Phoenix got all the calls (truehoop)

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I really hate people complaining about the referees. It's just so tiresome. And on some level -- I may be crazy with this -- I feel it is the job of fans to think like champions. Be mentally tough. Play through adversity. Think like a winner, not a whiner.

But this game was something. I was rooting for Phoenix -- in the name of a tied series and exciting play deep into the playoffs -- and through Phoenix's comeback I was at first pleasantly surprised as a handful of 50/50 calls went the Suns' way. But it just kept going. San Antonio couldn't catch a break. Nash drew a charge on Duncan when he was well inside the no-charge line, Raja Bell's flop drew paydirt ... By the time Leandro Barbosa barreled into Tony Parker and Parker got called for the foul, I started to feel sort of cheap.

I wanted Phoenix to make the big comeback, but not like that.

I hate to fuel the whiners and conspiracy theorists out there. And it's premature to say this was really called the Suns' way. It felt like that from my seat, watching it once in real time.

I would love for an intelligent, non-partial person with a good DVR to break down all the questionable calls and give us a report. From watching it in real time, I feel the referees were a big part of this victory. I'd love to proven wrong.

Of course, plenty more happened. There were great plays by both teams (especially Steve Nash's left-handed behind-the-back bounce pass in the lane). There may be suspensions. We'll talk it all out in the days to come.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-24-65/Phoenix-Got-the-Calls.htmlhttp://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-24-65/Phoenix-Got-the-Calls.html

[timvp]

:jack

The Spurs choked. That should be the beginning and end to any article about this game.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

:jack

The Spurs choked. That should be the beginning and end to any article about this game.


I agree with you, I just thought I'd post this for those who wanted to read it


also, if amare isn't there for game 5, and the spurs win, do you consider the win tainted or take it anyway you can get?

I asked this in another thread to the board and I was wondering what you thought

[kps0001]

But this game was something. I was rooting for Phoenix


what kind of true fan roots for the opposing team in anything at anytime? Did you really just admit that? WOW

[Obstructed_View]

what kind of true fan roots for the opposing team in anything at anytime? Did you really just admit that? WOW
Not a true fan.

[JMarkJohns]

what kind of true fan roots for the opposing team in anything at anytime? Did you really just admit that? WOW

That's a blog. The original poster in this thread didn't write it. Just post it.

[atxrocker]

this almost puts spurs fans that much closer to mav fans. that's not a compliment.

[BradLohaus]

Um, the refs fucked us. Did yall not watch the game? We should have been getting fouled and going to the line down the stretch, not choking the game away. TD got absolutely screwed. Horrible calls.

[Budkin]

Yeah the sad part is that we played through most of the bad calls and still had a good lead. There is no covering up the fact that we choked badly. It happens. At least the series is merely tied. Now we see what these guys are really made of.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

uhh wtf I didn't write this, hence the link to TRUEHOOP

[Kobulingam]

Yeah the sad part is that we played through most of the bad calls and still had a good lead. There is no covering up the fact that we choked badly. It happens. At least the series is merely tied. Now we see what these guys are really made of.

But it eventually takes a toll. The opposition realizes it can defend harder and look at how well they defended near the end.

Spurs could have won by 20 if it wasn't for the stupid refs.

[kps0001]

uhh wtf I didn't write this, hence the link to TRUEHOOP


Sorry man...didn't see the link at the bottom. Didn't mean to call you out on something you didn't say. I would delete my post but I would rather I look like the idiot here.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

it's all good man, congrats on the gutsy win

[timvp]

I agree with you, I just thought I'd post this for those who wanted to read it


also, if amare isn't there for game 5, and the spurs win, do you consider the win tainted or take it anyway you can get?

I asked this in another thread to the board and I was wondering what you thought

Tainted.

[Phenomanul]

All the calls aside I'm kind of getting tired of watching Nash undercut Duncan in every game trying to draw a charge.

[cly2tw]

This is the most consistently called game in this series. The Spurs just got less no-calls they normally get. However, they played a hell of defense on Nash with legimate means most of the game. That had me worried the Suns wouldn't have any chance in this series, middle in the 3rd and early 4th qrts. It seems that the Spurs were not as mentally tough as they made everybody believe they were. That alone gives me hope again.

