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tradebark: $#^@$%^EWEAWEAW
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
On Donaghy and the "Future of the NBA"
This whole scandal is getting more boring by the minute. I mean I realize it's the offseason so every NBA analyst/writer/blogger doesn't have a whole lot to write about other than the latest impending Team USA hip-thrust, but come onnnnnnnnnn..
Let's see what we've got so far
1. Tim Donaghy gets accused of point-shaving and possibly altering the overall outcome of games.
2. The mob is more than likely involved.
3. Donaghy has a "history" of gambling and a few notorious games under his belt (06-07 Game 3 Suns/Spurs and the Palace Brawl)
4. Journalists are milking the "is the league in trouble?" "will anyone ever trust the NBA again?" angle to DEATH.. Emphases placed on whether the league's future is at risk and the supposed problems of trust that it already had involving its fans.
Really, what the hell?
In the end, people are getting mad over strategic calls that Donaghy probably made in order to fix the over/under numbers for games he refereed.. Yes that sucks, yes it is clearly a problem the league has to deal with, but how do people honestly see this as THAT big of a deal in terms of game-to-game officiating?
How many times have you watched a game on TV and heard announcers talking about "make-up calls"? Where they obviously make a bad call on one end and call (or don't call) a cheap foul or travelling violation or defensive 3-second on the other end to "offset" it? In the end officials cover themselves because they are the ultimate arbiters for such calls in a given game.. A tiny shove is normally not called but is probably a foul under the rules, so a given referee could call it a foul at his/her discretion anytime. However it still boils down to being a bad call since they would likely be officiating outside of their normal patterns and potentially changing the outcome of the game.
How often have you seen officiating sensitive to outside factors? Such as flagrants being called if the hit player is injured or comes up fighting, but not if the player bounces back up without a word? Late whistles where fouls are called after the basket is missed?
How many times have technical fouls been called on coaches or players for yelling out an obscenity that just hit that official wrong? Yes the techs are often issued for a reason, but in the end they are complete judgement calls by the referee and have no true standards in the grand scheme of things--it is, by nature, the referee rolled up newspaper that can be used to whack the unruly dog. On the same note how many times have players and/or coaches been ejected via technicals for reasons not involving safety?
How many times has a player received key fouls from light contact and taken out of the game because of it? Or gotten away with a lot of contact and not? Players like Shaq complained endlessly about the physical abuse they received from game to game without getting calls; how different would the outcome of Shaq's prime be if he'd gotten say.. 30% more free throw attempts?
How many times have you seen Dwyane Wade shoot free throws? (had to throw it in there)
All of those things (especially Wade if you like the Mavs) are signs of bad officiating that are not only present in the league but are largely considered part of the game.. Every single one has, I'm certain, made an impact on the outcome of a game at some point in time, whether intentionally (Donaghy, Crawford, and that corpse they always put in Lakers games) or not..
.. And beyond the certainty that this scandal will probably improve officiating in those areas and more at least for the next couple years, I'm not sure I see why this is such a massive deal as far as the NBA's future is concerned. It's like you're telling me people put flies in my soup on purpose when there's like 50 of them in there already, and the soup still tastes good (or I wouldn't keep getting it!)..
Let's see what we've got so far
1. Tim Donaghy gets accused of point-shaving and possibly altering the overall outcome of games.
2. The mob is more than likely involved.
3. Donaghy has a "history" of gambling and a few notorious games under his belt (06-07 Game 3 Suns/Spurs and the Palace Brawl)
4. Journalists are milking the "is the league in trouble?" "will anyone ever trust the NBA again?" angle to DEATH.. Emphases placed on whether the league's future is at risk and the supposed problems of trust that it already had involving its fans.
Really, what the hell?
In the end, people are getting mad over strategic calls that Donaghy probably made in order to fix the over/under numbers for games he refereed.. Yes that sucks, yes it is clearly a problem the league has to deal with, but how do people honestly see this as THAT big of a deal in terms of game-to-game officiating?
How many times have you watched a game on TV and heard announcers talking about "make-up calls"? Where they obviously make a bad call on one end and call (or don't call) a cheap foul or travelling violation or defensive 3-second on the other end to "offset" it? In the end officials cover themselves because they are the ultimate arbiters for such calls in a given game.. A tiny shove is normally not called but is probably a foul under the rules, so a given referee could call it a foul at his/her discretion anytime. However it still boils down to being a bad call since they would likely be officiating outside of their normal patterns and potentially changing the outcome of the game.
How often have you seen officiating sensitive to outside factors? Such as flagrants being called if the hit player is injured or comes up fighting, but not if the player bounces back up without a word? Late whistles where fouls are called after the basket is missed?
How many times have technical fouls been called on coaches or players for yelling out an obscenity that just hit that official wrong? Yes the techs are often issued for a reason, but in the end they are complete judgement calls by the referee and have no true standards in the grand scheme of things--it is, by nature, the referee rolled up newspaper that can be used to whack the unruly dog. On the same note how many times have players and/or coaches been ejected via technicals for reasons not involving safety?
