Biggest story in the finals is the refereeing MERGE

[6and33areGOD]

I have to say, even as a Celtics fan, the first three or four minutes of this game were a joke. EVERY SINGLE CALL went Boston's way. Like, "Gee, I dunno if that was planned beforehand by the refs or anything?" Seriously, I'm rooting for Boston but the Lakers were getting jobbed. And...at the end of the day, the Cs couldn't blow it open. Oh well.

Afterward, it was your standard NBA officiating affair, which means it was relatively mediocre with a handful of blown BS calls quickly followed up with BS make-up calls. In other words, still better than the officiating in games 1, 2, and 3.

Yes, the call where Sheed was called for not touching Gasol was so clearly a Celtics-favored call.

Reading comprehension big guy, that call came in the 4th quarter.

Also, the calls went both ways most of the night, but I thought we got the single biggest call of the night with Pierce's and 1. It was a blatant charge in every sense of the call, Kobe was completely still and out of the restricted area. I believe it was 84-80 at the time, and it went to 87 80. If that's called a charge like it was supposed to be, that goes from a 7 pt. lead to a possible 1 or 2 pt. lead with about 2 minutes left.

[Athanacropolis]

^^^ Yup. And there was a make-up call right after that.

[SichtingLives]

Right when it was tied at 64 early in the 4th, I posted in the game thread that if the series really were fixed, there was no way we lose the game. The next two minutes afterwards the refs let a lot of physical play go unwhistled which in previous games would've netted the Celtics a minimum of 2 or 3 foul calls against them.

I don't know. Who does anymore.

[MyInsatiableOne]

With the exception of Scott Foster who tried to give the game to the Lakers until the very end, awesome officiating tonight (except for Willard 3 seconds call).

Nevermind that horrendous 3-second call...3 of Sheed's fouls were total BS, especially when he backed away and Gasoft tripped over his own feet...WTF?

[Datruth345]

I have to say, even as a Celtics fan, the first three or four minutes of this game were a joke. EVERY SINGLE CALL went Boston's way. Like, "Gee, I dunno if that was planned beforehand by the refs or anything?" Seriously, I'm rooting for Boston but the Lakers were getting jobbed. And...at the end of the day, the Cs couldn't blow it open. Oh well.

Afterward, it was your standard NBA officiating affair, which means it was relatively mediocre with a handful of blown BS calls quickly followed up with BS make-up calls. In other words, still better than the officiating in games 1, 2, and 3.

i was thinking the same thing as i was watching the game, there was a chep call on fisher that ended up being foul shots for pierce i think, and it didnt even look like he was shooting at all

[CeltsfaninDC]

Complete Lack of Consistency
I am going to quote JSimon from the Flopping thread for this since it makes so much sense.

And why it's ruining the NBA more than even the officials (and what to do about it)...

Look, I've been miserable watching these Finals, as much as anyone. The referees have been gawd awful. Ranging from absurdly inconsistent to conspiratorially corrupt. But this problem doesn't just rest on the shoulders of the refs. David Stern and the players in this league who consistently flop need to bear some of the burden.

The NBA is a hard game to call, I understand that. All we are looking for is consistency. When guys are grabbing and holding on the perimeter or running through screens, sometimes it's a foul, sometimes it's not. Moving screens, sometimes called sometimes not. When guys are banging for position in the post, sometimes it's a foul, sometimes it's not. When guys jump over the back of another player on a rebound, sometimes it's a foul, sometimes it's not. Charges and blocks are almost always a coin flip depending on the ref. Stars get touch fouls and minor bumps in the lane, while scrubs or second tier players get hammered with no call. Consistency!

Watching last night's game completely illustrated my point that the referring in this series has been completely and totally inconsistent. Picks that were fouls in G3 were not called at all in G4. RAllen coming off of screens hard did not get any offensives called against him. There were very few (if any) moving picks called. The big men in the paint were left to fend for themselves for the most part. All of this was COMPLETELY different from how it was called in G3.

I will leave a critique of the actual referees and poor play to someone else (although I found the 3 sec call to be exceptionally bad to the point of being indefensible) and simply point out that a team cannot prepare for a game with the inconsistencies we continue to see from these refs. Imagine if the refs in the NFL called the bump and run defense different in every game or an umpire changed the strike zone every inning. These are the things we now take for granted as fans of the NBA.

