Tracking the refs Mavs/Heat

[Mac4Lyfe]

You're the only one who saw it this way. The officiating was fair, it went both ways. Wade and Bosh both took a lot of contact on multiple drives with no whistles. It balances out.

The fact is, Dallas could not handle Miami's D. They looked lost out there at times and were overwhelmed by the speed of the rotations. I know you're not a basketball guy, but try watching the weakside rotations Miami makes and you'll understand quickly why Dallas looked so different tonight than they did against OKC and LA.

The game was very fair up until about 2 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter. From then on it was very sketchy and with about 6 minutes to go it got flat out ridiculous. I call it like I see it. Calls should be going both ways. That's what was happening early on in this game. There were several bad calls that Dallas got as well BUT in crunch time it became obvious like it has been in the Bulls and Celtic, even Sixers that the Heat are getting, not some, but ALL the calls. How do you explain that?

I'm not the only person noticing this. Hell even Donaghy has video's out showing the Heat getting calls. He doesn't have an agenda outside of trying to make money. Go to every sports forum, even Miami fansites and everyone is saying the Heat are getting the better of the calls.

[Mac4Lyfe]

[Mcjester]

Am I the only one who sees the Heat getting totally screwed so far!? The Mavs shoot 6 more free throws in G1, wtf!? Forget individual skill and style of play!! As we all know from following the anti-Heat geniuses in the Bulls series, if the free throws aren't even or in the team opposite Miami's favor, the fix is in!!!! Boy oh boy, I hope the Heat can get a whistle or two in G2!! Truth be told; however, after watching this obvious fix attempt tonight, I'm losing faith in the NBA's integrity. Make no mistake, Heat fans. The refs do all they can to decide these game's in the Mavs' favor. Each and every one.

[JMUplayer]

I personally think that the players on BOTH sides cried so much each and every time a whistle was blown. They cracked down on it during the regular season but in the playoffs get out the pacifiers. I thought it was funny that Jeff Van Gundy mentioned it during the broadcast is why are the players arguing fouls and acting like they didn't foul when its blatently obvious and an easy call.

[WesJeffery]

JMU Dallas player never complained. It was Haslem Chalmers Bosh Wade and Lebron who were crying after every foul. Go watch the game again, watch Haslem talking to refs, then Bosh with his shit face

Dallas was making a comeback anf would have won the game but refs keep blewing the whistle in Miamis favor killing any momentum Dallas had.

[jsmithj88]

a guy that took every opportunity to bash lebron and the heat all year long is now making an "unbiased"
assessment that the refs are helping the heat win .........
yea ok ............

[sweetjones55]

Mac4Lyfe is the most bitter Cavs fan in the history of SBR. Get over it, the Heat are truthful.

[NickDiaz209]

Mac4Lyfe is the most bitter Cavs fan in the history of SBR. Get over it, the Heat are truthful.

yeah but the refs are helping the Heat...they call Mavs for fouls and don't call Heat for same fouls...usually the refs call it equally...

[ezzmoney]

Dont blame the refs, The Heat beat them in every aspect of the game.
Dirk didnt turn and have a wide open shot liek against the thunder, heat have lock down D.
The Heat looked very good last night, and some of those shots lebron made were unstoppable!

[xpo276]

Danny Crawford has shown proof that he HATES Mark Cuban. He will be refing the finals. By the way, I believe Dallas is like 2-16 in games Crawford ref's. Watch out for this guy. He wears #43

[SportsPedagogy]

Am I the only one who sees the Heat getting totally screwed so far!? The Mavs shoot 6 more free throws in G1, wtf!? Forget individual skill and style of play!! As we all know from following the anti-Heat geniuses in the Bulls series, if the free throws aren't even or in the team opposite Miami's favor, the fix is in!!!! Boy oh boy, I hope the Heat can get a whistle or two in G2!! Truth be told; however, after watching this obvious fix attempt tonight, I'm losing faith in the NBA's integrity. Make no mistake, Heat fans. The refs do all they can to decide these game's in the Mavs' favor. Each and every one.

