2001 Bucks

[MrOpposite34]

Hello everyone.

The bucks board is a little stressed right now (with a current 5 game losing streak) so I was looking to switch topics for a little bit...I apologize in advance for the long post.

I was hoping to get some outside perspective about the 2001 Bucks... aka the last time the Milwaukee Bucks were considered contenders. Fellow Bucks fans, please feel free to jump in, but I realize many of you may be tired of talking about this team and I want to hear what other NBA fans think.

So, mainly, as many of you may already expect...the main question I'm going to ask you about this team is...was the fix in against them?

Very short summary,
The 2001 Bucks team were led by their "big 3" at the time which consisted of... just getting into his prime and future 10 time all star Ray Allen, first overall pick Glenn Robinson, and finally, who many considered the glue/leader of the team, the mid-range specialist, Sam Cassell.

With a solid bench to back these 3 (including a Tim Thomas who tried), the Milwaukee Bucks were a team to fear in 2001, sweeping the top 4 teams in the West that regular season (including the Shaq-Kobe led Lakers/the 2001 NBA champs). The Bucks would go 52-30 to finish the season and take 1st in the Central. Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen also went to the all star game that season (2 BUCKS IN THE ALL STAR GAME!)

In the playoffs, The Bucks beat the Magic in 4 games during the 1st round and then defeated the Charlotte Hornets in 7 games during round 2. The Bucks would go on to lose the in the Eastern Conference Finals series in 7 games to the Philadelphia 76'ers...who would then go on to lose to L.A in the Finals 4-1.

The conspiracy rests in the ECF, where some believe the NBA was trying to help the bigger market (with the bigger star-Allen Iverson) reach the Finals higher ratings to face the superstars in LA. For what it's worth...David Stern was on record of saying he was rooting for the 76'ers during the series.

Below is Bill Simmons take on the series:

"If crooked NBA playoff series were heavyweight boxers, then the 2002 Western finals (Lakers-Kings) was George Foreman and the 2001 Eastern finals (Bucks-Sixers) was Earnie Shavers. Translation: People remember only George, but Earnie was almost as memorable. To briefly recap, Philly's wins in Games 1 and 4 swung on a controversial lane violation and two egregious no-calls. The Sixers finished with advantages of 186-120 in free throws, 12-3 in technicals and 5-0 in flagrant fouls. Glenn Robinson, one of Milwaukee's top-two scorers, didn't even attempt a free throw until Game 5. Bucks coach George Karl and star Ray Allen were fined a combined $85,000 after the series for claiming the NBA rigged it. In that game, Milwaukee's best big man, Scott Williams, was charged with a flagrant foul but not thrown out, only to be suspended, improbably, for Game 7.

The defining game: When Philly stole a must-win Game 4 in Milwaukee despite an atrocious performance from Iverson (10-for-32 shooting), helped by a 2-to-1 free-throw advantage and a host of late calls. How one-sided was it? When an official called a harmless touch foul to send Sam Cassell to the line with two seconds left and the Bucks trailing by seven (maybe the all-time we-need-to-pad-the-free-throw-stats-so-they-don't-seem-so-lopsided-afterward call), the subsequent sarcastic standing ovation nearly morphed into the first-ever sarcastic riot. And this was Milwaukee, the most easygoing city in the country! Nobody remembers this. The real loser was Allen, who exploded for 190 points in the series, including a record nine three pointers in do-or-die Game 6. Nobody remembers this, either. Even I didn't remember it. Crap."

...Well the story goes that the Bucks were supposed to be the team to beat in the East the following season, with the same core coming back and with the acquistion of big free agent at the time Anthony Mason But chemistry issues and poor play cost the Bucks to not even make the playoffs in 2002, finishing the year off 41-41. Things fell apart from there. Glenn Robinson was traded to Atlanta the next season. Ray Allen was eventually shipped off to Seattle because of conflict with George Karl, the Bucks in return got Gary Payton, who hated Milwaukee and left the first chance he got. After the Gary Payton/Sam Cassell combo failed, Cassell was traded to Minnesota. George Karl was eventually fired. And the Bucks have been mediocre to bad ever since...with the present hope of Giannis Antetokounmpo being able to turn the tide in Milwaukee.

