Two Words: The refs

[connerhenry43]

i cannot recall being so mad after a regular season game. so my question, was tonight the most one sided officiated game of all time, or was it just top 5? i can honestly say i have never seen anything like that third quarter officiating.

games like this are the reason tim donaghy was able to pick winners 85% of the time. the nba: where rigged games happen.

[PosImpos]

This was definitely one of the most frustrating games I've seen in a while.  I've been very annoyed or disappointed by games where the Celtics simply played like crap and lost to a bad team.  But tonight I felt that the Celtics were not given a real opportunity to win. 

In the situation they found themselves tonight, the Celtics would have had to play like a team full of All-Stars in order to maintain their momentum and the lead.  I don't blame them for this loss, and I don't credit the Hawks with the win.

[connerhenry43]

This was definitely one of the most frustrating games I've seen in a while.  I've been very annoyed or disappointed by games where the Celtics simply played like crap and lost to a bad team.  But tonight I felt that the Celtics were not given a real opportunity to win. 

In the situation they found themselves tonight, the Celtics would have had to play like a team full of All-Stars in order to maintain their momentum and the lead.  I don't blame them for this loss, and I don't credit the Hawks with the win.

well said....have to give joe johnson credit. amazing shooting tonight. it is a shame he is too immature to focus every night and play well, but tonight he was amazing.

i give them little credit for the win, but it is tainted. i give doc and armond tons of credit for sticking up for their team tonight. maybe we are lucky sheed was not out there....may have gotten ugly with him and that clown salvadore tonight.

[Change]

I don't know if NBA is associated with vagas, but it sure seemed like it in the 1st half. Tooooo one sided the first half. All of that just to keep the game close.

Ray hit in the head. (no call)
Rondo shoved outbounds. (no call)
Rondo ran over by Horford (no call)
Jamal kicked his feet out from 3pt line (foul on Rondo)

Anyone care to finish this list.

[buellj814]

Horford 1 million illegal screens!

[Drucci]

I think that a quick look at the stats from the first half and the second half will make it clear (click the pics to seem extended) :

First half



Second half



As you can see, the offensive boards didn't kill us in the second since the Hawks got 7 of their 9 in the first half.

However you can see that Boston got only 12 free throws in the second half, and Atlanta 20 (!), Boston got called 11 more fouls, Atlanta for 10 (but non shooting fools for the most part) which makes a total of 21 for Boston and 16 for Atlanta.

Final differential in free throws : 33 to 18.

Crawford, who was struggling in the first half (0/4) made 4 of 9 shots in the second half but benefited from 8 free throws (while he attempted the exact the same shots in the first and got nothing).

And the boxscore doesn't show the non calls from the refs (illegal screens, fouls, traveling...)

[Roy Hobbs]

The refs were indeed terrible tonight.  I think a lot of things contributed to the loss tonight, but the refs certainly didn't help matters. 

[connerhenry43]

I don't know if NBA is associated with vagas, but it sure seemed like it in the 1st half. Tooooo one sided the first half. All of that just to keep the game close.

Ray hit in the head. (no call)
Rondo shoved outbounds. (no call)
Rondo ran over by Horford (no call)
Jamal kicked his feet out from 3pt line (foul on Rondo)

Anyone care to finish this list.

one of the big ones was when crawford (i believe) was driving, got stripped, dribbled off his leg, 16,000 people saw it, the hawks started to walk back to play defense, but bennett salvadore calls it hawks ball. then the inbounds to crawford, rondo gets piece, they call a foul and three shots.

well done, refs, well done. so many others....the whole third quarter. the c's missed one shot all quarter and 7 points were taken off their lead. hey refs, something wrong with that picture?

[connerhenry43]

Drucci must have missed the memo....kendrick perkins is the only guy in the nba who sets moving screens, remember?   

[PosImpos]

This was definitely one of the most frustrating games I've seen in a while.  I've been very annoyed or disappointed by games where the Celtics simply played like crap and lost to a bad team.  But tonight I felt that the Celtics were not given a real opportunity to win. 

