Tim Donaghy's Scouting Report for Game 3 of the NBA Finals

[Roy Hobbs]

Donaghy.

I mean, 90% of CelticsBlog could have predicted those things.  They'll call fouls on our big men?  Really?  It's likely that we won't sweep at home?  Shocking.

[connerhenry43]

there are few on here who hate refs as much as me, but i will say this:

the lakers won game on because they were better.

the celtics won game two because they were better.

let's hope for well officiated games from here on out. The inclusion of salvadore is not encouraging, and I am sure bovetta and rush will rear their ugly heads by the end of the series, but let's just hope they let these guys play a bit, and have a cleanly officiated game. oh, and the celts win by 40!  

[twinbree]

It's obvious that it is easy for the refs to influence the flow of games with a few calls. The fact that the NBA is not doing anything of note to improve the quality of the officiating and hold the refs to higher standards doesn't give me any confidence in their integrity. These refs are earning hundreds of thousands of dollars - a little more competence at their jobs isn't too much to ask for.

So while I don't really take everything Donaghy says as the gospel truth, I also don't dismiss it either because that means I'll be giving the league the benefit of the doubt and they have done nothing lately to deserve it.

[Q_FBE]

And in other news it is bright and sunny out here in Seattle. The good weather distraction is in play for me. All this adds up to an unfavorable outcome.

This officials thing is overblown. We need to overcome our mental block on officials and watch and cuss over each possession.

[wdleehi]

I am hoping for the typical NBA overreaction.



The story is about the officials blow to many whistles.


Therefore, Stern will have his official swallow there whistles whenever possible.




Or is this just wishful thinking?

[celticinorlando]

boston's bigs will be hit early and often for screens they set for ray..no doubt they are going to get kobe to the line and ray to the bench

[Q_FBE]

I am hoping for the typical NBA overreaction.



The story is about the officials blow to many whistles.


Therefore, Stern will have his official swallow there whistles whenever possible.




Or is this just wishful thinking?

I don't know, Mr 20000 posts, that is why we watch the games to see what new stories we can talk about in the blogs. Don't give my any more TPs today - 336 is very lucky to me. 

[ballin]

boston's bigs will be hit early and often for screens they set for ray..no doubt they are going to get kobe to the line and ray to the bench

I concur.

Reffing in the playoffs almost seems to be a series-long string of makeup calls that, in some misguided attempt to achieve equity, results in both teams being fairly screwed.

Why did Kobe have a couple of bad calls against him? Probably because Ray had some bad calls when he was defending Kobe the previous game. That play where it wasn't clear if Pau Gasol or Garnett hit the ball out of bounds? Probably went to the Celtics because Kobe clearly fouled Ray Allen on that layup on what would have been his 6th foul.

What's worse, is that when officials see a player like Ray play superbly, it seems they gain a subconscious suspicion that he couldn't have done what he did while playing fairly. Add in a few comments from Phil Jackson and the Fakers ("Ray shoves off a lot when he goes around screens" and Bynum saying something like "the bigs set really illegal screens") and the seed of doubt is firmly planted. And as we fans know, you can always find a foul when you're looking for one. And that's how the makeup call disease spreads from game-to-game, and not just call-to-call. (my theory)

[RMO]

Has any other convicted felon ever been granted as much credibility as Tim Donaghy?

[kozlodoev]

He was just on Dennis and Callahan on WEEI


- Said to watch for fouls being called on the big men setting screens for Ray

- Said that Ray and Fisher will be called tight early

- Said to look for this thing to go back to LA with the Fakers winning at least 1 in boston



According to Dennis and Callahan, Donaghy has been pretty much spot on with his perdictions so far in these playoffs.

So basically he said that what happened in Game 2 will happen in Game 3 as well. Wow, I am smitten.

[Kwhit10]

I am hoping for the typical NBA overreaction.



The story is about the officials blow to many whistles.


Therefore, Stern will have his official swallow there whistles whenever possible.




Or is this just wishful thinking?

I think we all want this. However, I don't really see it happening.

[Finkelskyhook]

It's obvious that it is easy for the refs to influence the flow of games with a few calls. The fact that the NBA is not doing anything of note to improve the quality of the officiating and hold the refs to higher standards doesn't give me any confidence in their integrity. These refs are earning hundreds of thousands of dollars - a little more competence at their jobs isn't too much to ask for.

So while I don't really take everything Donaghy says as the gospel truth, I also don't dismiss it either because that means I'll be giving the league the benefit of the doubt and they have done nothing lately to deserve it.

NBA officials are amazingly competent.  They have to remember 3 different rulebooks and apply them to applicable players.  They do an amazing job at it.
------------------------------------------------------

Indeed Proceed wrote:
I used to mock you "watchout for the officials" people. I used to say "You cannot lose a game because of officials"...and I used to believe that.