But I digress.

So...Any feedback on 2001 Bucks, the rise and fall of their last contending team, would be appreciated...with the main question being on the conspiracy of the ECF. Thanks!

[Kabookalu]

My understanding of basketball back then wasn't that good. If there was any poor officiating going on I missed it just because of my own lack of knowledge, though I wouldn't doubt it. I remember the media coverage surrounding the Raptors/Sixers playoff battle was insane. The Lakers were sweeping the entire west, but all you heard about was Iverson and Carter dropping 50 points on each other. I used to live in a hockey loving town in Canada, and the only time sports made the front page was when it was about hockey. The only times basketball made the front page was the day after a team won the championship, but outside of that, the only other time was the Carter and Iverson duel.

And then when it came to the Sixers and Bucks, there was this huge drop-off in coverage. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but it also seemed as if the media was already priming for a Sixers and Lakers matchup. Looking back at it it sucked because Ray Allen was a monster. I likened him to a mix of Reggie Miller and Vince Carter. If you weren't Carter, Iverson, Jason Williams, Shaq, or Kobe, you didn't matter.

Media before social media was a different animal. They only focused on a couple of things instead of looking at the bigger picture. If today's league had the kind of media coverage back then, I'd wager Giannis, LeBron, Curry, Durant, Westbrook, and Harden would be talked about all the time, and smaller yet elite stars like Butler, Lillard, Lowry, Leonard, Cousins, Gasol, Paul, Davis, would be just known as "that one team's best player." That's how I saw the likes of Jamal Mashburn, Eddie Jones, Tim Hardaway, just "those good players on that one team."

So with all that said, with the way the media was back then, if the Bucks went to the finals, it might have been a travesty for the league. In a pre Donaghy era, I wouldn't doubt if there was a slant in refereeing.

[RaptorsLife]

If Vince hit the game winner in game 7 against the sixers. East conference finals. Bucks would have made it to the finals easily. They dominated the raptors that year. Ray Allen was amazing. Even though there was no elite teams in early 2000s time in the east. It was awesome so much parity

[LloydFree]

The Raptors were a superior team to the Bucks that year, IMO. The 76ers were so beat up from the 7 game series against the Raptors, it caused them to struggle more than they should have against the Bucks.

Tyrone Hill, in particular, played like sh.. the rest of the playoffs after the Toronto series. He was shook, reportedly due to some threats from Toronto's Charles Oakley, regarding some reported gambling debts he owed him.

[fouronesix22]

The league has been fixing games like the 2002 lakers-kings series, suns vs spurs in 07 I believe, the 06 finals was debatable but the point is the nba does this and they have been exposed for rigging games on youtube. If you go back on any of those series I mentioned its obvious they wanted "preferred matchups" back then. Sixers were more exciting than the bucks because of Allen Iverson and having them matchup against kobe and shaq would mean $$$$ for david stern. NBA was losing alot of viewership back then (still dont know why the league had awesome players) so they had to make these games fixed for better nba finals

[MrOpposite34]

My understanding of basketball back then wasn't that good. If there was any poor officiating going on I missed it just because of my own lack of knowledge, though I wouldn't doubt it. I remember the media coverage surrounding the Raptors/Sixers playoff battle was insane. The Lakers were sweeping the entire west, but all you heard about was Iverson and Carter dropping 50 points on each other. I used to live in a hockey loving town in Canada, and the only time sports made the front page was when it was about hockey. The only times basketball made the front page was the day after a team won the championship, but outside of that, the only other time was the Carter and Iverson duel.

