effs
Franchise Player
Joined: 17 Aug 2006
Posts: 20223
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 Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:17 am Post subject: My turn to jump onto the crazy train |
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I've been wanting to make this post for a while now, but I've been hesitating because of how silly it sounds. I just can't resist now. The evidence, to me at least, is overwhelming.
The NBA is dirty as . I'm not talking about gambling (though it wouldn't surprise me, given what has already been proven), but I genuinely believe that the league office directs officials to "focus" on certain things in order to drive the league agenda. Sure, sometimes the league directives benefit the Lakers, and I certainly don't deny that, but there's no doubt in my mind that the ones this year have been put in place specifically to hurt them.
In this case, I think the Lakers doing essentially what the new CBA was put in place to prevent really angered certain owners to the point where they complained to Stern. He then directed officials to emphasize certain things and de-emphasize others. It's not like he's outright calling for officials to throw games, but they're definitely officiating the Lakers differently. Just from how I've seen Dwight and Nash officiated prior to this season, there's a massive difference. Even Kobe, who I don't believe gets the benefit of the doubt that some other stars do, has had some egregiously poorly officiated games (the GS one comes to mind).
Reporters tweeted that Nash was really heated at the officials today because he was getting hacked and not getting a single call. On the play he was most angry about, he kept the ball on his left side since Lowry was stuck on his right hip. Lowry reached in, THROUGH his body (historically an automatic foul), and smacked him on his arm closer to the elbow than the hand. It was as clear of a foul as you'll ever see, but Nash didn't get it. I couldn't even imagine Nash not getting such a call when he was in Phoenix. However, in LA this year, it has been a regular occurrence.
That double technical on Dwight was even worse. Yeah, they got locked up under the basket. That only happens a half dozen times a game. If they called technicals for getting locked up under the basket, Blake Griffin would average 5 minutes a game. While I feel Dwight wasn't officiated fairly in Orlando either, for some of the same reasons as Shaq, it has gotten even worse in LA. The guy gets called for things that are never called on the guys defending him. He also gets some of the absolute weakest technicals I have ever seen. To get kicked out of the game on something like THAT? Ludicrous.
Now, before people jump down my through, I'm not arguing that officiating is our only problem. Far from it. This team has a lot of problems it needs to address. Unfortunately, it's that much harder to get a rhythm when you're playing 5 on 8 some nights. It all comes down to a pattern that I can't ignore. The Lakers are being punished for all but cir venting the CBA that was meant to bring greater parity to the league. It was why the CP3 trade was vetoed despite Stern's insistence that the league would not interfere with the Hornets GM due to a conflict of interest. They thought they had nipped it in the bud, but Mitch is just that amazing of a GM that he made an even bigger splash the following offseason.
Unfortunately, now Mitch and the Lakers are being punished for being savvier than the rest. |
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