anyone else growing tired of the NBA??

[tgreanier]

Two of the technicals were bad, but I am confused by the sentiment on this board.  Miami committed more fouls than Boston in the game and they both shot almost the same amount of foul shots (which is amazing given the technicals and the amount that Wade and James drive is a heck of a lot more than the amount Boston drives).

You can say it was a poorly officiated game, but it wasn't biased officiating.  It was just bad.

Adding up total fouls is not meaningful. Yes, Miami had more fouls committed, but who got whistled? Bench players. That is the way NBA refs do their thing. They can always then argue that it was called fair by pointing to the numbers. But when Lebron and Wade have 3 fouls between them and Pierce and Rondo never once get to the line...um...what? Pierce was hacked to death last night and the same thing on the other end was whistled and, therefore, prevented from happening any further. So you end up with one team (Miami) free to play tough inside defense and the other team (Boston) unable to play any semblance of defense inside.

I absolutely hate it, but the refs are twisted and it has gotten worse and worse with each season. It is so obvious that the NBA is focused on getting the right teams in the right place. If the Heat are not in the finals, the ratings will tank, so there is no chance they will not be.

This does not take away from the fact Boston would have lost last night anyway. Hell, I expected a blowout and I picked Miami to win this series in 5 games. This is not bias Celtics whining - this is just calling it like I saw it.

As for me, my frustrations with the NBA and the impossibility of changing it to be a real sports league have reached the end. I love the Boston Celtics and will remember them over the past 35 years I have been watching, but last night ended the NBA for me. Straw, camel's back and all.

And to everyone who keeps saying "stop blaming the refs, it was Boston's fault they lost" you seem to be missing the point. Let me be clear: YES BOSTON LOST THIS GAME. Yes, they would have lost anyway. Yes they had offensive and defensive breakdowns even beyond anything the refs contributed to.

The point though is the game is not "real" anymore. It is not "fixed" per se, but it is clearly mandated by the league to protect the super stars. Super stars mean ratings and merchandise and money.

I guarantee this crap will continue in the finals. I am expecting the Spurs to face the Heat and I guarantee the Heat will still get the calls. However, I think the Spurs are very much like the 2008 Celtics in that even with the ref's help, the Heat will fall to the Spurs.

It is not about "would we have lost anyway" it is about the fact we have to deal with the obviously biased officiating altogether. It ruins the game...unless you are a fan of the team getting help. If I wanted to watch this, I would tune into the WWE and get it over with.

[rondohondo]

Two of the technicals were bad, but I am confused by the sentiment on this board.  Miami committed more fouls than Boston in the game and they both shot almost the same amount of foul shots (which is amazing given the technicals and the amount that Wade and James drive is a heck of a lot more than the amount Boston drives).

You can say it was a poorly officiated game, but it wasn't biased officiating.  It was just bad.

Adding up total fouls is not meaningful. Yes, Miami had more fouls committed, but who got whistled? Bench players. That is the way NBA refs do their thing. They can always then argue that it was called fair by pointing to the numbers. But when Lebron and Wade have 3 fouls between them and Pierce and Rondo never once get to the line...um...what? Pierce was hacked to death last night and the same thing on the other end was whistled and, therefore, prevented from happening any further. So you end up with one team (Miami) free to play tough inside defense and the other team (Boston) unable to play any semblance of defense inside.

I absolutely hate it, but the refs are twisted and it has gotten worse and worse with each season. It is so obvious that the NBA is focused on getting the right teams in the right place. If the Heat are not in the finals, the ratings will tank, so there is no chance they will not be.

This does not take away from the fact Boston would have lost last night anyway. Hell, I expected a blowout and I picked Miami to win this series in 5 games. This is not bias Celtics whining - this is just calling it like I saw it.

As for me, my frustrations with the NBA and the impossibility of changing it to be a real sports league have reached the end. I love the Boston Celtics and will remember them over the past 35 years I have been watching, but last night ended the NBA for me. Straw, camel's back and all.

And to everyone who keeps saying "stop blaming the refs, it was Boston's fault they lost" you seem to be missing the point. Let me be clear: YES BOSTON LOST THIS GAME. Yes, they would have lost anyway. Yes they had offensive and defensive breakdowns even beyond anything the refs contributed to.

The point though is the game is not "real" anymore. It is not "fixed" per se, but it is clearly mandated by the league to protect the super stars. Super stars mean ratings and merchandise and money.

I guarantee this crap will continue in the finals. I am expecting the Spurs to face the Heat and I guarantee the Heat will still get the calls. However, I think the Spurs are very much like the 2008 Celtics in that even with the ref's help, the Heat will fall to the Spurs.

It is not about "would we have lost anyway" it is about the fact we have to deal with the obviously biased officiating altogether. It ruins the game...unless you are a fan of the team getting help. If I wanted to watch this, I would tune into the WWE and get it over with.

TP agree 100%

I can live with the c's losing , but when you get your momentum killed immediately by bogus calls it effects the games . It effects the way you defend, it effects the way you attack on offense (when you can't get a call), it effects Miami's ability to play defense without worrying about getting in foul trouble .

But if you say anything about the incompetent officiating you get called a whiner or loser on here .

It's really insane how some people on here will protect the officials no matter what with their reasoning being complaining is for losers . OK....

[prov1ml34]

I honestly don't get how everyone thinks we would have lost this game anyway...

Guys, we were TIED at half despite the horrible officiating. If the officiating is even half of what would be considered fair and unbiased, we have 6-8 point lead at half.

Not only would a lead at half help, but the team's pysche isn't completely screwed up from the biased whistles and completely one-sided officiating. That junk they pulled on us last night effects the team mentally, there isn't anyway it couldn't.