And then when it came to the Sixers and Bucks, there was this huge drop-off in coverage. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but it also seemed as if the media was already priming for a Sixers and Lakers matchup. Looking back at it it sucked because Ray Allen was a monster. I likened him to a mix of Reggie Miller and Vince Carter. If you weren't Carter, Iverson, Jason Williams, Shaq, or Kobe, you didn't matter.

Media before social media was a different animal. They only focused on a couple of things instead of looking at the bigger picture. If today's league had the kind of media coverage back then, I'd wager Giannis, LeBron, Curry, Durant, Westbrook, and Harden would be talked about all the time, and smaller yet elite stars like Butler, Lillard, Lowry, Leonard, Cousins, Gasol, Paul, Davis, would be just known as "that one team's best player." That's how I saw the likes of Jamal Mashburn, Eddie Jones, Tim Hardaway, just "those good players on that one team."

So with all that said, with the way the media was back then, if the Bucks went to the finals, it might have been a travesty for the league. In a pre Donaghy era, I wouldn't doubt if there was a slant in refereeing.

Haha. True. Where would the NBA be without Jason Williams?

[The_Hater]

The Raptors were a superior team to the Bucks that year, IMO. The 76ers were so beat up from the 7 game series against the Raptors, it caused them to struggle more than they should have against the Bucks.

Tyrone Hill, in particular, played like sh.. the rest of the playoffs after the Toronto series. He was shook, reportedly due to some threats from Toronto's Charles Oakley, regarding some reported gambling debts he owed him.

I think the Raps/Bucks would have been a coin flip. All 3 teams were severely flawed compared to the western elite though.

[bebopdeluxe]

As a Sixers season ticket holder, I remember Robinson missing that baseline jumper at the end of Game 5 as if it was yesterday...

Obviously, I am biased, but I think that the dominance of the Lakers that year does not fully respect the top 3 teams in the East - Sixers, Bucks and Raptors. Three pretty equally matched teams...two 7 game series...some great individual efforts...

At the end of the day, the Sixers had the best player - and that usually is the tiebreaker.

[Bernman]

Jim Rome also went on a rant about how he thought the Sixers-Bucks series was fixed.

The Bucks lost 16 straight games reffed by Dick Bavetta, previously referred to as Knick Bavetta for his big market bias, and subsequently controversial for his job working the Kings-Lakers' series, around this time when the team was actually good. In the season in question when the Bucks were one of the best teams in the NBA, they lost all 7 games reffed by Dick Bavetta. http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=814760

The Bucks had won all 8 games against the top 4 seeds in the west. They also were 3-1 against the Raptors, and the only loss came during their 3-9 slump out of the gate. No way in hell were the Raptors the better team. They were worse. And the Bucks had the best chance of contending from the east.

After the season left Bucks' owner Herb Kohl unsatisfied, feeling like the squad needed a finishing touch, they moved reliable vet and leader Scott Williams, and acquired over the hill and toxic on and off the court Anthony Mason. The rest is the history. The Bucks were a .500 team subsequently before breaking up the Big 3.

[Gil]

I remember Ray Allen completely outplaying Iverson in that series. Like it wasn't remotely close.

[Bernman]

I remember Ray Allen completely outplaying Iverson in that series. Like it wasn't remotely close.

I think his legacy would have been different if not for the tomfoolery. He was proving that season he could be a #1 on a real contender.

Subsequently, he moved to the Sonics where he managed to win 52 games one season and got knocked out in 6 games in the second round against the eventual champ Spurs. That rest of that team's starting 5 was Jerome James, Luke Ridnour, Rashard Lewis, and I think Danny Fortson. They were close with that riffraff.

Eventually in his later years he went to the Celtics where he was 3rd fiddle, and Heat where he was a designated shooter. Still managed to be pivotal in title wins, but it's not the same as it would have been had he been the focal point.