If the refs wanted the Heat to lose, the Heat would have lost.

[SparJMU]

There were some truly terrible calls last night. The offensive on Barea was one of the worst calls I have ever seen, and the Dirk foul on Bosh late (when he injured his finger) was almost as bad. Everyone knew going into the game that Miami would get the calls though, so none of this should be shocking. Dallas is likely to get the advantage in game 3-5.

[GoldRush7]

Miami waking up in the playoffs in dominatiing fashion

[Goat Milk]

Mac4Lyfe is the most bitter Cavs fan in the history of SBR. Get over it, the Heat are truthful.

The guy is so annoying. Anytime you touch dirk its a foul too. Not sure why he's bitching when Dirk goes to the line fukkin double digit times pretty much every game these playoffs

[Mac4Lyfe]

The guy is so annoying. Anytime you touch dirk its a foul too. Not sure why he's bitching when Dirk goes to the line fukkin double digit times pretty much every game these playoffs

What's annoying is you coming into a thread and sucking Lebron off in every post you make. I'm not sure how you have time to type when your giving him a handjob every waking minute. When did you become his momma?

This thread is about the refs in the series. If you think Dirk got some touch calls then say it but you don't have to blow Lebron in the process...

[StanleySharp]

Mac4Lyfe... all you've done during the entire playoffs is complain about the officiating that is "favoring" Miami. Also, the constant whining about the free throw discrepancy needs to stop...

News Flash: Miami gets to the rim and draws more contact than Dallas does. BOTTOM LINE. Dallas can't shoot FTs when they are jacking up uncontested shots from the perimeter.

I'll admit last night had a few questionable calls favoring the Heat... but if you're so confident that the fix is in for Miami in the series/playoffs... why didn't you/don't you lay down futures bets on the conference finals and finals?

People like you just need to change the channel and watch Lifetime or the Oprah Winfrey Network. This thread is completely bias and laughable to say the least.

Good day sir.

[NickDiaz209]

This is all you need to know...

http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/tim_donaghy_claims_nba_is_fixing_miami_heat_for_title/4800897

http://theeharshreality.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/tim-donaghy-talks-nba/

http://m.deadspin.com/5807464/tim-donaghy-on-game-1-how-the-refs-set-the-tone-of-a-series/gallery/

[Mac4Lyfe]

Mac4Lyfe... all you've done during the entire playoffs is complain about the officiating that is "favoring" Miami. Also, the constant whining about the free throw discrepancy needs to stop...

News Flash: Miami gets to the rim and draws more contact than Dallas does. BOTTOM LINE. Dallas can't shoot FTs when they are jacking up uncontested shots from the perimeter.

I'll admit last night had a few questionable calls favoring the Heat... but if you're so confident that the fix is in for Miami in the series/playoffs... why didn't you/don't you lay down futures bets on the conference finals and finals?

People like you just need to change the channel and watch Lifetime or the Oprah Winfrey Network. This thread is completely bias and laughable to say the least.

Good day sir.

All you bandwagon Heat fans are like the rock band groupies of the 70's. You can't even see the charade because your blinded by so much *** froth in your face from all the circle jerking. Why you all feel the need to justify/defend the fix is even more ridiculous. Just enjoy the tainted title and keep quiet. The majority of the public can see the shenanigans, which is why the NBA has become a joke.

[Mcjester]

LOL. Donaghy is nuts, simply trying to stay relevant and sell books. Isolating a few bad/missed calls in Goddam sea of bad calls to support his argument is laughable if not fraudulent. I recall there was a lengthy 3rd party statistical study factually disproving many of Donaghy's "theories" but I don't have the energy to look it up (long day).

