I agree some of the fouls on Yao have been a little 'odd' (especially the jostling for post position calls), but on the flipside the Blazers (aside from Brandon) consistently settle for jumpers and fade-away shots, so there is bound to be fewer calls and fewer fouls shots for our guys. The only thing I think that you could take issue with is Brandon getting knocked around the way he has; he should probably have at least 10 more trips to the line throughout these 4 games. Whatever the case, I'm just sick of talking about the officiating when its clear that the Blazers haven't been able to get over the hump due to a lack of execution and poise -- they haven't looked like the better team in this series.
Joel has never been a candidate for DPOY or even all-defense. Joel has averaged 20 mpg over his career to Battier's 33 mpg. Joel has played in 487 games (7 playoff games), to Battier's 618 (including 29 playoff games). Battier had a major New York Times piece written about him, while Joel gets one or two fluff pieces per year in the Oregonian. When you ask the average NBA fan about Battier, they'll likely respond, "Defensive stud." When you ask the average NBA fan about Przybilla, they'll likely respond, "Who?" I like Joel, and on a per-minute basis he has a bigger defensive impact than Battier. But it's pretty easy to see why the refs rank Battier as a much more important player. I think such a rank is bullshit and should be irrelevant to reffing a game, but I can see how they came to ref both guys the way they did (even if I don't agree with the principles--or lack thereof--behind it). And it really doesn't have to have anything to do with media markets.
He needs to check his facts. The Rockets committed fewer fouls than every team except the Spurs in the regular season. For him to say the Rockets defense is based on committing hard fouls is just nonsense. He's confusing them with the Utah Jazz. The reason the Rockets are not getting called for a lot of fouls in this series is because the know how to play good defense without fouling. Portland is not a good defensive team, they have to contend with a team that is focusing more on paint scores instead of jump shots, and as a result they're getting called for more fouls.
This thread blows my mind. We don't say when watching football, "Well, clearly Tomlinson grabbed his facemask when he gave him a stiff arm, but LT is an All Pro." Or when watching baseball, "sure that ball was down the middle of the plate, but you don't call a third strike looking on A-Rod." A foul is a foul. I don't give a shit who commits it. I don't give a shit about reputation. And grabbing, holding and bumping is a foul just like the ones Joel and Greg have been committing on Yao. It's time for Artest, Battier and Scola to be called for doing it.
When the Rockets have won by a grand total of 4 points in the last two games, which were played on their home court, I don't think you can state that they were clearly the better team. It also seems to me that in such close games when there is a consistent trend for one team to get more trips to the line than the other, and for one team to be restricted from its game plan by having its players in foul trouble early, then talking about officiating discrepancies is as relevant, or more so, than any other topic.
Maxiep... you are correct... but the NBA does most definitely have an unwritten star policy... and the refs are quite aware of it... even though everyone and their daughter may claim it doesn't exist... I have heard someone who went to a ref training camp that they need to be aware of whom the fans pay to see... and that it isn't in the best interest of the league to have those players hurt or on the bench with fouls. We all see blatent evidence of this... and Yao is definitaly a superstar. Also note that market size determines some about who is crowned a superstar. So while you are right... it can't be a surprise to anyone that there are different rules for stars. Complain though we may... it won't change. The NBA decided to market individual's over teams... which helped create this mess. There is no going back. That doesn't mean we can't win... just that we have to play even better to do it.
Maxiep's point is correct up to a point. A close call will go to the star. If the pitch is right down the middle it's a strike (unless the ump really is blind), but a pitch right on the edge? A star pitcher or a star batter gets the call. Was it an incomplete pass or pass interference? A close call will go to the star. In a way I don't mind that. The games move fast and a borderline call goes to the person who has earned it by consistent excellence for years. What I DO mind is that a lot of these calls have not been borderline. It's not like Yao and Oden are right on the border where it's a charge on one side or a block on the other. Or that Yao is just bumping Roy. The refereeing has been blatant.
yup like the foul on blake when he was sandwiched between lowry who jumped on top of him and artest.....and they called a foul on blake are you fing kidding me?
You guys want to compare which team got called for more fouls. But like I said, the Rockets for the season committed fewer fouls than anyone not named the Spurs in the regular season. People complain that Yao has gotten the benefit of all these foul calls, while Brandon Roy has not. But just look at what both players have done in this series. Roy is supposedly getting hammered all game, but he's averaging 28.3 ppg and 8.5 free throw attempts a game for the series. That's well above his regular season rates. Yao, on the other hand, is averaging a mere 15.8 ppg and 5.5 free throw attempts a game, well below his season averages. You think your team has been able to shut him down for 2 of the 4 games by playing perfectly legit defense? Seriously? To me, the story of the series so far has nothing to do with the officiating. It's that the Rockets role players have stepped up with the Blazers focusing all the defensive attention on Yao (which includes being extra-physical with him, admitted explicitly by Pryzbilla before game 4), while many key role players for the Blazers have not.
Brandon Roy is a bigger star than Artest or Battier. LaMarcus Aldridge is a bigger star than Luis Scola or Carl Landry. Our role players have played harder and smarter. That's the series so far.
Speaking of Officiating, Did anyone see the way Steve Javie treated the Jazz at the end of the game last night? Talk about calling it one way. That's the scariest thing about playing in LA id say.
Even out the officiating, then let what the players do on the court decide the outcome of the game. Like I said, if the Blazers won by 3 and the refs decided to take 4 points away at the end of the game, it doesn't matter how many stupid plays the Blazers made during the game, the refs stole the game away.
Roy had more fouls in ONE GAME (6 in Game 3) than Artest has been whistled for ALL SERIES (4). The fact that Roy has as many fouls in this series as Artest and Battier COMBINED (13) is completely laughable... at absolute best. Artest is getting called for a foul about every 36 minutes of playing time (35.75, to be exact).
And yet anyone who doesn't have his head stuck in a gutter realizes that Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge are stars in this league -- much more so than the players the Rockets have matched up against them. So there goes the "we don't get respect because they have more stars than us" tripe. The Rockets have more role players that have been making plays at or around the basket (Scola, Landry, Lowry, Wafer). The Blazers role players have been shooting jumpers (Outlaw, Fernandez, Blake) or have been mostly non-participants on offense (Pryzbilla, Oden).
It brings up a more thorny issue though: why is our star being manhandled without the guys manhandling him being called for fouls? Maybe he's only considered a star in the regular season, and not in the playoffs yet. Maybe the refs are calling the reputations: Houston has one; Portland doesn't.
Sentence 1, agree, that is why Roy gets calls vs. Artest and Battier, but not against Yao. Sentence 2, disagree. Aldridge is a 3rd year player who is good but not an all star and without national rep. The series so far? well, with a little help from your friends in stripes.
Roy get calls vs. Artest and Battier? Roy has 13 fouls through four games... while Artest and Battier also have 13 fouls between them, total. Roy had more fouls called against him in Game 3, alone, than Artest has been whistled for all series.