IMO, him and Ginobili were the two most underrated players of the era. Ginobili got over-shadowed by Duncan, and to a lesser extent Parker. He was an excellent all-around player. When Tim went down for a period, the Spurs were still an outstanding team, with Ginobili as the orchestrator. And I posit Ray Allen could have won a title in his prime as a #1 with a solid supporting cast and without the reffing shenanigans. He was Steph Curry before Steph Curry.

[bebopdeluxe]

I remember Ray Allen completely outplaying Iverson in that series. Like it wasn't remotely close.

To be fair, Iverson came into that series hurt - thanks to a cheap shot by Charles Oakley in the Raptors series. He gutted out Game 7 of the TOR series...mostly as a decoy, he had SIXTEEN dimes in that Game 7. He was far from 100% in the first two games of that series because of that fall, and had to sit out Game 3.

And if you are a Ray Allen nut-hugger, you will remember Game 4 where - after a cheap-shot elbow to the mouth by Ray Allen - Iverson scored 11 of the last 13 points IN MILWAUKEE to even up that series.

Remember that?

And how about that 44 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in Game 7?

"That was only because Ray Allen got hurt! If he hadn't gotten hurt...you KNOW he would have...I mean, he very well COULD have...I mean, there IS the possibility that he MIGHT have..."

Sorry.

All due respect - a great series. Could have gone either way...but in Game 4, on the road...and in Game 7, the best player on the floor delivered.

[Mr Waternoose]

sixers shot 600 more free throws than their opponents that season. Iverson relentlessly drove to the rim. The Bucks shot 300 less free throws than their opponents that season. They were more of a jump shooting team. Combining the fact that the Bucks were already a jump shooting team with the fact that Dikembe Mutombo was guarding the rim for the sixers led to the Bucks mostly shooting jumpers. Nobody else on the sixers other than iverson could create anything so the ball was in his hands every possession. He drove to the rim more often than not. It can't be surprising that the sixers would dramatically out shoot the bucks at the line. Just based on regular season statsyou would expect that the sixers should shoot about 10 more free throws per game.

[Papi_swav]

sixers shot 600 more free throws than their opponents that season. Iverson relentlessly drove to the rim. The Bucks shot 300 less free throws than their opponents that season. They were more of a jump shooting team. Combining the fact that the Bucks were already a jump shooting team with the fact that Dikembe Mutombo was guarding the rim for the sixers led to the Bucks mostly shooting jumpers. Nobody else on the sixers other than iverson could create anything so the ball was in his hands every possession. He drove to the rim more often than not. It can't be surprising that the sixers would dramatically out shoot the bucks at the line. Just based on regular season statsyou would expect that the sixers should shoot about 10 more free throws per game.

Yup, A.I attacked the rim every time and got to the line about 10 times a game or more for his career. Ray Allen is one of the best free throw shooters but didn't get to the line that much, his game was more on the perimeter.

[Meeksology]

I remember Ray Allen completely outplaying Iverson in that series. Like it wasn't remotely close.

To be fair, Iverson came into that series hurt - thanks to a cheap shot by Charles Oakley in the Raptors series. He gutted out Game 7 of the TOR series...mostly as a decoy, he had SIXTEEN dimes in that Game 7. He was far from 100% in the first two games of that series because of that fall, and had to sit out Game 3.

And if you are a Ray Allen nut-hugger, you will remember Game 4 where - after a cheap-shot elbow to the mouth by Ray Allen - Iverson scored 11 of the last 13 points IN MILWAUKEE to even up that series.

Remember that?

And how about that 44 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in Game 7?

"That was only because Ray Allen got hurt! If he hadn't gotten hurt...you KNOW he would have...I mean, he very well COULD have...I mean, there IS the possibility that he MIGHT have..."

Sorry.

All due respect - a great series. Could have gone either way...but in Game 4, on the road...and in Game 7, the best player on the floor delivered.

This would've been an excellent post if it wasnt for the silly name calling and goading.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using RealGM mobile app

[Vinsanity_GOAT]

I think they were a very well balanced team.