Anyhow, for everyone trying to convince themselves the playoffs are fixed: Pretend you have a lot of money on Miami, watch a few games, and I PROMISE you will notice plenty of questionable/terrible calls against the Heat -- similarly as bad as the ones going against your favorite teams (i.e. whoever is playing Miami)... I realize this is likely impossible because the impulse to build on the Fantasy that the games are actually fixed must stem from an emotional place (because it clearly lacks reason). Having said that, if fantasy is better for you than reality, then by all means continue to build upon this laughably ridiculous idea (lord knows I'm guilty of this in many phases of life). Everyone's entitled to an opinion, after all.

In my opinion, 99.9% of the refs are doing everything they can to not embarrass themselves doing an IMPOSSIBLE job. They're human, they mess up a ton, and I even agree social factors like superstars, veterans, rookies, players they like and don't like for whatever reasons, along with rowdy home crowds all can and do influence their judgment at times [for example, around the 8 minute mark of Q2 of G5 Heat/Bulls the refs award the Heat an out-of-bounds call, the crowd and Tibbs go crazy and actually get the call changed in the Bulls favor despite subsequent replays confirming HE HAD THE CALL RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, which was an error so obvious the announcers even criticized]. However, it's semi-insane to truly believe these "human" factors operate consciously as part of some diabolical league wide conspiracy to propel "profitable/star-ridden" teams to victory. Rather, it's just a bit more rational that star-ridden teams (i.e. like one's with arguably 3 of the top ten players in the league) tend to be victorious.

[xpo276]

as much as refs may or may not make the right call, i really hope the NBA doesnt implement a "Play Challenge" system like the NFL. this would completely ruin basketball

[Goat Milk]

What's annoying is you coming into a thread and sucking Lebron off in every post you make. I'm not sure how you have time to type when your giving him a handjob every waking minute. When did you become his momma?

This thread is about the refs in the series. If you think Dirk got some touch calls then say it but you don't have to blow Lebron in the process...

Where did I even mention James? I am a basketball fan I don't care what goes on outside the court. I analyze players and its evident in all your threads that you are biased. why don't you take a poll and lets ask sbr if you are?

The fact that you don't understand why miami will shoot more free throws overall in the series and get the benefit of the doubt is why you dont know anything about basketball. The fact that Dallas shot 6 more FTs than the Heat in game 1 and your still bitching that the game was rigged says a lot

[8ArIvd5]

LOL. Donaghy is nuts, simply trying to stay relevant and sell books. Isolating a few bad/missed calls in Goddam sea of bad calls to support his argument is laughable if not fraudulent. I recall there was a lengthy 3rd party statistical study factually disproving many of Donaghy's "theories" but I don't have the energy to look it up (long day).

Anyhow, for everyone trying to convince themselves the playoffs are fixed: Pretend you have a lot of money on Miami, watch a few games, and I PROMISE you will notice plenty of questionable/terrible calls against the Heat -- similarly as bad as the ones going against your favorite teams (i.e. whoever is playing Miami)... I realize this is likely impossible because the impulse to build on the Fantasy that the games are actually fixed must stem from an emotional place (because it clearly lacks reason). Having said that, if fantasy is better for you than reality, then by all means continue to build upon this laughably ridiculous idea (lord knows I'm guilty of this in many phases of life). Everyone's entitled to an opinion, after all.

In my opinion, 99.9% of the refs are doing everything they can to not embarrass themselves doing an IMPOSSIBLE job. They're human, they mess up a ton, and I even agree social factors like superstars, veterans, rookies, players they like and don't like for whatever reasons, along with rowdy home crowds all can and do influence their judgment at times [for example, around the 8 minute mark of Q2 of G5 Heat/Bulls the refs award the Heat an out-of-bounds call, the crowd and Tibbs go crazy and actually get the call changed in the Bulls favor despite subsequent replays confirming HE HAD THE CALL RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, which was an error so obvious the announcers even criticized]. However, it's semi-insane to truly believe these "human" factors operate consciously as part of some diabolical league wide conspiracy to propel "profitable/star-ridden" teams to victory. Rather, it's just a bit more rational that star-ridden teams (i.e. like one's with arguably 3 of the top ten players in the league) tend to be victorious.

that's the point people are trying to make. when an obvious call/no call favors the heat, the announcers don't mention it. they marvel on the stars positives.

i'm not saying there's a conspiracy, or orders sent down to the officials to make sure this or that happens, but it's obvious favoritism has a part in this series. it happens in all of pop sports at every level.

i'm saying i put my money on the heat because of social factors.