[sabar]

This whole series is ruined thanks to the whiney Suns. The refs have no clue what hey're doing, the mass whining makes then call way more fouls than they should along with mind boggling no-calls, that goes both ways by the way. From Amare to D'Antoni to the media, this series is ruined.

If we weren't playing the softest team in the west (yes, even softer than Dirk), the series would be awesome and no one would be spouting off the word dirty. Utah, Houston, even the Mavs wouldn't have issues. But with the team softer than tissue paper... it's just depressing.

:depressed

PHX = :dramaquee

Their off-court trash talk and focus on the refs has undermined everything.

[Johnny RIngo]

^I agree. The Suns players and the Phoenix fanboys are ruining this series with their incessant whining. I'd much rather play Detroit, Utah, or even the Dallas Chokers.

This Suns team has got to be softest playoff team I've seen in a long time. Their constant bitching and flopping almost makes the games unbearable to watch. When the Spurs finish off these pansies in 6 I'll gladly look forward to whatever team comes out of the Utah/GS matchup.

[George Gervin's Afro]

There were only 2 calls that really bothered me. One in the last few moments when nash jumped from the baseline into TD who was under the basket. Amazing call... Secondly was when Barbosa jumped into TP even while Tony fell back to avoid all contact..

[DarrinS]

Who can we get suspended?


Just kidding. Just wanted to see what it was like to be a crying Suns fan.

[Extra Stout]

Yes, the Suns got the better of the calls. Big deal. Calls did not decide the game. That game came down to execution down the stretch. The Suns outexecuted the Spurs. That was a big win, on the road, on a night where they didn't really play all that well until there were 9 minutes left to play. It was a championship-level win.

It's up to the Spurs to return the favor. If Phoenix players end up being suspended because they responded to a Robert Horry cheap shot, and the Spurs win, such a win would be tainted.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Yes, the Suns got the better of the calls. Big deal. Calls did not decide the game. That game came down to execution down the stretch. The Suns outexecuted the Spurs. That was a big win, on the road, on a night where they didn't really play all that well until there were 9 minutes left to play. It was a championship-level win.

It's up to the Spurs to return the favor. If Phoenix players end up being suspended because they responded to a Robert Horry cheap shot, and the Spurs win, such a win would be tainted.


Well said!

[T Park]

So the Spurs should just lose because their players aren't there?


soft bitches.

[dre11863]

I was at the game and there were MANY calls that went the way of the Suns. Granted Phoenix took advantage when the Officials gave them the calls, but this game was another example of the NBA dictating who they want in the Finals. Here are just a few of the calls that went Phoenix's way:

1. Nash trips over own feet, Bowen gets called for foul
2. Off an inbounds play Nash trips over self and Bowen gets called for foul
3. After Stoudewhiner :cry picks up 5th foul Duncan is immediately called for 5th after either Barbosa or Bell runs into him.
4. Duncan gets called for charging when player was standing on the semi circle line near the basket.
5. Barry gets all ball on a block and gets called for a foul.

The Spurs played badly in the fourth quarter because the officials did not let them get into any sort of rythmn. Every time they were about to extend the lead the officials would make call(s) to allow the Suns back into the game. Once again the Suns had to make the baskets to get close, so I am not taking that away from them. They are an excellent team, Nash has ice water in his veins. But they should not need the help of the officials to win games if they are that good.

This series reminds me of what Phil Jackson and the Lakerrs used to do when they played the Spurs. They would constantly complain about the calls and the officiating in order to get the game called their way. Mike D'Antoni and the rest of the Suns have learned from Jackson and the Lakers, complain and you will get the calls to go your way.

If you listen to any national sports radio all of the announcers are saying they do not want the Spurs in the Finals because they are boring. This occurs on every show every day. Do you think David Stern doesn't hear this? Please!!

If Stoudewhiner, Bell, Diaw, and yes Horry are not all suspended from the next game I will never watch or go to another NBA game, or buy myself or my son any NBA products.

[Clutch20]

I'm split down the middle, torn in half. But if I pull myself back a little to see the bigger picture I see that drama has taken over. I wanted the old ways of closing out games and series and heading somewhat semi-bruised towards the finals. This time around though, it's radically different. The refs are going to do what they've loosely planned together as a group, their game impacts the final score, Pop and staff make their calls and that impacts in ways we're not so happy with, and veteran players on our team make split-second
decisions which end up looking unwise in retrospect.
Bring on game 5!

