I would like to thank the officials...

[angryguy77]

Why in the world would anyone start a thread with "I would like to thank the officials" after game 2?  The only appropriate filler would have to be "for handing the Lakers the game on a silver platter."  This was worse than game 6 between the Kings and Lakers in 2002.  

This game tonight was epic for so many reasons.  The Celtics took all the crap anyone could ever throw at them and still won.  Tommy was absolutely right (as always) - we beat not only the Lakers and their crowd tonight, but also the blatant agenda from the league.  This entire series is in complete favor of the Lakers.  In LA, the Lakers had four days between the end of the conference finals and game 1 of the finals (and yes, the Celtics got five, but that's not the point.  Both teams should never have been off for that long), and then two days between games 1 and 2 - whereas the Celtics only get one day of rest between games 2 and 3 and games 3 and 4.  What a joke.  The schedule was obviously set up so that the Lakers would get all the rest they needed to beat us in games 1 and 2, with criminal assistance from the officials of course, and then beat a tired Celtics team in games 3 and 4.  It's unbelievable to me that no one has point this out.  The schedule for this entire season has been ridiculous - the Celtics were always playing 4 games in 7 days.  

But what really amuses me is how Phil Jackson has the nerve to complain about the refs after last night.  On what planet does he spend most of his time?  At one point, the free throw discrepancy was 39 to 16 in atttempts for the Lakers, with Bynum at one point taking as many foul shots as our entire team.  Now, a casual observer will look at the boxscore and say, "Well, the fouls were even" - and I'm telling you, anyone who saw that dispicable game should recognize what was going on.  By the end of the game, the refs had managed to cover up their bias in terms of fouls and even tried to narrow the free throw margin in the final minutes of the contest - but even they could not hide the fact that they gave this game to the Lakers.  Without Ray Allen, this would have been a blowout win for Los Angeles (and conversely, if the free throws had ever evened up, this would have been a blowout win for Boston).  I was waiting for the officials to call a foul for contesting a shot or even being on the court by the end of the contest.  I'm also sure that at one point, one of the refs had to say something like, "Look, Phil, we're doing everything we can, but Boston is just too good."

The sad part of all this is that the league still has Salvatore, Bill Kennedy, and Bavetta in reserve to screw the Celtics in game 3.

BTW, those were the correct calls on Kobe - and he should have fouled out on that fast break.  

Yeah, I'm ticked - this game has the fingerprints of David Stern all over it.

The officiating was horrible last night. We couldnt touch Gasol or Bynum without a foul being called. I'm amazed we were able to win that game, just amazed. If we are going to have a chance to win this series, the refs cannot keep performing like garbage.

I don"t think there is a conspiracy, but I do think they need to do a better job calling these games more fairly

[moiso]

The refs gave us a few phantom calls in crunch time.  Yes, the refs helped us.  The Gasol/Perk out of bounds play, a made up call on Artest.  I'll take it though.

[Roy Hobbs]

I just can't complain about the refs when Kobe was in foul trouble all night, due in part to some touch / flop fouls.  If the refs were trying to screw us, they wouldn't have kept the Lakers' best player on the bench half of the game.

Sure, there were bad calls -- BBD's block was clean, Kobe should have been fouled out -- but there were bad calls against them, too (the Pau/KG out of bounds play, the imaginary foul by Artest on PP.)

[Shoot the J]

Agree on atrocious officiating all around. The two plays that sum it up for me were the clean, GREAT blocks by Pierce and Baby that were both called fouls, all while watching the Lakers set a Finals record with 14 clean blocks. The Celtic bigs couldn't get a call in the paint, yet Bynum & Gasol spent half the game at the line. There was a lot working against the Celts. Big win.

[connerhenry43]

as mad as i got at times, the game was equal both ways (bad calls on us, some on kobe), with the exception of the second quarter. during the second quarter, the refs did all they could to get LA back in the game. conspiracy? no. just bad refs. bynum gets away with murder....they will not call over the back, travel, or three seconds. he gets away with as much as dwight howard if not more.

[fairweatherfan]

There are so many things wrong with your logic here, I don't even know where to start.

I probably shouldn't but...

Let's start with the "league's agenda". Can you explain what it is? Because it seems to me that if the league has ANY agenda, it's not handing the Lakers a 2-0 series lead. Because that doesn't make them more money

And I don't think ANYONE thinks they just want the Lakers to win, just because. If you're claiming an agenda, let's hear the logic behind it. The only logical agenda would be to split the first two games to drive fan interest, advertising dollars, and box office numbers.

To your point about the conference finals schedules... you really think the timing of the games was deliberately planned, along with "criminal" officiating, to give the Celtics a disadvantage vs. the Lakers in the finals? Really? If so, why?

Do you think that Phil Jackson was commenting on the officiating to perhaps sway favor in game three?

And yeah, all those calls on Kobe were not legit.

Confirmation bias is a hell of a drug.

The refs again called it tight, both ways, and again made some bad calls, both ways.  A couple of Kobe's fouls were pretty weak.  Garnett probably tipped that ball out although on replay he and Gasol's fingers were intertwined, making it impossible to tell for sure.  The call that fouled Artest out was very weak, and was probably the most important call of the game for us.

On the flip side, both Pierce and Baby had clean blocks in the 2nd half called fouls.  There was also a sequence in the first quarter where Rondo got hacked at the rim, then Kobe jumped from out of bounds to save it.  Ray got literally bent over double by Fisher on one play, and the ref standing right there ignored it and whistled an out-of-bounds screen on Pierce immediately after.

On sum though, you have to have some seriously thick green glasses to see an active conspiracy against the Celtics in the game.  The refs just blew calls, it's what they do.  It'll happen in Game 3 too. 

But I am glad they are clearly looking to give players some slack before calling a cheap double technical.  It's a step in the right direction at least.

