Dampier highly critical of Game 3 officiating

[Cry Havoc]

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nba/news/story?id=5132345

SAN ANTONIO -- Dallas Mavericks center Erick Dampier said late Friday he was miffed at the overall officiating in the 94-90 Game 3 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Dampier didn't mince words in criticizing a crew that included one of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's least-favorite referees, Danny Crawford.

By Cuban's count, the Mavs have lost 16 of 17 playoff games with Crawford on the floor.

"When we play defense we're under a magnifying glass, but when we're on offense, there's no magnifying glasses," Dampier said. "You've got to call it both ways. Dirk Nowitzki drives, he doesn't get fouled. They drive on the other end and they get the little ticky-tack fouls. So keep it consistent, that's all. Don't be one way or the other."

On Thursday, NBA commissioner David Stern warned primarily coaches -- but players, too -- about publicly criticizing officials. Stern said he's grown tired of meaningless fines and is prepared to levy suspensions. Dampier said he was unaware of Stern's edict.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank indicated Saturday that the league will review Dampier's comments.

The Mavericks, who trail 2-1 in the first-round playoff series, had a free-throw edge in their Game 1 win, 34-14. Ssince then, they have been whistled for 43 fouls to the Spurs' 31.

Dampier played 27 minutes Friday and managed to accrue more fouls (five) than points and rebounds combined (four). He questioned how Spurs forward Tim Duncan can play more than 43 minutes and get whistled for just two fouls.

"It's on us, too," Dampier said. "We've got to take the ball to the basket, make contact, draw the foul and go to the free-throw line."

The Spurs were decidedly the more aggressive team in Games 2 and 3. However, Dampier took particular issue Friday with a charge call whistled on Nowitzki by referee Dick Bavetta.

With the score tied at 73 with 9:05 left to go, Nowitzki drove the right baseline and made a strong move to the rim as Spurs forward Matt Bonner positioned himself to take the charge.

"I'm not even going to comment on that foul. What did you think, it was a foul or what?" Dampier said, believing the call should have been a block on Bonner. "All of us thought that. It's funny, though, they get the same call on the other end, it's ridiculous, one of the refs called the foul from halfcourt. It's almost like they can't even see it. But when he [Nowitzki] drives, 'Oh, I saw he was outside the circle, it was a charge.' How can you see that? You can't even see that far.

"Hey, we ain't going to make any excuses. We're going to be ready to play the next game, that's all that matters to us. The next one, biggest game of the year."

[MavDynasty]

if he gets fucking suspended...

[Sec24Row7]

Yeah suspension would be pretty harsh...

I mean if you started suspending people for being stupid... it's the NBA... some players would never play 2 games in a row...

[DJB]

99.9% chance he gets suspended

[z0sa]

:lol Dampier will be the luckiest man alive if he avoids Stern's wrath. He calls out multiple facets of the officiating, including citing examples.

[Cry Havoc]

if he gets fucking suspended...

My thoughts exactly.

Although he wasn't exactly doing much in Game 3.

Who would the Mavs play when they need to spell Haywood if they don't have Dampier?

[phyzik]

if he gets fucking suspended...

... Mav fans and Dampier have no one to blame except Dampier himself if he gets suspended a game. EVERYONE knew what David Stern said. Now its just a matter of Stern making good on his threat.

[MavDynasty]

fucking najera lmao

we need hollins back shittt

[mavsfan1000]

It's Danny Crawford. Nothing new here. I should've bet a lot of money on the spurs. I was being lazy.

[Findog]

It would be a shame if he were suspended. On the other hand, it does no good to bitch about officiating. G3 is over, time to get ready for the next one.

[RedsLakers24]

Dirk was getting hit alot and no foul, but when Manu drives any contact was a foul

[DAF86]

Dirk was getting hit alot and no foul, but when Manu drives any contact was a foul

WTF? I can count at least three or four plays where Manu was fouled and he didn't get the call, and what about Manu fouling Dirk's elbow with his nose?

[Muser]

What a fucking dumbass, seriously.

[BlackSwordsMan]

who's gonna guard duncan now?
thanks dampier

[Cry Havoc]

Dirk was getting hit alot and no foul, but when Manu drives any contact was a foul

What about Barea flopping at the slightest bit of contact on defense? He got a total bailout after being totally burnt, and still got the call.

Refs are going to blow calls every game. Last night's officiating was pretty even. They let them play and didn't call many ticky-tack fouls. The Mavs are incredibly lucky Damp didn't foul out.

[Ghazi]

I agree with Dampier in my humble points of view.