How many times has a player received key fouls from light contact and taken out of the game because of it? Or gotten away with a lot of contact and not? Players like Shaq complained endlessly about the physical abuse they received from game to game without getting calls; how different would the outcome of Shaq's prime be if he'd gotten say.. 30% more free throw attempts?
How many times have you seen Dwyane Wade shoot free throws? (had to throw it in there)
All of those things (especially Wade if you like the Mavs) are signs of bad officiating that are not only present in the league but are largely considered part of the game.. Every single one has, I'm certain, made an impact on the outcome of a game at some point in time, whether intentionally (Donaghy, Crawford, and that corpse they always put in Lakers games) or not..
.. And beyond the certainty that this scandal will probably improve officiating in those areas and more at least for the next couple years, I'm not sure I see why this is such a massive deal as far as the NBA's future is concerned. It's like you're telling me people put flies in my soup on purpose when there's like 50 of them in there already, and the soup still tastes good (or I wouldn't keep getting it!)..
Sunday, June 3, 2007
And just like that, I like LeBron :)
I'd like to mention that among my mess of predictions back in the day, I had the Suns and Cavs in the finals, with the Cavs winning their ECF in six games..
(And if not for those Suns suspensions I might've gotten it all right!)
That game 5 performance by LeBron James is, as a lot of people have mentioned, absolutely amazing. He basically scores every Cleveland point from the last part of regulation all the way through two overtimes, leading his team to the series-changing win.
Game 6 is something that won't be talked about as much but may say the most about that Cleveland team. They basically had little offensive production from LeBron until the third quarter, and yet they were right with the Pistons for most of the game (make that leading the Pistons).. And while everyone (myself included) feel that LeBron's supporting cast is barely good and certainly not great, they still showed enough to handle a fairly strong Pistons team, sans a godly LBJ performance.
Gary (who I have almost daily NBA conversations with, even though he thought Emeka Okafor was a better pick than Dwight Howard) feels that the difference maker for the Cavs ("x-factor") is none other than Larry Hughes. He feels that Hughes is the reason that Billups was essentially shut down all series, and that it has potential ramifications since San Antonio gets so much of its offense from Parker (and to a lesser extent Ginobili).
I don't necessarily feel that way, but I do think that the Cavs have a solid chance against the Spurs if only because San Antonio has a tendency to stagnate on the offensive end. In the Phoenix series, for instance, despite the fact that the Suns didn't really stop Duncan, the games never really got out of hand. You'd see the Spurs "controlling" both ends of the floor via excellent defense and a seemingly unstoppable Duncan.... and yet the San Antonio lead would be something like 6 or 7 points.
The issue is perhaps that while Duncan is a dominating post presence, he is not a dominant scorer.. In large part due to his shortcomings at the line. This is a guy that will annihilate anyone under single coverage, and makes the right pass when he is doubled.. But if he is fouled he shoots an abysmal percentage from the line.. Opponents can then use this as a means of cooling him down when he gets going.
Every analyst considers San Antonio the prohibitive favorite in the upcoming Finals, and with good reason. They're a more talented and experienced team collectively, have the more dominant post presence, and have home-court advantage.
But then people felt that way about the Mavericks last year.. and it's not too difficult to see LeBron doing what Wade did back then.. In fact it almost seems a certainty after his Game 5 performance.
(And if not for those Suns suspensions I might've gotten it all right!)
That game 5 performance by LeBron James is, as a lot of people have mentioned, absolutely amazing. He basically scores every Cleveland point from the last part of regulation all the way through two overtimes, leading his team to the series-changing win.
Game 6 is something that won't be talked about as much but may say the most about that Cleveland team. They basically had little offensive production from LeBron until the third quarter, and yet they were right with the Pistons for most of the game (make that leading the Pistons).. And while everyone (myself included) feel that LeBron's supporting cast is barely good and certainly not great, they still showed enough to handle a fairly strong Pistons team, sans a godly LBJ performance.
Gary (who I have almost daily NBA conversations with, even though he thought Emeka Okafor was a better pick than Dwight Howard) feels that the difference maker for the Cavs ("x-factor") is none other than Larry Hughes. He feels that Hughes is the reason that Billups was essentially shut down all series, and that it has potential ramifications since San Antonio gets so much of its offense from Parker (and to a lesser extent Ginobili).
I don't necessarily feel that way, but I do think that the Cavs have a solid chance against the Spurs if only because San Antonio has a tendency to stagnate on the offensive end. In the Phoenix series, for instance, despite the fact that the Suns didn't really stop Duncan, the games never really got out of hand. You'd see the Spurs "controlling" both ends of the floor via excellent defense and a seemingly unstoppable Duncan.... and yet the San Antonio lead would be something like 6 or 7 points.
The issue is perhaps that while Duncan is a dominating post presence, he is not a dominant scorer.. In large part due to his shortcomings at the line. This is a guy that will annihilate anyone under single coverage, and makes the right pass when he is doubled.. But if he is fouled he shoots an abysmal percentage from the line.. Opponents can then use this as a means of cooling him down when he gets going.
