .75

Put another way for every basket the Celtics make in the paint they average less than one trip to the foul line. On the other hand the fakers average One and a half trips to the free throw line for every basket in the paint they make.

Great stat. Am guesing Boston has taken quite a few more shots in the paint considering all the misses in Game's 4 & 6.. Also am wondering what's the free attempted per point in the paint ratio when you factor in LA having to intentionally foul in Game's 2 & 5. Boston didn't have to intentionally foul in Game's 1 or 6. I don't quite recall Game's 3 & 4, but don't think there were as many intentional fouls...

[CeltsfaninDC]

Same goes for KOBE he's basically JUST A SHOOTER.

Fixed it for you.
How do you then account for all of his FTs? hmmmmmmm

[Jeff23]

So the refs/stern gave the lakers another title... whats new? The 4th quarter has been a disgrace for the NBA and the basketball world.

[theman]

37-17?????????????????????????????

:shame:

[Green Giant]

Make it 4 now.

http://www.thumpernewman.com/rigged_nba_games.htm

[Ben-N1ce]

That's was a manufactured win. Period.

[postaboy84]

the replay appears to be all legit foul. the celtics players are a bunch of thugs who were commiting obvious fouls. In the fourth quarter, the Lakers were being more aggressive, playing with high intensity, and most of all, they were attacking the basket and got called foul which was shown on replay they did got foul. the lakers were playing terrific defense. the Celtics just couldn't attack the basket, it seem like they were scared

[PPAW4Life]

Naw, can't blame the refs.

At least I am not going to.

We had a 12 point lead...even if we sent them to the line in the 4th, there is no excuse to run that awful offense we were running in the 4th quarter.

The Lakers are not a great defensive team, but we ran an offense, all series, that made the Lakers seem like a great defensive team.