[Mavs_man_41]

I agree with Dampier in my humble points of view.

agreed, when it's in SA you know there's gonna be plenty of home cookin..i mean just look at the crowd, you can tell they get alot of it

[21_Blessings]

erica should tell us how he managed to score only 0 points last game

[BanditHiro]

What about Barea flopping at the slightest bit of contact on defense? He got a total bailout after being totally burnt, and still got the call.

Refs are going to blow calls every game. Last night's officiating was pretty even. They let them play and didn't call many ticky-tack fouls. The Mavs are incredibly lucky Damp didn't foul out.

especially after he hit Ginobili's head after Ginobili drived in for the basket.

[Cry Havoc]

I agree with Dampier in my humble points of view.

Extremely humble. Enjoy your team full of jump shooters.


agreed, when it's in SA you know there's gonna be plenty of home cookin..i mean just look at the crowd, you can tell they get alot of it

City smack. You're awesome. :tu

Fattest cities in America 2009
14. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

(Source: Men's Fitness)

Awww, ain't that cool? You have very little room to talk.

[BlackSwordsMan]

a lot of mexicans in fort worth brah

[BlackSwordsMan]

lol fat beaners

[jermaine]

Don't they suppose to call a tech if you foul someone hard going to the basket & your not going for the ball!?! This bitch got beat by Duncan & pushed him in the lower back to foul him. What if Duncans legs wouldve flew foward & landed on his back! Damp is a Bitchass nigga! It aint EA sports but its in the game! Lol

[jermaine]

Don't they suppose to call a tech if you foul someone hard going to the basket & your not going for the ball!?! This bitch got beat by Duncan & pushed him in the lower back to foul him. What if Duncans legs wouldve flew foward & landed on his back! Damp is a Bitchass nigga! Quit complaining nigga! It aint EA Sports but its in the game! Lol

[Mavs_man_41]

i aint fat ya dig and thats all dat matters hoe ass boy!

[Muser]

lol mavs man

[badfish22]

WTF? I can count at least three or four plays where Manu was fouled and he didn't get the call, and what about Manu fouling Dirk's elbow with his nose?

:lmao

[badfish22]

Hollinger:

"Bed time on West Coast, but food for thought to chew over EST breakfast: Dirk Nowitzki had even less help in Gm 3 than Dwyane Wade. Discuss"

"Dampier will be $35k lighter in the wallet soon, but he's right about one thing: That charge on Dirk was crap"

You know its bad if hollingers taking our side.

[BanditHiro]

I agree with Dampier in my humble points of view.

agreeing with a moron only makes you an idiot.

[Muser]

Duncan should feast on Haywood if Damp is suspended.

[Crookshanks]

I watched the game and didn't see any egregious missed calls for either team. I'm really getting tired of all this bitching and complaining about the refs. Whenever a team loses, it's NEVER the team's fault - it's always on the refs. That's become a pretty lame excuse.

I rarely agree with David Stern, but maybe it would be a good thing for some people to get suspended. This beef with the refs is getting ridiculous.

[HarlemHeat37]

The only bad call I remember was Bonner's charge against Dirk..

I don't remember anything else that was bad, at least IMO..

[Spursmania]

Stop bitching Erika and help your team out, dumb ass...:lol

[Crookshanks]

The only bad call I remember was Bonner's charge against Dirk..

I don't remember anything else that was bad, at least IMO..

Many, many times a play like that can go either way. The block/charge is probably the most subjective call in the game - and a close one always leaves the other guy feeling cheated.

[HarlemHeat37]

I agree, but that one looked awkward anyways..should have been called a block..

Bonner is the worst player at taking charges that I've ever seen TBH..he's unbelievably bad at it..

[MavDynasty]

I remember three calls that were QUESTIONABLE:

The one play where Dick Bavetta called it Mavs ball after a missed shot but Crawford all the way from HALFCOURT changed the call to Spurs ball. Nothing important as it was in the first half

The charge on Dirk after a made basket followed up by the FIRST Ginobili and-1. I replayed it and Ginobili was not touched on his way up for the layup. Thats a 5-6 point swing right there. Manu was fouled though on the second and-1.

[dbestpro]

If the Mavs get back their calls in game 3 we still win by one. If the Spurs get their calls back from game one, the series is 3-0 Spurs. Be happy with what you have.

[HarlemHeat37]

I remember three calls that were QUESTIONABLE:

The one play where Dick Bavetta called it Mavs ball after a missed shot but Crawford all the way from HALFCOURT changed the call to Spurs ball. Nothing important as it was in the first half

The charge on Dirk after a made basket followed up by the FIRST Ginobili and-1. I replayed it and Ginobili was not touched on his way up for the layup. Thats a 5-6 point swing right there. Manu was fouled though on the second and-1.

I don't remember the out of bounds call, who was involved?..

For Ginobili's and-1, if you're talking about the foul on Dampier, it was clearly a good call..Dampier clearly cleared him out with his left hand, watch the stomach area..

