2005 NBA Playoffs

[Colonel_Reb]

Great game last night. Manu was on fire! They let it get down to 8 and then surged ahead. If they can play two more games like that, it will be the most lopsided Finals in a long time. Every time Manu hit them up from 3 point land, Detroit just had these blank faces. It was hilarious. What wasn't hilarious was how the cohost of the Early Show totally botched Manu's last name. She said it like Gene-O-Bee-Lee. Unreal, but then, what else can you expect from a woman. I don't think too many more people will mess his name up. After this series, he'll be a household name. At least the black dude who was the other host got onto her about it. Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[White Shogun]

She said it like Gene-O-Bee-Lee.

Actually, I was wondering if Gen-Oh-Blee was the correct pronunciation anyway. The media is notorious for botching ethnic surnames, e.g. Rod-Ree-Gwez instead of Road-RI-Ghez. I thought perhaps that the correct Italian pronunciation would be as the cohost pronounced it, Gen-O-Bee-Lee, but I'm not Italian, either, so...

Any Italian native speakers lurking on the board to help us out?

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I don't know how you say it in Italian, but considering he's from Argentina, I don't know if it matters. Anyway, you could tell she had no clue who he was and that she had probably never heard of him.

 

[Bart]

[QUOTE It's ok because Ginobli will light it up like a christmas
tree tonight.I hope he dunks on Rasheed.lol.[/QUOTE]


You were right, Ginobli had a sensational game.

 

[white lightning]

Ginobli just makes it look like a walk in the park.He
plays at a different speed than the other guys.His
energy level is amazing.I really want him to get the
award for MVP of the Finals.

 

[Bart]

Dan Patrick had Reggie Miller on his program today. Dan was telling him that Manu was carving up the Pistons, inside, outside, driving to the basket , they can't defend him. Miller is on record predicting the Pistons would win in six, after the two losses he still stands firm and feels the Pistons take the next four games.He was chafing at the suggestion of Manu wreaking havoc with Detroit's defenders. His comment was something like this: Phhheeww ... They have to take away his outside game or focus on his inside... they're not doing that...it's the scheme... come on... don't tell me Tayshaun or Hamilton can't guard him !!


I laughed ot loud when Iheard that. i guess the world champion Pistons known for great defensive play,forgot to have anybody seriously guard Ginobli. I mean, it's common knowledge white guys suck, so they didn't bother defefnding him.


I have a suspicion Ginobli is going to be the recipient of some cheap shots to keep him off the floor.

 

[white lightning]

Congrats to GreatLakeState but I smell a set up.Explain
to me how Ginobli only takes 6 shots and turns the ball
over 7 times.Parker looked tentative and so did Duncan.
Let's face facts.There is too much money to be lost if
they had back to back sweeps.Last years NBA Finals were
very poor on tv ratings which means not much money.No
one wants a 4 game series.Even Tim Duncan on a few of
his shots that he got blocked literally looked like he
wanted to be blocked.I'm not kidding.Watch the replays.
On the first block,he let go off the ball like he was
trying to lose it on purpose and Wallace volleyball
spiked it.It just looked too easy to me.Maybe I'm
wrong but it seemed suspicious.Go Spurs.

 

[right winger]

I agree White Lightning. How could San Antonio's two main weapons be rendered so easily into observers? Manu in particular looked like the forgotten man of the offense. Why wouldn't they let him control the tempo of the offense, ala Steve Nash, after what he did in the first two games?

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I don't know about a set up, but I think it was definetely an off night for the Spurs. You had to expect it sometime. I think the Spurs will win the next game though.

 

[JD074]

Duncan is incredibly rich. What would be his incentive to
intentionally play poorly? I didn't see much of the game, but I
heard Michaels mention that Manu got into early foul trouble.
Did anybody see those fouls? Were they cheap?

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I'm not sure. I know one was legit. I'm no basketball expert though. If I played, I'd foul out in about 5 minutes or so.

 

[White Shogun]

It wasn't so much his fouls as his seven turnovers, each of which could have been called a foul - on the defense.

There may not be an overt conspiracy in that the Stern and everyone in NBA management will issue memorandums and conduct secret conclaves to determine the outcome of a game, but - there is definitely something up with the way the refs call games so differently. In an AP article on the playoffs in today's newspaper, the reporter mentioned that interest in the NBA has waned and that TV ratings for the playoffs are very low, but - they expect with the Pistons comeback in game 3 will renew the interest of the fans.

As with anything else, its all about the dollars, and more games mean more advertising revenue. I'll be surprised if the series ends in five games. These guys are even considering a lockout because they can't decide how to divvy up the millions and millions of dollars the NBA brings in.