[Mac4Lyfe]

Why are you constantly telling posters they don't know basketball? You sound like a young kid. When did you become the basketball chief in charge?

I don't like the Heat and your polishing their nobs as a bandwagon fan. We don't need a poll to state the obvious. What does Dallas shooting more FTs have to do with the game being rigged? A foul is a foul is a foul. A walk is a walk is a walk. The same BS reason you give for Miami shooting more FT's is the same reason your thought process is flawed. Miami is aggressive on the offensive and defensive side of the ball which should mean they foul just as much as they attack the rim and get fouled. You ever thought about that chief in charge???

If you do want to start a poll, why not see how many people think the Heat have had the benefit of the refs whistle in the playoffs. I don't know anyone that thinks differently. Even you have to admit they have gotten the better of the calls. What say you?

[Mac4Lyfe]

LOL. Donaghy is nuts, simply trying to stay relevant and sell books. Isolating a few bad/missed calls in Goddam sea of bad calls to support his argument is laughable if not fraudulent. I recall there was a lengthy 3rd party statistical study factually disproving many of Donaghy's "theories" but I don't have the energy to look it up (long day).

Anyhow, for everyone trying to convince themselves the playoffs are fixed: Pretend you have a lot of money on Miami, watch a few games, and I PROMISE you will notice plenty of questionable/terrible calls against the Heat -- similarly as bad as the ones going against your favorite teams (i.e. whoever is playing Miami)...

Here's the problem. How many bad/missed calls have gone against the Heat? Not many. If the truly bad/missed calls were even then you would have a point but the majority of these calls are favoring the Heat. Do you remember Lebron smashing his head back as if he was fouled by DRose. He fell to the ground and 2 seconds later the ref standing right in front of him, who should have easily seen that he wasn't even touched made the foul call? He put on an act worse than the Bosh flop on Boozer in the regular season. He then winked at coach Spo and Reggie Miller applauded the great acting job. How does a ref stand right next to 2 players and not get it right? How come Miami is getting a ton of phantom calls, where replay shows that noone is touching them? Do you really think it's coincidental? do you really think the refs are that incompetent?

Reread this game thread. The first 3 quarters of the game was called fairly even. There were questionable calls on both teams. Then 2 minutes to go in the 3rd and it was like the refs turned on a switch, like they've done for Miami in all these playoff series. Dallas had an 8 point lead and the refs dwindled it away (just like Chicago had in 4 of 5 games). End of 3rd they let Miami get even then in the 4th they call touch fouls for Miami and nothing for the opponent. Do you really think the Heat are magically turning it up in the 4th quarter? Hell no, that's what the crooks want you to believe...

[andywend]

Even the most die-hard Heat fans must have been questioning the calls that took place in game 5 against Chicago.

The referees did everything in their power to keep Miami in the game and the Bulls pulled an incredible choke-job right at the end.

The vast, vast majority of the blatant referee bias in favor of Miami involves LEBRON JAMES.

James commits at least 10-15 fouls per game as he is constantly slapping at opponent's arms when playing defense. He knows he wont be called for it so he is constantly trying to create steals. When he plays defense near the basket, he will mug any player trying for a layup and never gets called for the in-tight fouls. On the other hand, any player that breathes too hardly on James get whistled.

Amazingly, EVERY SINGLE TIME James gets called for a foul (and he only gets called for about 20% of the fouls he commits) he WHINES and puts his hands up to the referee. After one of his tantrums after being called for the foul, they showed a slow motion instant replay and it showed Lebron James smashing an opponent square in the jaw with the announcers saying "how can he possibly complain about that foul call".