[badfish22]

If the Mavs get back their calls in game 3 we still win by one.

:lol how did you go about calculating this

[Crazymaddopeyo]

Let us not forget about that technical they called on Hill that only should of been a foul, that gave Dallas 1 free point plus the ball.

[lurker]

Let us not forget about that technical they called on Hill that only should of been a foul, that gave Dallas 1 free point plus the ball.
The play was over and the ball hadn't been inbounded. That's a tech by the rules.

[DJ Mbenga]

they let them play. nothing you can do about it. that means people can lean on dirk all night long. it didnt benefit them which is what made the mavs mad.

[FkLA]

Damp is a pussy, Dirk wasnt getting clobbered or anything close to that...when he drove he was getting the calls. The thing was he wasnt getting those bullshit ticky tack fouls on the fadeaways like he's accustomed to and like he got in Game 1. Absolute nothing to blame the refs about, and maybe Timmy only gets 2 fouls in 40+ minutes because Ericka and Haywood are practically non-existant on the offensive end and the Mavs best slasher was a 5-7 midget.

[NewJerSpur]

That was a charge on Dirk.

Damp is getting schooled by TD regardless and neither he nor Haywood have even played good defense at the rim beyond Game 1. They are allowing Dirk to be played more physically now but this is mainly happening off the ball....they've called the fouls he's earned with the balls in his hand. The Spurs are attacking the rim and the Mavs are shooting jumpers is what it boils down to.

[Holmes_Fans]

1-17 vs Dan Crawford in the playoffs

[ulosturedge]

There was a couple of questionable calls that maybe shouldn't have gone the Spurs way. But the officiating wasn't as bad as game 1. If you looked at Dirk the wrong way you were getting fouls called on you in that game. The law of averages seem to be taking its course.

[jestersmash]

I think it's interesting how fans only seem to remember the "questionable calls" that went against their team, but never any questionable calls that went against the other team.

[jestersmash]

There was a couple of questionable calls that maybe shouldn't have gone the Spurs way. But the officiating wasn't as bad as game 1. If you looked at Dirk the wrong way you were getting fouls called on you in that game. The law of averages seem to be taking its course.


And there's absolutely no such thing as the "law of averages"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambler%27s_fallacy

[Obstructed_View]

I think it's interesting how fans only seem to remember the "questionable calls" that went against their team, but never any questionable calls that went against the other team.

The bad calls only matter when your team loses. If your team wins it's because they were better, dammit!

[timvpimp]

Dirk was getting hit alot and no foul, but when Manu drives any contact was a foul
body friction is one common dish for players playing inside in the paint, say PF and C, so it's fair officiating to allow such off-ball grapples as long as no one is knocked down lying/prostrating on floor.

[baseline bum]

1-17 vs Dan Crawford in the playoffs

Either there's a huge conspiracy to screw the Mavs over or it's a mental thing and Dallas can't shake the monkey off their back. I'll invoke Occam's Razor and go with the latter. Anyone who believes the former and still follows the NBA is a moron.

[badfish22]

Dallas fans are bitches if they complain about the refs. Only pussies blame the refs for a loss. Plus, this was nothing compared to game 1, that was terrible! It would 3-0 if it wasn't for that. Also, anyone who thinks Dan Crawford hates the Mavs is a moron! But I hope Joey Crawford doesn't ref game 4, he hates us!

[vander]

WTF? I can count at least three or four plays where Manu was fouled and he didn't get the call, and what about Manu fouling Dirk's elbow with his nose?

that should have been a foul on Dyess, Dyess was getting lucky against Dirk, if he keeps that up, he'll be fouling out in 15 minutes with a different crew

[NewJerSpur]

that should have been a foul on Dyess, Dyess was getting lucky against Dirk, if he keeps that up, he'll be fouling out in 15 minutes with a different crew

It's good that he's been aggressive, but he has to temper it a bit. It's the same reason he's been going for almost every headfake. I love that reckless abandon on the boards, but he's got to watch himself guarding Dirk.

[timvpimp]

even in such a liberal world, sometimes you still get caught and punished for calling the sky blue.

[sribb43]

At least someone on this team has the balls to say something

[baseline bum]

At least someone on this team has the balls to say something

Instead of having the balls to break the streak?

[cornbread]

Erica is a very large crybaby.

[Mavs_man_41]

mavs better get crunk for game 4 and quit worrying bout the officiating!! we already knew it was gonna be bad in SA, its do or die now

[IronMexican]

Anyone who believes the former and still follows the NBA is a moron.

What I always say.

[Mavs_man_41]

What I always say.

that's what you always say, while you're talking about radiohead and jacking off to snead

[jag]

What I always say.