We very easily win that game if it was officiated even halfway consistently.

[guava_wrench]

Two of the technicals were bad, but I am confused by the sentiment on this board.  Miami committed more fouls than Boston in the game and they both shot almost the same amount of foul shots (which is amazing given the technicals and the amount that Wade and James drive is a heck of a lot more than the amount Boston drives).

You can say it was a poorly officiated game, but it wasn't biased officiating.  It was just bad.

Agreed. Foul counting is the lowest form of basketball analysis typically used to rationalize losing. If we win the foul battle, the ref blamers don't mention it. If it goes the other way, they are convinced it means something unsavory.

Two bad techs are not game changers. The Celtics seemed to respond quite well to them. There will always be bad calls through out basketball games at all levels of competition. The Doc tech is a rare call where I would say the ref was unreasonable and clueless. The Ray one was just Ray being human after a horrifically bad foul call. Every game will have some really bad calls due to the limitations of human perception. Heck, we can see Tommy and fans across the country making horrible calls even after watching replays!

If people don't control for their perception biases, they will eventually start confabulating stories to explain their faulty perceptions. This sometimes makes me tire of basketball forums, but not of the NBA. Forums like this are densely packed with confirmation bias and motivated reasoning.

[guava_wrench]

I honestly don't get how everyone thinks we would have lost this game anyway...

Guys, we were TIED at half despite the horrible officiating. If the officiating is even half of what would be considered fair and unbiased, we have 6-8 point lead at half.

Not only would a lead at half help, but the team's pysche isn't completely screwed up from the biased whistles and completely one-sided officiating. That junk they pulled on us last night effects the team mentally, there isn't anyway it couldn't.

We very easily win that game if it was officiated even halfway consistently.

Obviously it didn't bother our psyche as we score 35 in the second and tied the game after those calls. If it affected our psyche, it did in a good way it seems.

If you want to blame refs due to the 2 missed calls (the Doc T and the Ray foul - the Ray T was no necessarily a bad call but the foul was) than you will always be able to do so. Every game will have missed calls in favor of each team that the other team's fans can complain about if that is their thing.

[snowball]

the day Stern steps down as comissioner will be a great day for basketball

Nothing will change. Look up Adam Silver. He's Stern 2.0.

[Lord of Mikawa]

I'm growing tired of Ainge not giving our stars the bench they need year in and out. That is what is being exposed right now. Not Rondo, not Lebron and Wade dancing like fools....our bench sucks and that is Danny's fault. Look at San Antonio and tell me they aren't what we should be right now.

[csfansince60s]

I'm growing tired of Ainge not giving our stars the bench they need year in and out. That is what is being exposed right now. Not Rondo, not Lebron and Wade dancing like fools....our bench sucks and that is Danny's fault. Look at San Antonio and tell me they aren't what we should be right now.

Don't know if this is 100% right on. Jeff Green, Wilcox, Bass, Pietrus and either Ray or Bradley would have been a pretty strong bench.

Ainge also tried for David West.

Seems like he did his due diligence to me.

[twinbree]

I've been tired of the NBA for a while now. I cannot understand how nothing is being done to improve the officiating. To change perceptions of impropriety and to improve the game. It's a joke. There's absolutely no consequences for calling a game poorly and in addition to that get protected from criticisms by fining people for making (very often) legitimate complaints. I am expecting the status quo in this series. The refs will err on the side of the Heat and the games will be very frustrating to watch. Thank goodness for the French Open keeping me entertained. Even without hawk-eye it's still so much better officiated.

[Frontierboy]

Well, considering they had to upgrade all the flagrant fouls in that heat/Indiana game, it's safe to say the officials are gutless when it comes to making the right call

[Meadowlark_Scal]

It is just harder and harder to believe in....the officiating is at an extreme....low.....favoritism....game control....

[Neurotic Guy]

I watch the Boston Celtics, not the NBA.  I can't watch very much non-Celtics basketball.  This makes me a Celtics fan, not a basketball fan.  I realize there are many true basketball fans here and I respect that and really enjoy the knowledge brough here by many of the posters. However, this is a Celtics blog and I am unashamed to admit that I couldn't care less about NBA games if they don't involve the C's.  In fact, the only 2 things I care about in the league are the Celtics winning and the Lakers losing.

So, as long as the C's are in Boston and I am on this earth, I doubt strongly that I will grow tired of watching them.

[Mr October]

I'm growing tired of Ainge not giving our stars the bench they need year in and out. That is what is being exposed right now. Not Rondo, not Lebron and Wade dancing like fools....our bench sucks and that is Danny's fault. Look at San Antonio and tell me they aren't what we should be right now.

Don't know if this is 100% right on. Jeff Green, Wilcox, Bass, Pietrus and either Ray or Bradley would have been a pretty strong bench.

Ainge also tried for David West.

Seems like he did his due diligence to me.

Considering what Ainge had to work with under the salary cap rules, I thought he did very well in the off season.

[freshinthehouse]

I'm growing tired of Ainge not giving our stars the bench they need year in and out. That is what is being exposed right now. Not Rondo, not Lebron and Wade dancing like fools....our bench sucks and that is Danny's fault. Look at San Antonio and tell me they aren't what we should be right now.

Don't know if this is 100% right on. Jeff Green, Wilcox, Bass, Pietrus and either Ray or Bradley would have been a pretty strong bench.

Ainge also tried for David West.

Seems like he did his due diligence to me.

Considering what Ainge had to work with under the salary cap rules, I thought he did very well in the off season.

Agreed.  You can only do so much. 

[Leon0]

excellent