There has been simply been no real continuity in this series..and its not even about superstar calls anymore or favoring one team (although if anyone wants to give me a case as to the Celtics being favored here, I will probably die from the laughter.)..it's more like...I dunno. A trap?

It's like when you're a kid and you're playing a game you made up with other kids...for a while the rules are not fair because only one side actually understands how the game is supposed to go. Tonight whoever figures out how the refs are calling the shinanigans and stays on the floor (whether it is Ray Allen, Lamar Odom, Kobe, KG, or  *gasp* Rondo...all have been forced to sit games these playoffs) will have a huge advantage. Similarly whichever team has a major contributor rack up early foul trouble will be that much more screwed.  
 

Great post, IP
100% agree with this post.  Almost everybody has been screwed in the first two games.  Hopefully the officials aren't taking turns because Kobe was screwed the worst last game....But we had our share of bad calls for and against in both games.

These two games are being called awful...but evenly awful.

Has any other convicted felon ever been granted as much credibility as Tim Donaghy?

He has credibility because the product he's critiquing is so overtly skewed with star-biased calls and gross inconsistency.  Leaves the door wide open for this type of discussion.

[lvarenus7]

Question: Has any other convicted felon been granted as much credibility as Tim Donaghy?

Answer: Yes, a convicted felon is a referee in the biggest game of our season tonight, Bennett Salvatore, you can look that up if you wish. A convicted felon also reffed game 1 in Joe Crawford, a convicted felon also reffed game 2 in Kenny Mauer.

In the mid-1990's they were indicted in federal court on tax evasion charges along with many of the men who are currently official supervisors.

There is a lot of misinformation about Donaghy out there, people think he fixed games, he didnt, both the the FBI and the NBA in separate investigations concluded the same thing. Is he a bad guy for betting on NBA games with inside info, yes, but it doesnt mean his rational pleas to clean up the officiating in the game we all love should fall on deaf ears.

The NBA is corrupt from top to bottom, many of the officials were initially hired due to nepotism and have been grandfathered in to a system that puts more weight on settling personal grudges than getting calls correct. All the info is out there for people who want to do a little research.

I just sincerely hope someone as painfully pathetic at his job as Bennett Salvatore makes more errors in our favor tonight but either way it is a black mark on what is a great series.

[indeedproceed]

This video might as well serve as the ref's pre game warm-up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr4K3I1yw1E&feature=player_embedded

And posts like this are even more proof positive why we're kinda screwed:

If you haven't yet seen Kevin Arnovitz's breakdown of how Ray Allen got open in Game 2, stop reading this and go watch that.

And it brings up an interesting little playoff point: Winning a series is often about making opponents think, which often means coaching adjustments.

The more I watch that, the clearer it is that Derek Fisher really can't guard Ray Allen. Not if the Celtic big men are going to get away with all those moving picks away from the ball.

Kobe Bryant can do a good job of it, though. And as Arnovitz demonstrates, the Lakers can stay closer to Allen on the break, and help a lot more as he's coming off screens.

The solution isn't obvious. Switching Bryant to Allen risks Rajon Rondo going crazy, and costs the Lakers their best help defender. Maybe Sasha Vujacic should spend some time chasing Allen? Maybe the key is making sure Andrew Bynum is more attentive?

But what they can't do is just let him run around the halfcourt getting wide open time and again. That's going to hurt. And I'd be very surprised to see that happen. No Phil Jackson team is going to go into Game 3 with the same game plan that sprung a leak in Game 2. Something will be different. When Game 3 starts, the race will be on the see what's different.

Pay attention to the paragraph:

The more I watch that, the clearer it is that Derek Fisher really can't guard Ray Allen. Not if the Celtic big men are going to get away with all those moving picks away from the ball.

That's the sentiment from supposed impartial observer Henry Abbott, who is the head writer and editor of ESPN's Flagship blog "Truehoop".

He's also the guy who did a 4 part series on Bennett Salvatore called "The Salvatore Side Of The Story".

What am I getting at here? Whether or not there are actual moving screens happening in game 3, there WILL be moving screen calls.

[fairweatherfan]

What am I getting at here? Whether or not there are actual moving screens happening in game 3, there WILL be moving screen calls.

Well, there'll definitely be moving screens - they're like holding in the NFL, a little bit is usually not called so at least a little bit happens on just about every play. 

And I think the refs already look out for moving screens on our guys - KG and Perk have been notorious for it for years, and Baby gets called for it a lot now too.  So I think the refs would have to really have made it a major point of emphasis pregame for us to start getting a lot more of them now.