mavsfan1000
01-01-2006, 08:24 PM
Seems I'm not the only to think the mavs have been cheated out by the refs.
Johnson cries 'foul' over lack of calls
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
OKLAHOMA CITY – A perceived lack of respect from officiating crews toward Dirk Nowitzki has pushed Avery Johnson to the boiling point.
The coach has been confounded by the fact that Nowitzki is going to the free-throw line nearly two fewer times per game this season after averaging 9.1 trips last season.
Asked if Nowitzki is granted the appropriate respect by referees, Johnson said:
"Not like a superstar. If you look at all of the superstar guys who haven't won a championship, to me, he doesn't get the respect that he should.
"I don't know if he needs to wag his tongue more. I don't know if he needs to change his appearance. I don't know what he needs to do."
Johnson said superstars such as Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan, who have won multiple championships, can be excluded from Nowitzki's class. But others, such as Allen Iverson, LeBron James and Tracy McGrady, seem to get the benefit of the doubt from refs more than Nowitzki, Johnson said.
Indeed, Nowitzki is tied for 19th in trips to the line per game at 7.3.
"To me, he's one of the top players in our game," Johnson said. "That's a pretty select class of people.So, if he's a top five player in the world, and he's a professional and he works hard and he's not a quitter ... I don't know what we have to do to get him catapulted and change the perception of who he is. He is a legitimate superstar.
"It's just that we're living in a world where it's style over substance."
At the root of Johnson's ire is the non-call that went against Nowitzki in the waning seconds Friday night against Golden State. Nowitzki went to the basket strong, trying to finish with two hands, and came up empty.
Nowitzki refuses to get involved in the issue.
"I've never been a complainer," Nowitzki said. "I'm just going to try to keep going to the basket harder."
Johnson believes Nowitzki is going to the basket stronger, "but he needs to go probably twice as hard as he's been going."
While Nowitzki avoids the subject, Johnson is not alone in this complaint. Owner Mark Cuban added his two cents.
"When I talk to the commissioner about it, he said that, yes, they miss calls," Cuban said. "So I agree with the commissioner."
49 and counting: At least when Nowitzki does get free throws, he is making them.
He made nine without missing on Saturday, meaning his streak without a miss is up to 49, tying Steve Nash's club record.
"I'm not doing anything different," he said. "They're just going in."
Another complaint: Cuban, by the way, charts virtually everything when it comes to how officiating impacts his team and others. One of the things he can't figure out is how the referees treat Detroit.
"What I don't understand is how the two most aggressive defensive teams in the league are Detroit and San Antonio," Cuban said, "yet they've had the fewest fouls called against them. How does that happen? I don't understand it."
Detroit has had the fewest fouls this season, but 10 teams have been whistled for fewer than the Spurs.
Briefly: Josh Howard had three rebounds in the first seven minutes against New Orleans. That's one more than he had in the entire game Friday against Golden State ... After losing to Golden State on Friday, the Mavericks are a quite pedestrian 6-4 at home against Western Conference opponents. They are 5-0 against the East. They next play Portland at American Airlines Center on Tuesday.
Johnson cries 'foul' over lack of calls
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
OKLAHOMA CITY – A perceived lack of respect from officiating crews toward Dirk Nowitzki has pushed Avery Johnson to the boiling point.
The coach has been confounded by the fact that Nowitzki is going to the free-throw line nearly two fewer times per game this season after averaging 9.1 trips last season.
Asked if Nowitzki is granted the appropriate respect by referees, Johnson said:
"Not like a superstar. If you look at all of the superstar guys who haven't won a championship, to me, he doesn't get the respect that he should.
"I don't know if he needs to wag his tongue more. I don't know if he needs to change his appearance. I don't know what he needs to do."
Johnson said superstars such as Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan, who have won multiple championships, can be excluded from Nowitzki's class. But others, such as Allen Iverson, LeBron James and Tracy McGrady, seem to get the benefit of the doubt from refs more than Nowitzki, Johnson said.
Indeed, Nowitzki is tied for 19th in trips to the line per game at 7.3.
"To me, he's one of the top players in our game," Johnson said. "That's a pretty select class of people.So, if he's a top five player in the world, and he's a professional and he works hard and he's not a quitter ... I don't know what we have to do to get him catapulted and change the perception of who he is. He is a legitimate superstar.
"It's just that we're living in a world where it's style over substance."
At the root of Johnson's ire is the non-call that went against Nowitzki in the waning seconds Friday night against Golden State. Nowitzki went to the basket strong, trying to finish with two hands, and came up empty.
Nowitzki refuses to get involved in the issue.
"I've never been a complainer," Nowitzki said. "I'm just going to try to keep going to the basket harder."
Johnson believes Nowitzki is going to the basket stronger, "but he needs to go probably twice as hard as he's been going."
While Nowitzki avoids the subject, Johnson is not alone in this complaint. Owner Mark Cuban added his two cents.
"When I talk to the commissioner about it, he said that, yes, they miss calls," Cuban said. "So I agree with the commissioner."
49 and counting: At least when Nowitzki does get free throws, he is making them.
He made nine without missing on Saturday, meaning his streak without a miss is up to 49, tying Steve Nash's club record.
"I'm not doing anything different," he said. "They're just going in."
Another complaint: Cuban, by the way, charts virtually everything when it comes to how officiating impacts his team and others. One of the things he can't figure out is how the referees treat Detroit.
"What I don't understand is how the two most aggressive defensive teams in the league are Detroit and San Antonio," Cuban said, "yet they've had the fewest fouls called against them. How does that happen? I don't understand it."
Detroit has had the fewest fouls this season, but 10 teams have been whistled for fewer than the Spurs.
Briefly: Josh Howard had three rebounds in the first seven minutes against New Orleans. That's one more than he had in the entire game Friday against Golden State ... After losing to Golden State on Friday, the Mavericks are a quite pedestrian 6-4 at home against Western Conference opponents. They are 5-0 against the East. They next play Portland at American Airlines Center on Tuesday.