[RCS926]

Boston got the benefit of the whistle last night although there were some blatantly horrible calls that went against Boston (i.e. KG's 3 second violation). Boston was the better team last night in the 4th quarter with Davis completely dominating LO. I'll stop short of congratulating the Celts because there was too much showboating going on for my tastes. Still, Boston deserved to win last night...period.

[PPAW4Life]

There was that Pierce drive and Kobe blocking/"charge" foul near the end of the game.

In real time, at that current TV camera angle, I could have sworn Kobe was in the circle, but upon replay it was the Pierce contact that pushed Kobe into the semi circle.

It could have totally been called a charge and probably should have been. (Though one could argue if Kobe had both feet set before there was contact.)

But the block/charge call is one of the hardest calls to make....especially in real time.

The refs really let the two teams play in the first 3 quarters.

It wasn't pretty ball cause both teams had trouble scoring. There was still poor flow in the game, but it might have been due to both teams expecting tighter calls?

[soxfan2003]

I actually was not that much of a fan of the refereeing in game 5. The amount of calls may have been ok but there was too many blown calls. And they were hardly evenly distributed among the players. 75% of the time Rasheed overreacts but his technical deserves to be rescinded since he unfairly got done in by the refs last night. Way too many bogus calls went against him and if they didn't, he wouldn't have gotten the tech. Rasheed was relatively calm the first bogus call that went against him but I can see why he got that last tech.

KG's 3 second call was a complete joke but I wouldn't be surprised if the 3 second call that went against the Lakers was a make up call even though the Lakers commit many more uncalled 3 second violations then the more perimeter oriented Celtics.

I am somewhat tired of the analysts favoring Kobe when it comes to their interpretation of calls that went against him or when he is followed. Treat any star like a normal player.

The one thing I do credit the refs for is the relatively lack of favoritism towards the stars. Chicago with Pippen and Jordan were tough to beat since those two players could commit many fouls and not be called for it.

[Grime_Wizard]

I aint a Celtic fan or a Laker fan but it was obvious the refs are trying to drag the series out as long as possible. The Lakers got bad calls and so did the Celtics, it seems like whoever gives the NBA the most footage about bad calls has the benefit of the doubt next game.

[PPAW4Life]

The refs took Fisher out of Game 5 after Doc sent in "THE TAPES".

Fisher wasn't able to be aggressive in the 4th so he couldn't bail out the Lakers like he did in Game 4. Fisher was not able to be the Laker's closer.

[celtxman]

There was that Pierce drive and Kobe blocking/"charge" foul near the end of the game.

In real time, at that current TV camera angle, I could have sworn Kobe was in the circle, but upon replay it was the Pierce contact that pushed Kobe into the semi circle.

It could have totally been called a charge and probably should have been. (Though one could argue if Kobe had both feet set before there was contact.)

But the block/charge call is one of the hardest calls to make....especially in real time.

The refs really let the two teams play in the first 3 quarters.

It wasn't pretty ball cause both teams had trouble scoring. There was still poor flow in the game, but it might have been due to both teams expecting tighter calls?

And therein lies part of the problem. First Mike Breen loudly declares that Kobe got out of the restricted area - then both Van Gundy and Jackson chime in it was a bad call. Since when was getting out of the restricted area the only thing the defender has to do? It was clearly a bang bang play, but the right call was made. Kobe's feet were clearly not settled and moving when Pierce was into his move. A fraction of a second longer and Kobe was set - but he wasn't. It is certainly a call that could have gone either way in real time. I have always liked Breen, but Jackson is clearly too much about Kobe being "the best player on the PLANET" and I think Van Gundy has a bit of agenda against the Celtics that probably has something to do with his brother.

[soxfan2003]

Jackson is an embarrassment with his Kobe worshipping. It is as though he is trying to recruit him to play for his team. The other announcers too often just go along.

Kobe is a great player but the best player on the planet is Lebron James and the second best is Dwight Howard. Imagine James with Gasol, Artest(he normally doesn't shoot this bad and was once a good scorer), Bynum, Odom etc.