For the record, I despise the Heat as James is the NBA's biggest WHINER and Dwayne Wade is a die-hard racist (he went diving in the stands when the Heat were up by 30+ in the middle of the 4th quarter and some white guy decked out in Heat apparel braced his fall and put his hand up for a high 5 as Wade got up off of him. Wade looked right at him, walked away and then high 5'd "a brother" right next to the guy who braced his fall).

Dwayne Wade might be considered the NBA's nice guy, but he is the most racist player in the league.

[jsmithj88]

I don't like the Heat

at least thats been cleared up
unbiased no more

[Mac4Lyfe]

that's the point people are trying to make. when an obvious call/no call favors the heat, the announcers don't mention it. they marvel on the stars positives.

i'm not saying there's a conspiracy, or orders sent down to the officials to make sure this or that happens, but it's obvious favoritism has a part in this series. it happens in all of pop sports at every level.

i'm saying i put my money on the heat because of social factors.

I will say that ABC announcers did mention on a few occasions that they thought a few of the Heat calls were questionable. That was a first as ESPN and TNT wouldn't say a thing. I also noticed that this year that none of the networks want to replay questionable calls. I've never seen that before. You really have to have a DVR in order to really see what's going on. I have 2 TVs going, 1 delayed 5 seconds and I can rewind the plays. There was a huge corner 3 (don't remember who made the shot) and the player looked like his feet was clearly on the line but the Heat got 3 points out of it. Ref's didn't review nor did ABC catch it. Either the network quality/camera angles have gone down or they were told not to replay but something is up here.

I don't bet the NBA playoffs but I've said many times that if I did I would play Heat ML and series lines. The mere fact that the average bettor is factoring favorable ref whistles for the Heat is enough to prove the point.

BUT, like I've also said before... The NBA is a soap opera and although I think the money is too large for the Heat not to win, it wouldn't surprise me if the refs went full circle and gave the series to the Mavs in the next 4 games. This shit is the WWE remix, which is why you have to save your bankroll.

[Mac4Lyfe]

at least thats been cleared up
unbiased no more

Huh? So you have to like a team in order to be unbiased? Most casual observers of the playoffs could care less who wins and the majority of people think the NBA is gifting games to the Heat.
What does not liking a team have to do with not respecting them and not being able to be fair?

I don't like the Pittsburgh Steelers either but you won't hear me saying they cheated to win Superbowl titles. I don't like LSU football but all I did was tip my hat and congratulate them when they beat my Gators. Hell, I don't like Bud Selig but I still watch baseball.

[Goat Milk]

I've been a Heat fan since Wade arrived there. I followed him through his college career and I even knew about Wade when he was in high school. I want him to win a championship, but I look at everything unbiasley. I called LA winning the finals last year in 7, if you forget, and everyone knows I was a Miami fan but still picked Boston to win the series in the first round. Get your facts straight.

Heat get the benefit of the whistle because they have 2 hofmers what don't you understand? Is this really that complex to fathom. Its this way in all sports!!! Dirk gets just as many calls but the mavs only have 1 dirk and not 2!!

Jeez I can't believe I have to keep explaining this over and over. You just don't seem to get it. It doesn't even matter if its a phantom call- the defenders put themselves in vulnerable situations where star treatment kicks in.

If you don't think Jordan got those calls in games than you are just delusional. Jordan and Kobe have both made careers out of bitching after not getting a call. Jordan used to get every fukkin call whats wrong with you. it was obviously a tad more physical (the playoffs today are even lower scoring and close to as physical--la/boston game 7 last year) because you could handcheck more.

Do you realize that you're not allowed to handcheck and yet guys are pushing dirk in the post and grabbing lebron as he drives and fouls are not even called at times? Your not allowed to handcheck yet it still goes on which is great but the refs have to blow the whistle sooner or later.




