Kobe's end-of-game play: steal or foul?

[milloy03]

I agree that that was a foul, but how about when Pierce grabbed the rebound to start the exact same possession, it was a complete mugging underneath the hoop, still dont know how pierce came away w/the ball and yet no call. 2 free throws should have been had down 2.

Pierce in the first half driving to the basket, gets clobbered by gasol and no call then next possession drives and gets hit by gasol and a foul is called but a lot less blatant than the previous one, but still a foul anyway; these guys need to stop flipping a coin on calls.

There are more but i dont want to start a whole conspiracy thread going.

Let me just add KG's 3rd foul in the 2nd quarter, obvious call yet the whistle gets blown, ball is not the arm. Bavetta, get your act together or should i say please ref game 6 since you have the rep of sealing the deal for home teams in playoff series.

[Discoflux]

The Celtics took 31 free throws.  The Lakers took 31 free throws.  The Celtics had 28 fouls called on the.  The Lakers had 28 fouls called on them.  I guess I do not see the problem here.

The problem is a non-call on what was an "obvious foul" by consensus and turned the tides of the game outcome, and by extension potentially the series outcome.

Edit: I guess I'm the only one who flipped out screaming at the TV when this mugging occurred.

What do you call it when Sam Cassell hip throws Vujacic to the ground?

[albas89]

Well,if someone could post a replay of the steal-foul,i would be much more certain about it, I didn't see a replay!

[cmoney]

What do you call it when Sam Cassell hip throws Vujacic to the ground?

wresting the ball away?  Soccer flop?  There wasn't even anything remotely close to a foul on that play.  Sasha went down without every being physically held by Sam.. he held the ball the whole time.  Sasha's a wimp.

[milloy03]

Vinnie...

I can guarantee that you are not the only one that went nuts on the play. If it wasnt Kobe its a foul, but the NBA has a thing about  preferential treatment for superstar players that somehow gets ignored when KG is involved (see 3rd foul tonight) or dont even get me started about how the refs treat perkins.

Let me just ask a simple question, if Kobe pulled a Pierce w/the up-fake to draw the foul on a 3 do 2 of 3 get called a travel/offensive foul?? Didnt think so. Mark Jackson finally realized late 4th what everyone already knew going in, Kobe is not MJ, never will be and actually if you listen to Kobe himself never even wants to be compared to him. Why the national media want to give him that is absolutely poor journalism and an utter joke.

[SamuelAdams]

Sasha fell on his own.  Kobe fouled PP but it was slight.  Pierce lost control of the ball at same time and it looked like Kobe touched the ball. He didn't but meh, it wasn't why we lost.  I'll take the possession arrow for next game. 

[RockinRyA]

The Celtics took 31 free throws.  The Lakers took 31 free throws.  The Celtics had 28 fouls called on the.  The Lakers had 28 fouls called on them.  I guess I do not see the problem here.

The problem is a non-call on what was an "obvious foul" by consensus and turned the tides of the game outcome, and by extension potentially the series outcome.

Edit: I guess I'm the only one who flipped out screaming at the TV when this mugging occurred.

What do you call it when Sam Cassell hip throws Vujacic to the ground?

sasha momentum for tugging away the ball caused it.. it was when sam relased his hold that caused sasha fell back.. just like in tug of wars.. when both of you are pulling the ropes and the other side releases, your own pull will cause you to fall down backwards

oh, and about the freethrows? for godsake cant you purple fans realize it  that despite the over aggresiveness of the celtics and the lakers lack of defensive discipline the fuls were just 27-21.. really.. and after that game three i thought you people would have realized what aggresiveness and fouls meant to each other

you cant hear the celts whine about calls after the game, esp if more than a week has passed.. do you hear pp say it after the game? do you hear kg or ray say it?

[ACF]

Well, according to NBA ref guidelines
it's a foul in the first 3 quarters
and a steal in the 4th...

But I'm not whining.
The Celtics lost this game, the Lakers
didn't win it.

Can't wait until Tuesday!

[jackson_34]

It was obviously a foul, but there were more blatant non-calls in the game than this.

[Onslaught]

I don't think it was a foul. And if we're honest if Boston had done this to LA we'd be talking about what a great play it was. Boston made just enough mistakes to let LA get this one. They need to clean these things up before the next game and not give LA anymore life then they have now.

I felt the game was called fair for a home court game. And to be honest that has me a little concerned going back home. We all complain about the officiating in these playoffs and how the home court team has such an advantage because of it. I was kind of looking forward to that if we needed it!

[CoachBo]

Marginal, and probably not a call you're going to get.

With that said, the game was an officiating mess, as are most called by the Cadaver from the Crypt, Dick Bavetta. The old fossil needs to retire.

[Slugger]

I think that call (or no call in this case) is the worst officiated call at all levels of basketball.

I used to play in a league and they would never call that reach around foul.  It always pee'd me off.  Whenever i officiate a junior game, i always call that a foul.

Think about it.  You get beat by the offensive player, and then poke at the ball, wrapping your arm and hand around the waist of that player to get to the ball - obvious foul.  Even if its clean, it should be called a foul.

Fair's fair though, Rondo does it a fair bit - and never gets called for it.  Heck, i counted 5 times where Rondo did it to Farmar or Fisher.

Just call the foul.

[kgiessler]

The Celtics took 31 free throws.  The Lakers took 31 free throws.  The Celtics had 28 fouls called on the.  The Lakers had 28 fouls called on them.  I guess I do not see the problem here.

The problem is a non-call on what was an "obvious foul" by consensus and turned the tides of the game outcome, and by extension potentially the series outcome.

Edit: I guess I'm the only one who flipped out screaming at the TV when this mugging occurred.

What do you call it when Sam Cassell hip throws Vujacic to the ground?

exactly what the announcing staff called it: acting.

[kgiessler]

Normally a foul, but with the way they were calling it loosely, I'm fine it with being called a steal.  There were some other plays near the end there where I had a gripe, but thats the game.

[SaCaCh]

Great play by Kobe, and poor awareness by Paul. Second time Kobe did that too him.