- ray allen as the main guy obviously
- solid second option in glenn robinson
- tim thomas that year was an efficient sixth man, could create his own shots and was able to give you 15-20 points off the bench with decent defense and rebounding
- ervin johson was a very good, and underrated, defensive anchor.
- cassell was a decent floor general, although overrated
- scott williams was mostly just a rebounder iirc, but he was good at it and as far as i remember never seemed like a negative on the court.
- in a similar sense, albeit in a smaller role, darvin ham was basically the hustle player but always seemed to have a positive impact.

That's a solid 7 man rotation. Although they would've benefited greatly from a decent backcourt player on the bench, i was personally never really impressed with lindsey hunter for them (or at any point in his career tbh). That's about all i remember from that team. Well, after checking bbref it seems jason caffey was in the rotation as well with about 20mpg. However since i honestly don't really remember anything about his game i can't really comment.

I was a little surprised when they lost to the sixers, especially since iverson wasn't 100% after the raptors series. After all, vince was one buzzerbeater shy of beating them (an elite defensive team solely focused on him) pretty much by himself. I mean, antonio was a solid player and i loved jerome williams (got way too little playing time btw) but come on... overall, they're well below that bucks roster. Now you had ray allen who was regarded as a similar level player by many (not me), had what can at the very least be considered a good supporting cast and he still loses against that same sixer team? Not even the same sixer team really, since iverson was now playing hurt and even missed a game. Don't get me wrong, ray performed very well but just not quite on the same level as vince imo.

In short, you could say they underperformed. Although those sixers are an underrated team as well with many people giving too much credit to iverson while greatly underselling the value of dikembe who imo was the real difference maker for them. Obviously they needed iverson's scoring but i always felt like it was their defense that made them successful, especially mutombo - i can't credit him enough.

With all that said, at the end of the day, even if the bucks had advanced it didn't really matter since nobody was going to beat shaq that year anyway.

[LakersLegacy]

Hello everyone.

The bucks board is a little stressed right now (with a current 5 game losing streak) so I was looking to switch topics for a little bit...I apologize in advance for the long post.

I was hoping to get some outside perspective about the 2001 Bucks... aka the last time the Milwaukee Bucks were considered contenders. Fellow Bucks fans, please feel free to jump in, but I realize many of you may be tired of talking about this team and I want to hear what other NBA fans think.

So, mainly, as many of you may already expect...the main question I'm going to ask you about this team is...was the fix in against them?

Very short summary,
The 2001 Bucks team were led by their "big 3" at the time which consisted of... just getting into his prime and future 10 time all star Ray Allen, first overall pick Glenn Robinson, and finally, who many considered the glue/leader of the team, the mid-range specialist, Sam Cassell.

With a solid bench to back these 3 (including a Tim Thomas who tried), the Milwaukee Bucks were a team to fear in 2001, sweeping the top 4 teams in the West that regular season (including the Shaq-Kobe led Lakers/the 2001 NBA champs). The Bucks would go 52-30 to finish the season and take 1st in the Central. Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen also went to the all star game that season (2 BUCKS IN THE ALL STAR GAME!)

In the playoffs, The Bucks beat the Magic in 4 games during the 1st round and then defeated the Charlotte Hornets in 7 games during round 2. The Bucks would go on to lose the in the Eastern Conference Finals series in 7 games to the Philadelphia 76'ers...who would then go on to lose to L.A in the Finals 4-1.

The conspiracy rests in the ECF, where some believe the NBA was trying to help the bigger market (with the bigger star-Allen Iverson) reach the Finals higher ratings to face the superstars in LA. For what it's worth...David Stern was on record of saying he was rooting for the 76'ers during the series.