The truth is that Kobe is the significantly better shooter then Lebron James but that does not make him the better player given all of the things he brings to the table.

if that was the case, Reggie Miller and Ray Allen would both be better then Jordan and Kobe.

[Roscoe Sheed]

has game 5 already been played

who won? I'd like to put $ on it then!

[MyInsatiableOne]

^I just was going to say that, who the hell has seen game 5 already?

[tfmiii]

reffing has been bad, league trying to stretch out the series

game 1 LA was getting the calls, but Cs were not ready
game 2 called more even Cs get the game
game 3 calls all going LA way
game 4 Cs getting the calls, kept us in it during 1st half when we were brutal

hopefully now that it has to go at least six we get 2-3 well called games. I think the refs can do it, but often are instructed to 'focus' on aspects that favor one team or the other....

would love to see some calls on the lakers bigs, they apparently can't foul unless their name is Odom (which in some ways does LA a favor lol)

[PPAW4Life]

Actually, if one were to view these Finals with an objective point of view, cases can be made that the losing teams had bad calls made against them in each game. So it really depends who wins and who loses and then who complains about the reffing.

[TonyMontana]

has game 5 already been played

who won? I'd like to put $ on it then!

Funny isnt it??

He sat here and wrote a whole essay about how you guys were screwed by the reffs yet he has no clue which game is on tonight.

Something tells me he copied and past his post.

Jackson is an embarrassment with his Kobe worshipping. It is as though he is trying to recruit him to play for his team. The other announcers too often just go along.

Kobe is a great player but the best player on the planet is Lebron James and the second best is Dwight Howard. Imagine James with Gasol, Artest(he normally doesn't shoot this bad and was once a good scorer), Bynum, Odom etc.

The truth is that Kobe is the significantly better shooter then Lebron James but that does not make him the better player given all of the things he brings to the table.

if that was the case, Reggie Miller and Ray Allen would both be better then Jordan and Kobe.

Your lack of knowledge when it comes to this game is very obvious but I think the lack of your knowledge is because you have your focus on actually hating a team as well as the superstar who clearly is and will always be the best in the game TODAY UNTIL Lefail actually takes his team to the finals and wins one.

[bballcool34]

Your lack of knowledge when it comes to this game is very obvious but I think the lack of your knowledge is because you have your focus on actually hating a team as well as the superstar who clearly is and will always be the best in the game TODAY UNTIL Lefail actually takes his team to the finals and wins one.

Dude, believe me, as a Celtics fan, I love the Lebron nicknames as much as anyone--LeCrab, LeSucks, LeTravel, LeBrick, LeHype, LeChoke, LeBroom--these are all great nicknames. The best part is that you can incorporate any weakness in Lebron's character/game into his name--LeMoney, for example, is a recent one that I've heard more as free agency draws closer, and it definitely has a ring to it.

But, if we're talking about who the best basketball player is then it has to be Lebron. Pierce knows it--this is a guy who has gone up against both of these guys in the past few years or so-, a guy who probably doesn't like Lebron much given the whole spitting incident in the past---but he gave respect where it was due.

Because Lebron is the best right now--when the Celtics play the Cavs, it's just clear how much of an impact Lebron has on the game--defensively, offensively. I don't think any star makes up play as cohesive and as focused defense as we have to play against Lebron.

[chakdaddy]

Interesting game ref wise. Despite the FT disparity it seemed ok at first.

Then in the stretch, they start the parade for the Lakers to make it close; bailing out Kobe; loose ball foul on Perk (not that bad a call); call the loose ball foul to force Perk to miss FTs and waste our possession. Before Ray grazed the rim on the 3, if they were consistent, KG would have gone to the line with a loose ball foul. PP got mauled before the TD pass.

But then they make the right call on the Ray near-airball (boo to the announcers for replaying the least conclusive angle and saying it was an airball, when the other angles clearly showed it change direction before hitting the backboard.) Weird.

Strictly from a prolonging the series standpoint, the league should have wanted us to win this. If we lose, Lakers win in 6; it's more even and more likely to go 7 this way.

Still kills me that we didn't run away with game 3. But we probably don't take 4/5 if that's the case.

Let's end with 3 straight like Cleveland; end it in 6 like in '08. Wonder if Buss will put up some balloons if it gets to 7 though...