I rest my case

[SportsPedagogy]

If there is no ref bias, please explain how Lebron pushed Berrea in the jaw with his elbow late in the first and there was no call. Do you really think the refs were prepared to have Lebron sit with 3 fouls in the first ?

[Mcjester]

LOL. No way! It became clear early on these playoffs Berrea is a HUUUUGGGGE flop artist. His head is like chicken-clucking from the moment he gets near someone, waiting for a tiny bit of contact before he yanks himself flying back. And don't even get me started w/ D. Stevenson...

Anyway, the thing that sucks about good flopping is that in REAL TIME it's often impossible to tell a real hit from a phantom one.

Lastly, like I said earlier, people who dislike the Heat/want to believe in some giant conspiracy, go into the game looking for evidence to support their claims (consciously or not, this is true)... Thus, it's human nature to latch onto anything in support of their ideas and ignore the MANY MANY MANY occurrences that blasts holes in their conspiracy -- perhaps like the offensive foul call against Lebron at the end of Bulls' G4. Was it foul? Yes. However, Brewer was back on his heels after Lebron's first step which set him up to go down upon any contact, and it's not like that hasn't been overlooked/no called before especially with star player at the end of a NBA finals game [i.e. when MJ pushed of B. Russel in 1998]... In other words, they didn't have to blow the whistle but they did. They called it on Lebron and by doing so took away their opportunity to win and gave it to Rose and Chicago... Again, it was a good call, but if the fix was in, obviously they don't make that call in a million f'ing years...

Imagine if Rose had been called for a push off in that situation and the ball was given back to Lebron... The Heat haters would've been going crazy! But I digress...

Bottom line: the bad calls are going both ways, players on both teams flop and bitch, but those looking to make a conspiracy point are blinded to this/rationalize calls for their purpose (largely subconsciously)...

[7secondsOrLess]

lol he gets angry just because people arent understanding, like its money out his pocket or something

[tatddy]

Admittedly, I'm not an NBA guy. Does Joey Crawford in stripes become a factor tonight?

[SparJMU]

I just want to add something here. Mac4Lyfe may be slightly biased, and may be overexaggerating the disparity, but he isn't that far off. No, there is not a conspiracy for the NBA to crown the Heat, but any NBA fan knows that the refs have a tendency to let the superstars get away with more violations than average players. And in this year's playoffs, Miami and its superstars are really getting away with a lot.

Lebron James travels multiple times each game, but he is not called for it. There have been a few very clutch moments in these playoffs where he has blatantly traveled, in isolation, and the refs have let it go. I am not talking about being in traffic where the refs might have missed it. Last 30 seconds of two different games, 1 on 1 situation, James has choked and traveled, yet ended up with a heroic basket instead. We are talking about game changing/series changing calls.

Also, # of foul shot attempts is not always a fair measure of ref bias. Giving Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood foul shots over the course of the game when Miami gives up smart fouls should not be measured equally against Dirk Nowitski stripping Bosh clean with 3 minutes left in the game, yet Bosh ends up with 2 foul shots on a key possession.

The refs know which calls are game changers, and which are not. Again, I am not saying there is a preconceived conspiracy against Dallas, but you aren't going to see many game changing calls going against Miami. They are the home team, they are the favorite, and they have the superstars. Get used to it.

A few closing comments:

- Miami is going to win either way, so it doesn't really matter. It is sad as a pure basketball fan to see the refs favor the Heat as much as they do, but even if they called the game perfectly even, Miami is a better team.

- Dallas is going to get the majority of the calls in games 3 and 4. There might actually be something close to conspiracy at that point. The NBA will need to throw Cuban a bone to shut him up.

[Mac4Lyfe]

Solid points Spar... If you check the thread, I didn't have any problem with the first 3 quarters. It's the crunch time, clutch moments that the Heat are getting the benefit of the whistle. That's the most important time. We'll see tonight if it changes but I think we will see much of the same. Another Heat win boosted by sketchy calls late.