Below is Bill Simmons take on the series:

"If crooked NBA playoff series were heavyweight boxers, then the 2002 Western finals (Lakers-Kings) was George Foreman and the 2001 Eastern finals (Bucks-Sixers) was Earnie Shavers. Translation: People remember only George, but Earnie was almost as memorable. To briefly recap, Philly's wins in Games 1 and 4 swung on a controversial lane violation and two egregious no-calls. The Sixers finished with advantages of 186-120 in free throws, 12-3 in technicals and 5-0 in flagrant fouls. Glenn Robinson, one of Milwaukee's top-two scorers, didn't even attempt a free throw until Game 5. Bucks coach George Karl and star Ray Allen were fined a combined $85,000 after the series for claiming the NBA rigged it. In that game, Milwaukee's best big man, Scott Williams, was charged with a flagrant foul but not thrown out, only to be suspended, improbably, for Game 7.

The defining game: When Philly stole a must-win Game 4 in Milwaukee despite an atrocious performance from Iverson (10-for-32 shooting), helped by a 2-to-1 free-throw advantage and a host of late calls. How one-sided was it? When an official called a harmless touch foul to send Sam Cassell to the line with two seconds left and the Bucks trailing by seven (maybe the all-time we-need-to-pad-the-free-throw-stats-so-they-don't-seem-so-lopsided-afterward call), the subsequent sarcastic standing ovation nearly morphed into the first-ever sarcastic riot. And this was Milwaukee, the most easygoing city in the country! Nobody remembers this. The real loser was Allen, who exploded for 190 points in the series, including a record nine three pointers in do-or-die Game 6. Nobody remembers this, either. Even I didn't remember it. Crap."

...Well the story goes that the Bucks were supposed to be the team to beat in the East the following season, with the same core coming back and with the acquistion of big free agent at the time Anthony Mason But chemistry issues and poor play cost the Bucks to not even make the playoffs in 2002, finishing the year off 41-41. Things fell apart from there. Glenn Robinson was traded to Atlanta the next season. Ray Allen was eventually shipped off to Seattle because of conflict with George Karl, the Bucks in return got Gary Payton, who hated Milwaukee and left the first chance he got. After the Gary Payton/Sam Cassell combo failed, Cassell was traded to Minnesota. George Karl was eventually fired. And the Bucks have been mediocre to bad ever since...with the present hope of Giannis Antetokounmpo being able to turn the tide in Milwaukee.

But I digress.

So...Any feedback on 2001 Bucks, the rise and fall of their last contending team, would be appreciated...with the main question being on the conspiracy of the ECF. Thanks!

That's wild!
They threw out the best big the next game because the refs made a mistake.
Stern was a bad commish. A few years prior didn't he suspend players for reacting on the bench to a fight on the other side of the court.

I don't trust Simmons description though. I use to really like him. Then after years and years of reading his columns (1) I noticed a pattern that he yells fire at anything he perceives as smoke. Simmons was fired by ESPN, cancelled by HBO and (2) is a giant jerk when he goes to eat in Malibu and (3) ahhhh.

The Lakers were undefeated going into the Finals and I don't think the Bucks could win. Kobe averaged 30 and Shaq averaged 33 in the Finals vs. the 76ers. It took every bit of magic AI had to steal a game for the best moment of AI's career.

On the bright side, most fans see the Bucks as the team to beat when LeBron gets old and slows down in 4 more seasons down the road. Patience, Milwaukee will rise.

(1) from approx 2002-2011
(2) if don't believe me, talk to a server next time you are in the area and want to enjoy an ocean view over dinner; Simmons has a reputation and its not that of an everyday guy like he use to present himself, he thinks he is the biggest star in sports and wants you to kneel so he can present his gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus.
(3) why does Simmons always write like this? It's choppy and a little annoying, kind of feels like you are grading a term paper

[Mr Waternoose]

In a seven game series the sixers shot 186 free throws and the bucks shot 120. So the sixers shot 66 more free throws than the bucks or 9.4 per game more. That is right about in line from what you would expect based on both teams regular season free throw differentials. Sixers + 617 (+7 per game), Bucks -312 (-4 per game). I watched every minute of the series and don't remember the refs although I am a sixers fan. I do remember the sixers getting bailed out by Big Dog missing a baseline jumper he probably makes 80 percent of the time

[Eazy E]

I'm in the same boat as Choker. I turned 14 during this series, and did not have the same understanding of the business side of the NBA, as well as the corruption that can occur within any sort of institution, as I do now. But I do remember thinking the officiating was incredibly one-sided.