In the situation they found themselves tonight, the Celtics would have had to play like a team full of All-Stars in order to maintain their momentum and the lead.  I don't blame them for this loss, and I don't credit the Hawks with the win.

well said....have to give joe johnson credit. amazing shooting tonight. it is a shame he is too immature to focus every night and play well, but tonight he was amazing.

i give them little credit for the win, but it is tainted. i give doc and armond tons of credit for sticking up for their team tonight. maybe we are lucky sheed was not out there....may have gotten ugly with him and that clown salvadore tonight.

Joe Johnson played awesome for most of the game, and his teammates actually stepped it up in the fourth quarter and outplayed the Celtics during that time.

But that shouldn't have been enough.  It shouldn't be enough to have 1 of your 5 starters play a good game and have the rest play decent in the fourth quarter, but the refs ensured that all the Hawks had to do was play well as a team in the fourth in order to come away with a win.  

I don't blame the Celtics for crapping out towards the end.  It had nothing to do with their ability to "close" or a poor offensive strategy.  They just had all of their momentum taken away.  That flagrant call on BBD and Doc getting ejected was the turning point - a key moment in the game that sealed the win for the Hawks, engineered entirely by the refs.

[Change]

When you are busting your behind and refs take it away from you. You get deflated and lose focus. You see the bias. It shouldn't have been that close in 4th. Doc had build up anger from the 1st, and got ticked off with the bogus flagrant foul. I'd goes nuts too.

[PosImpos]

When you are busting your behind and refs take it away from you. You get deflated and lose focus. You see the bias. It shouldn't have been that close in 4th. Doc had build up anger from the 1st, and got ticked off with the bogus flagrant foul. I'd goes nuts too.

Exactly.  The Celtics gave 150% to win the game through three quarters and the refs didn't allow them to maintain a lead, despite the fact that they outplayed their opponents.  In the fourth, they were tired and discouraged.  It's not their fault that they lost.

[Kiorrik]

The refs were indeed terrible tonight.  I think a lot of things contributed to the loss tonight, but the refs certainly didn't help matters. 

Since I'm not one for blaming a loss on refs either, I would definitely react the same, and I need to stress that I agree 100% with you, Roy.

That said, my question is: when *do* you blame a loss on the refs? Where do you lay the line? When can you honestly tell that refs crush a game? Where's that 50% border they have to crush to go from being just horrid, to being the decisive factor?

[PosImpos]

The refs were indeed terrible tonight.  I think a lot of things contributed to the loss tonight, but the refs certainly didn't help matters. 

Since I'm not one for blaming a loss on refs either, I would definitely react the same, and I need to stress that I agree 100% with you, Roy.

That said, my question is: when *do* you blame a loss on the refs? Where do you lay the line? When can you honestly tell that refs crush a game? Where's that 50% border they have to crush to go from being just horrid, to being the decisive factor?

Here's how I see it:

Did the refs literally win the game for the Hawks tonight?  No.  The Hawks played well down the stretch and won the game.  Joe Johnson was terrific. 

However, even though the refs didn't win the game on their own, they were the deciding factor.  The real turning point of the game was the flagrant foul and Doc getting ejected.  After that, the game might as well have been over even though the Celtics still had the lead. 

[Roy Hobbs]

The refs were indeed terrible tonight.  I think a lot of things contributed to the loss tonight, but the refs certainly didn't help matters. 

Since I'm not one for blaming a loss on refs either, I would definitely react the same, and I need to stress that I agree 100% with you, Roy.

That said, my question is: when *do* you blame a loss on the refs? Where do you lay the line? When can you honestly tell that refs crush a game? Where's that 50% border they have to crush to go from being just horrid, to being the decisive factor?

I'm more comfortable "blaming" the refs for a loss when the final score is within 2 or 3 points, and the refs clearly missed calls.  Also, when the refs foul out a star player on a phantom call with just a few minutes left in a tight game (like the call on KG last season).  In examples like that, the teams have showed they were evenly matched, until an outside force (the officials) comes in and decides the game.

In a game where the Celts get outscored by 15 in the second half, I think you can only look at the refs as one of the factors, not the sole cause.