[fairweatherfan]

And honestly, Kobe didn't deserve a 6th foul on that breakaway late.  The problem with the play was that Kobe:

- was in the circle
- jumped (straight up) in the air

Now both of those are legal, but both of them generally mean you're getting a foul called on you if you make contact.  The principle of verticality is more or less a joke these days, but it was upheld on that play.  I don't think he deserved a foul there, but I don't think another player would've gotten the benefit of the doubt on that situation.

[connerhenry43]

There are so many things wrong with your logic here, I don't even know where to start.

I probably shouldn't but...

Let's start with the "league's agenda". Can you explain what it is? Because it seems to me that if the league has ANY agenda, it's not handing the Lakers a 2-0 series lead. Because that doesn't make them more money

And I don't think ANYONE thinks they just want the Lakers to win, just because. If you're claiming an agenda, let's hear the logic behind it. The only logical agenda would be to split the first two games to drive fan interest, advertising dollars, and box office numbers.

To your point about the conference finals schedules... you really think the timing of the games was deliberately planned, along with "criminal" officiating, to give the Celtics a disadvantage vs. the Lakers in the finals? Really? If so, why?

Do you think that Phil Jackson was commenting on the officiating to perhaps sway favor in game three?

And yeah, all those calls on Kobe were not legit.

Confirmation bias is a hell of a drug.

The refs again called it tight, both ways, and again made some bad calls, both ways.  A couple of Kobe's fouls were pretty weak.  Garnett probably tipped that ball out although on replay he and Gasol's fingers were intertwined, making it impossible to tell for sure.  The call that fouled Artest out was very weak, and was probably the most important call of the game for us.

On the flip side, both Pierce and Baby had clean blocks in the 2nd half called fouls.  There was also a sequence in the first quarter where Rondo got hacked at the rim, then Kobe jumped from out of bounds to save it.  Ray got literally bent over double by Fisher on one play, and the ref standing right there ignored it and whistled an out-of-bounds screen on Pierce immediately after.

On sum though, you have to have some seriously thick green glasses to see an active conspiracy against the Celtics in the game.  The refs just blew calls, it's what they do.  It'll happen in Game 3 too. 

But I am glad they are clearly looking to give players some slack before calling a cheap double technical.  It's a step in the right direction at least.

wouldn't we all agree, however on the tip ball play that they did everything possible to get the call right? in light of all the mlb controversy recently, isn't it great that the refs took the time to try and do everything possible to try  get the call right? they cannot do that on each and every call of course, but did any fan, LA or boston, have a problem with the refs taking the extra 90 seconds to try and make sure they got a closer look and try to get it right?

[Cman]

Well, sort of.. you were actually pretty horrible for both sides, HOWEVER, there was a play in the first half where I believe Perkins got tangled up with Gasol. Now you could have easily screwed us in this series with a double tech right there and then. But you didn't, and I do appreciate that.

This probably got overlooked, but if it had been Joey Crawford, we would likely be missing Perkins for Game Three. I believe JVG also commented on this.

So, Thank you officiating crew! and Let's go Celtics 

Has Phil complained about this to the media yet?

You've got to imagine that part of Phil's game plan is to get Perk tossed for at least one game.  I fully expect that someone (perhaps Vujacic?) will try to foul Perk hard and cheaply in the next game in the hopes of getting a reaction out of Perk that would result in a T.

[wdleehi]

When they introduce the officials Tuesday in Boston, the fans need to start the chant:


"Let them play!  Let them play!  Let them play!"



Every time the officials start blowing their whistles to much:


"Let them play!"

[FallGuy]

When they introduce the officials Tuesday in Boston, the fans need to start the chant:


"Let them play!  Let them play!  Let them play!"



Every time the officials start blowing their whistles to much:


"Let them play!"

Dude, that is awesome. You oughta send that over to Bill Simmons.

[lon3lytoaster]

Well, sort of.. you were actually pretty horrible for both sides, HOWEVER, there was a play in the first half where I believe Perkins got tangled up with Gasol. Now you could have easily screwed us in this series with a double tech right there and then. But you didn't, and I do appreciate that.

This probably got overlooked, but if it had been Joey Crawford, we would likely be missing Perkins for Game Three. I believe JVG also commented on this.

So, Thank you officiating crew! and Let's go Celtics 

Has Phil complained about this to the media yet?

You've got to imagine that part of Phil's game plan is to get Perk tossed for at least one game.  I fully expect that someone (perhaps Vujacic?) will try to foul Perk hard and cheaply in the next game in the hopes of getting a reaction out of Perk that would result in a T.

Phil complained about the refs helping us or something, don't really remember but he did complain a lot.

And for everyone asking why I'd make this thread, just to clarify, it was more satirical than anything else.

[Overrated]

The refs gave us a few phantom calls in crunch time.  Yes, the refs helped us.

Lakers got some phantom calls too in their favor.

[angryguy77]

I just can't complain about the refs when Kobe was in foul trouble all night, due in part to some touch / flop fouls.  If the refs were trying to screw us, they wouldn't have kept the Lakers' best player on the bench half of the game.

Sure, there were bad calls -- BBD's block was clean, Kobe should have been fouled out -- but there were bad calls against them, too (the Pau/KG out of bounds play, the imaginary foul by Artest on PP.)

That out of bounds play was right. Pau slapped the back of KG's hand which forced him to lose the ball out of bounds. It either should have been our ball or a foul on Gasol.

[angryguy77]

The refs gave us a few phantom calls in crunch time.  Yes, the refs helped us.

Lakers got some phantom calls too in their favor.

That was horrible. I know Kbbe had a few bs calls go against him, but that didn't make up for the touch fouls being called on our bigs for breathing on Gasol and Glass body.