The things that stand out to me vividly during that series was the Lakers dominance that season, especially during the playoffs, as they swept every team leading up to the Finals. It was the Lakers championship to lose, and I remember the media's coverage seemed to think if there was a team in the ECF that could put up the best fight with LA, it was the Bucks (they had swept the Lakers that year if I remember correctly). The Bucks were a deep team with their big 3 (Ray, Big Dog, and Cassell) and a very strong supporting cast, Tim Thomas, Scott Williams, Ervin Johnson, & Lindsey Hunter. The Sixers were Allen Iverson's team, who was scoring 30+ ppg, relying on quantity over quality. Their next best players were Dikembe Mutombo, Aaron McKie, Tyrone Hill & Eric Snow. That season the Bucks had the league's best offensive rating and eFG%.

Overall there seemed to be the sentiment that the league did not want a small market team in the Finals or the lack of a mega-marketable star like Allen Iverson.

But yes, they shot 66 more free throws over the course of the series. To look closer, their 2 leading scorers in the series, Iverson & Mutombo shot 113 free throws, while our 2 leading scorers Allen & Robinson only shot 47 -- the 66 shot difference, came down to the leading scorers of each team. On top of the 12 technical fouls called throughout the series (compared to Philly's 3) and 5 flagrant fouls (Philly had 0).

The two crucial games that swung the series were games 4 and 5. The Bucks were up on the series 2-1. Game 4 the Sixers shot twice as many free throws, as well as Glenn Robinson, our second leading scorer, shooting 0 free throws despite attempting 22 field goals. This was his 4th game in a row without attempting a single free throw. During the regular season that year, he attempted 4 a game.

Game 5, Philly shoots 28 FT's compared to the Buck's 16. The Bucks had the lead for 40 minutes of the game. They ended the first half up 9 points. In the third quarter, Philly shoots 10 free throws to Milwaukee's 2. Including, Iverson getting a call on a three point shot and then getting a 4th when Cassell was called for a technical for complaining about what he thought was a bad call. A few minutes later, Philly has tied the game and then Robinson scores 5 straight points on a 3-pointer -> defensive rebound -> mid range 2 pointer. The next possession, Robinson gets called for a flagrant foul, giving Philly 2 points and the ball back, also putting us in the bonus. Seconds later, Dikembe is on the line for 2 points. Two separate 4-point swings by the refs. In the 4th quarter with 4 minutes left and the Bucks up 2 points, Tim Thomas gets called for a flagrant, Sixers get 2 free throws and the ball, Aaron McKie gets an and-1 call and makes the free throw. A total of a 13-point swing assisted by the refs on a night Iverson shoots 5 of 27. If the Bucks win this game, they go back to Milwaukee up 3-2. We left that game with a very sour taste in our mouths, and I believe both Ray and George Karl received fines for insinuating this game was swung by the refs.

Another shady dealing, game 6, Scott Williams gets called for a blatant flagrant (gives Iverson an elbow as he drives to the hoop), but they don't eject him from the game (I believe this happened in the 1st quarter). They decided after the game to upgrade it to a flagrant 2, and suspend him for Game 7. It may not seem like a huge loss, but Scott Williams was a huge glue guy for us and a vocal leader.

Either way, the loss is on us. Big Dog hits that open 10-footer, Bucks win Game 5, go on to win Game 6 at home and try their best against Shaq & Kobe.

[Tim Lehrbach]

Maybe you can find an old thread about this series from the first year of RealGM.