who are the refs for Game 3?

[Creation88]

San Antonio @ Dallas J. Crawford D. Collins E. Rush

ing lame.

[completely deck]

are you kidding me

[Behrooz24]

I'm trippin, this is some crazy !

[Spursmania]

Guys, we're ed.

[Obstructed_View]

It's very simple: If the Spurs don't want to worry about the officials, then they need to not worry about the officials. If the Spurs play as hard as they did in game 2, the refs don't matter. If they'd played hard in game 1, the officiating would never have been a factor.

[nkdlunch]

Obstructed, Timmy was playing hard when he was suddenly given a T, then a 2nd one and ejection for laughing, and then he was challenged to a fight. He was playing hard but the refs did matter. Joey Crawford mattered

[Obstructed_View]

Obstructed, Timmy was playing hard when he was suddenly given a T, then a 2nd one and ejection for laughing, and then he was challenged to a fight. He was playing hard but the refs did matter. Joey Crawford mattered

Okay, I'll grant you that one, though technically Timmy was sitting on the bench when both those things happened. I'll even grant that the calls Duncan was laughing at were ridiculously one-sided, but Crawford was angry and out of control. Barring an official doing something so egregious that it causes him to be suspended by the league, I believe the Spurs can overcome any officiating crew. I don't actually believe the games are fixed or that the refs are on the take, even as horrible as the reffing has been at times this season. I think the more the NBA front office meddles with the refs, the worse it gets. Basketball is a much harder game to officiate than any other sport, and the NBA zebras were pretty damn good for a lot of years. Mark Cuban has really ushered in the era of "the fix", and Tim Donaghy didn't help matters.

[ElNono]

Okay, I'll grant you that one, though technically Timmy was sitting on the bench when both those things happened. I'll even grant that the calls Duncan was laughing at were ridiculously one-sided, but Crawford was angry and out of control. Barring an official doing something so egregious that it causes him to be suspended by the league, I believe the Spurs can overcome any officiating crew. I don't actually believe the games are fixed or that the refs are on the take, even as horrible as the reffing has been at times this season. I think the more the NBA front office meddles with the refs, the worse it gets. Basketball is a much harder game to officiate than any other sport, and the NBA zebras were pretty damn good for a lot of years. Mark Cuban has really ushered in the era of "the fix", and Tim Donaghy didn't help matters.

Crawford single-handedly 'missed' the Barry call last year too. It's the last play of the game, and can turn a L to a W. I don't mind if they miss/make a call when there's enough time to correct it or do something about it.

[Spursmania]

Okay, I'll grant you that one, though technically Timmy was sitting on the bench when both those things happened. I'll even grant that the calls Duncan was laughing at were ridiculously one-sided, but Crawford was angry and out of control. Barring an official doing something so egregious that it causes him to be suspended by the league, I believe the Spurs can overcome any officiating crew. I don't actually believe the games are fixed or that the refs are on the take, even as horrible as the reffing has been at times this season. I think the more the NBA front office meddles with the refs, the worse it gets. Basketball is a much harder game to officiate than any other sport, and the NBA zebras were pretty damn good for a lot of years. Mark Cuban has really ushered in the era of "the fix", and Tim Donaghy didn't help matters.

Obstructed, I would love to believe that. I agree it's a damn hard game to officiate as things happen so quickly. NBA games, ideally, should be officiated as objectively as possible by zebras who care nothing for their egos or their dislike of certain players but only for the love of the game. This ideal is a lofty one. I don't think some of these refs live up to that ideal.

Crawford single-handedly 'missed' the Barry call last year too. It's the last play of the game, and can turn a L to a W. I don't mind if they miss/make a call when there's enough time to correct it or do something about it.

This Barry missed call was so blatant. I have no alternative but to believe Crawford's ego (i.e. dislike of Spurs, Duncan, etc...) plays a much larger hand in his officiating with the Spurs than his love of the game. I would enjoy being proven wrong tonight, but I have yet to see an officiated game where Crawford hasn't made me question his calls.

[Obstructed_View]

As I mentioned in the other thread, the Spurs didn't deserve to win that game against the Lakers, and if the non-call against Barry was a make-up to ensure the correct team won the game, I don't have a huge issue with it. If Crawford indeed swallowed his whistle as revenge against the Spurs then it was the right thing done for the wrong reason. We'll never know for sure the motivation. The NBA should never have given him his job back regardless, because of questions like this that loom over what should be an exciting playoff series, but degenerates into hand-wringing and whining. We as fans question dozens of calls in EVERY basketball game, regardless of who's officiating simply because of the high number of judgment calls required. We only remember the ones that involve Joey Crawford because we're looking for them, or because we remember his name, but the NBA keeps stats on those things and either Crawford's gaming the system or it's not actually happening.

When it all comes down to it, the teams are going to have to overcome and adjust. That's the bottom line.

[samikeyp]

when it all comes down to it, the teams are going to have to overcome and adjust. That's the bottom line.

+1