[ballhog]

I don't blame the loss on the refs but they took the Spurs out of their game by giving ticky-tack calls on Duncan over a 5 min stretch. This made him less aggressive--he would never have let Amare have easy shots down the stretch there. Nash could do anything---Suns were falling all over the floor the whole game and getting calls.

[Spurminator]

The Spurs let the calls get to their heads. They played better for most of the game and felt they were entitled to get the win after three quarters because of that. Some calls didn't go their way and they reverted back to the whining that's gotten them in trouble in the past.... completely took themselves out of the game mentally.

Phoenix played the 4th quarter with a sense of balls-to-the-wall urgency and they were rewarded for it.

[Testing]

Spurs did the same thing against the Mavs in games 2-4. Its been a trend for a couple seasons now. Nothing new.

Spurs lack leadership in the 4th quarter. They become predictable. Dump it to duncan or have Manu iso and turn the ball over. Have Parker drive with nowhere to go and TO.

Horrible game that will ultimately cost the Spurs a series that they should have won....for the 2nd consecutive year.

[Testing]

THough I have to admit, based on replays that "flagarant" by horry on Nash...I just don't understand how that was such a big issue? Horry hipchecked him but Nash milked it and definitely flopped into the sidelines...it was not that big of a foul...

[smeagol]

:jack

The Spurs choked. That should be the beginning and end to any article about this game.
So true. This was nowhere near what happened last year in some of the games against Dallas.

The Spurs lost this one. They had the chance to almost put away the series and now this shit will be an uphill battle.

Manu continues to brick threes.

I'm so fucking pissed!

[nkdlunch]

Duncan's last 2 fouls were made up.

[Doug Collins]

Refs don't blow 11pt. leads when the Spurs were dominating up to about 7 minutes left in the fourth. Some calls didn't go our way, but we still had ample opportunity to win. Suns executed and took it right at us, and got the win. Duncan sitting on the bench while Phoenix made their run killed us. Pop should've had him out there even with 5 fouls.

[Soul_Patch]

I could live with a lot of the ticky tack fouls duncan was hit with...the one that really got me was the charge that nash so "valiantly" took where his entire 2 feet where inside the circle. It wasnt even close.

i mean c'mon...be realistic here..how could that be a missed call.

[jmard5]

Refs don't blow 11pt. leads when the Spurs were dominating up to about 7 minutes left in the fourth. Some calls didn't go our way, but we still had ample opportunity to win. Suns executed and took it right at us, and got the win. Duncan sitting on the bench while Phoenix made their run killed us. Pop should've had him out there even with 5 fouls.

Kerr was commenting that it was good strategy to leave Duncan on the floor even when he just commited his 5th foul... that is when Pop decided to sub Duncan out of the game. Damn!

Yeah, we have ample opportunity to play defense in the last minutes, but when 2 defensive plays got botched up by dubious calls/non calls, what else do the Spurs need to do? When shots are not falling, Spurs rely on defense.

And yes, Horry deserves the ejection/suspension.

[davemaniscool]

To say that calls don't matter or don't affect the outcome of a game is stupid. Every game is a game within a game. Calls can and do shift the momentum of a game whether it's Suns or Spurs. With that said taking Duncan out with five fouls was pretty dumb considering that Amare also had five fouls.

Tim is smart enough not to foul out. I didn't see the game but it seems that Tim should have gotten a few more ft attempts and the attempts should have been more balanced between the teams. To me a HOF PF should get a least 10 ft attempts with the number of touches Tim gets.

Phx played hard the last few minutes with the run and wanted it more in the end.

This series is going seven. It's too bad the games are so close that the ref card is played by both teams. I expected more calls in Phx favor after D Antoni's press conference reaction the last game. It always seems to happen in the playoffs with any series.

[wildbill2u]

Does anyone ever know of a game where the result was overturned because of bad calls in the 4th quarter that seemed to favor one team? No.

Let's win the next two on our own.