The NBA should adopt a tournament format like the NCAA. Higher stakes for each game would mean more people would tune in to watch, and thus they could charge a higher premium for the advertising slots. Think Super Bowl.

Sorry for my digression in this post. Point is, I think the refs call the games differently in order to purposely affect the outcome of a game, depending on the series.

 

[SteveB]

I agree Shogun. Before game 3, many commentators were saying they expected the game to be the ugliest officiated game so far. They were right. After Brown complained to the media about the officiating in games 1 and 2, everyone knew that game 3 would be officiated to the Pistons advantage. Otherwise, the officials may not have made it out of Detroit alive.

 

[Bart]

Steve and Shogun, youboth make good points about the refs.I couldn't believe how much hacking the Pistons were getting away with.

 

[IceSpeed2]

Detroit has become the NBA's Oakland Raiders.
They are just so cheap. Wallace got off so eady when he fought
with in the stands.
Edited by: IceSpeed2

 

[Don Wassall]

The finals have been a TV ratings flop so far. The ratings for Game3 were down 31% from last year's Game 3, and Game 2 was off 35.5%.


The AP article I read blames "blowouts" for the ratings debacle, but that doesn't make sense unless the ratings are only for the last portion of a game, which they're not. If it was the NHL experiencing such a huge decline in just one year there would be obligatory moaning about how the product stinks and nobody cares anyway.

 

[bigunreal]

There are several ways that the "journalists" who cover this sport let
the public know that it is not on the level. As mentioned above, they
will often talk about the next game being the "ugliest" officiated one.
Or they might talk about games being officiated differently, depending
on where it is being played. Huh? Isn't that saying that the
rules will not be interpreted in the same way? How does that not indict
the officials for a gross lack of integrity? Bill Walton and others
have for years explained away the incredible violations that some
players get away with by saying "you have to earn that" with the
officials. Again, huh? If the rules are being enforced according to the
book, by referees who don't care who wins, then how could a player's
status or reputation effect anything? But then again, the jock-sniffers
in the sports media will parrot the old standard line, in regards to
the NFL, that "they could call holding on every play if they wanted
to," without any of the rocket scientists watching the games devoting a
second to analyzing what that means. I don't know how they do it
sometimes, but there is no question in my mind that professional sports
are corrupt and many, if not all, of the games are fixed.

 

[IceSpeed2]

Reminds me of a playoff game between the 49ers and
the Giants a while ago. There was a lot of corruption that was
visible on a potential game winning field goal. It got turned
into a broken play where pass interference was visible but was not
called I think. I would think refs gamble some, but what bookie
would be dumb enough to deal with them.

Jimmy the Greek got his epithet from Mafia
connections and got his start picking betting odds. He was
respected by the media. He only got in trouble, not for saying
blacks were superior athletes, but for saying they shouldn't
coach.

 

[GreatLakeState]

Wallace fought with the fans? And got off easy? That's a new
one. Please explain!

Was it Ben Wallace, who probably wanted to fight Ron Artest,
but Artest was in the stands?

Was it Rasheed Wallace, who was a peacemaker on the court?

Please enlighten us!

 

[IceSpeed2]

I guess I meant to say "when he fought in the stands" referring to Ben Wallace.


Edited by: IceSpeed2

 

[White Shogun]

Robert Horry is the man.

He has come through in the clutch time after time... all the way back to the Houston Rockets.

His 3-pointer, left-handed dunk, and rebound in the last few moments of overtime sealed the win for the Spurs, IMO.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

You are right White Shogun, Tim Duncan went cold and lost his ability to hold onto the ball in the last quarter. Horry won it for them, no doubt. Now, one more Spurs win and my prediction will come true. Spurs in 6!

 

[JD074]

Absolutely guys. Horry saved their butts. Duncan and Ginobili
were effective early on, but disappeared down the stretch.
Duncan, and his many free throw misses, was particularly
egregious. And what about Hamilton elbowing Parker in the
face at the end? (And even planting his shoulder in Parker's
chest before that.) He knew the officials wouldn't have the guts
to blow the whistle at the end of a Finals game. If he had
knocked down that shot and won the game it would've been
one of the biggest sports travesties of all time.

Hopefully the Spurs can play much better at home because
they can't rely on Horry's heroics every friggin' night! Come
on Duncan and Manu! Beat those Pistons! Edited by: JD074

 

[Bart]

It'm surprised San Antonio turned the ball over sooften BUT in all fairness they were hacked and pounded quite a lot. The Pistons probably won't get away with that off their home court but who knows?

 

[Kaptain]

In the NBA, elbowing someone in the chin usually means you get to shot two free throws. Hamilton was rewarded earlier in the night for elbowing Parker in the chin. I guess he thought his elbow would be fouled again. I don't know how NBA officials get their training - there has to be a better way.