Every analyst considers San Antonio the prohibitive favorite in the upcoming Finals, and with good reason. They're a more talented and experienced team collectively, have the more dominant post presence, and have home-court advantage.
But then people felt that way about the Mavericks last year.. and it's not too difficult to see LeBron doing what Wade did back then.. In fact it almost seems a certainty after his Game 5 performance.
Monday, May 28, 2007
On this whole LeBron James thing
Now, the media has been its usual self, jumping to conclusions about his heirness LBJ.
And while I am going to end up dying of trying to convince people that it's pretty unlikely LeBron will ever surpass Kobe (much less Jordan), this guy is getting a bit of a bad rap.
I've always been a guy who is unconvinced by close games as determinants of the better team. It no doubt suggests and supports it, but if you're telling me a 3-point win is as meaningful as a 10-point one, I'm not buying it.
Now, take a look at the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals:
Game 1- LeBron charges the lane and dishes to a wide-open Marshall, who misses the game-winning 3-pointer. LeBron is subsequently lambasted for his inability to put the team on his back when the game is on the line.
Game 2- Lebron charges the lane and takes a heavily contested shot (and is likely fouled on the play, but it is not called). The ball bounces to a wide-open Larry Hughes, who proceeds to miss his jump shot from 7 feet away.
Now, while LeBron's game 1 numbers were not impressive, his team still managed to be a wide-open 3 away from stealing one at Detroit. Give them that win and people would be claiming it a new era in the East, and perhaps in the NBA.
Moreover, game 2 could have been the exact same thing.
So why exactly are people being so critical? How are the Pistons being lauded for winning games that they SHOULD win, when they were an open 3 and 2 questionable late-game calls from losing home court advantage?
There's a lot to be said about how Cleveland could be trying harder and win those games, but that's just who they are. Despite who they are, they were 2 possessions in 2 games away from absolutely destroying the Detroit Pistons. Who is it that people should be worried about, really?
And while I am going to end up dying of trying to convince people that it's pretty unlikely LeBron will ever surpass Kobe (much less Jordan), this guy is getting a bit of a bad rap.
I've always been a guy who is unconvinced by close games as determinants of the better team. It no doubt suggests and supports it, but if you're telling me a 3-point win is as meaningful as a 10-point one, I'm not buying it.
Now, take a look at the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals:
Game 1- LeBron charges the lane and dishes to a wide-open Marshall, who misses the game-winning 3-pointer. LeBron is subsequently lambasted for his inability to put the team on his back when the game is on the line.
Game 2- Lebron charges the lane and takes a heavily contested shot (and is likely fouled on the play, but it is not called). The ball bounces to a wide-open Larry Hughes, who proceeds to miss his jump shot from 7 feet away.
Now, while LeBron's game 1 numbers were not impressive, his team still managed to be a wide-open 3 away from stealing one at Detroit. Give them that win and people would be claiming it a new era in the East, and perhaps in the NBA.
Moreover, game 2 could have been the exact same thing.
So why exactly are people being so critical? How are the Pistons being lauded for winning games that they SHOULD win, when they were an open 3 and 2 questionable late-game calls from losing home court advantage?
There's a lot to be said about how Cleveland could be trying harder and win those games, but that's just who they are. Despite who they are, they were 2 possessions in 2 games away from absolutely destroying the Detroit Pistons. Who is it that people should be worried about, really?
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Oh my god
I'm from Bellingham, Washington so this comes as crazy news
#1 pick = Portland
#2 pick = Seattle
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAa
#1 pick = Portland
#2 pick = Seattle
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAa
Friday, May 4, 2007
Interesting article
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2860279
I just got back from Vegas for the past 5 days so I missed out on a lot of NBA action..
But GO WARRIORS!!!!!!!!!!! :D
I just got back from Vegas for the past 5 days so I missed out on a lot of NBA action..
But GO WARRIORS!!!!!!!!!!! :D
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Day 6, 7, and 8 =[
Well I missed the last couple days worth of games, but some interesting developments :)
- Orlando now down 0-3.. Detroit is really exposing Dwight for the raw offensive player he is
- Houston put forth the ugliest game in the history of the playoffs vs Utah.. and sadly they kept it somewhat close anyway
- Bulls 3-0 against the Heat.. Definitely not what I envisioned but I'm not complaining! Injuries and age catching up with Miami
- Lakeshow predictably took game 3 to keep things interesting.. Kwame Brown of all people had a monster game, though the Suns looked absolutely terrible apart from the opening 3 minutes.
- Jason Kidd just put up a MONSTER triple double of 16 pts, 16 reb, 19 ast.. to lead the Nets to a 2-1 series lead over Toronto. Wow?
- Golden State absolutely annihilated Dallas. Mavs fans have to be worried.. Outplayed in game 1, held close before imploding in game 2 (with markedly Dallas-loving referees with their 40+ free throw attempts).. and a complete thrashing at Golden State in game 3.
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