[ArgSpursFan]

the spurs didn´t get no calls yesterday.bell fouled every big man setting a screem on Manu,He fouled Manu at least twice in the last 4 mins and didn´t get no calls.Bell should´ve been fouled out but reminded on the floor all the time,while bruce got every call from the refs yesterday.that was really pathetic.

[mabber]

I really hate people complaining about the referees. It's just so tiresome. And on some level -- I may be crazy with this -- I feel it is the job of fans to think like champions. Be mentally tough. Play through adversity. Think like a winner, not a whiner.

But this game was something. I was rooting for Phoenix -- in the name of a tied series and exciting play deep into the playoffs -- and through Phoenix's comeback I was at first pleasantly surprised as a handful of 50/50 calls went the Suns' way. But it just kept going. San Antonio couldn't catch a break. Nash drew a charge on Duncan when he was well inside the no-charge line, Raja Bell's flop drew paydirt ... By the time Leandro Barbosa barreled into Tony Parker and Parker got called for the foul, I started to feel sort of cheap.

I wanted Phoenix to make the big comeback, but not like that.

I hate to fuel the whiners and conspiracy theorists out there. And it's premature to say this was really called the Suns' way. It felt like that from my seat, watching it once in real time.

I would love for an intelligent, non-partial person with a good DVR to break down all the questionable calls and give us a report. From watching it in real time, I feel the referees were a big part of this victory. I'd love to proven wrong.

Of course, plenty more happened. There were great plays by both teams (especially Steve Nash's left-handed behind-the-back bounce pass in the lane). There may be suspensions. We'll talk it all out in the days to come.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-24-65/Phoenix-Got-the-Calls.htmlhttp://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-24-65/Phoenix-Got-the-Calls.html

I can't believe you (of all posters) started this thread.

[readdy]

awawawwawawawawa, thats is all u spurs fans do

[mFFL03]

I guess whining is just part of the game in the NBA today, kind of sad actually....

another reason why David Stern needs to take a hike

[steppy]

I'm not going to complain about officials because it's pointless but I've always wondered something. Why do refs seem to respond to a coach that calls out the officials? I don't get it since it seems to go against logic. You would figure that the refs would stick it to your team more if you complain.

[Athenea]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117924601547803506.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Suns Come Back to Beat Spurs (Wall Street Journal)
As a Budding Rivalry Heats Up
May 15, 2007 12:29 p.m.
In the first three NBA quarterfinal playoff series to complete Game 4, one team had emerged with a 3-1 series lead and three changes to clinch. The San Antonio Spurs were 142 seconds away from making it four for four last night, leading the Phoenix Suns by five points at home.

Then Steve Nash took over. He hit a jump shot, made two behind-the-back passes that were converted into layups, and received a flagrant foul from Robert Horry that led to some angry words exchanged but no brawl. After the muck was wiped away and order restored, Phoenix emerged with a most unlikely, 104-98 victory and regained home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series.

That tension boiled over when Mr. Horry left his feet to deliver a hip and forearm to Mr. Nash that sent him flying into the press table along the sidelines. Mr. Horry risks suspension, as do two Suns players also wandered over from the bench after the flagrant foul. "I don't know what Robert Horry was thinking," Buck Harvey writes in the San Antonio Express-News. "He came in for the final 32 seconds and hadn't had time to get mad about anything. And I know what Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were thinking. Nothing. They left their bench out of reaction, because Horry took out Steve Nash the way a linebacker takes out a quarterback on the sideline. My punishment? I'd fine Horry and nothing more. And I wouldn't care exactly how many feet and inches Stoudemire and Diaw strayed from their bench. I'd make them all come back. Because I want to see what happens next."

Does the NBA want to see what happens next, or affect it? The Fix doesn't buy conspiracy theories about officiating, but columns like Michael Wilbon's in the Washington Post today (and several calls yesterday that went the Suns' way, as True Hoop points out) could at least explain the tension that Mr. Horry was feeling. Simply put, good times for the Spurs are bad for the NBA. Mr. Wilbon points out that San Antonio ranked 21st in the league in road attendance, and has been a TV-ratings killer.

"They're polite in public dealings, accept coaching and are personally accountable," Mr. Wilbon writes. "They're smart, creative, and civic gods where they live. They're never, ever involved in embarrassing off-court drama. Yet, it all adds up to induce one big yawn from basketball consumers."