Political Basketball

Now I'm not one to usually blame the refs for a bad game. If a team can't win it's not because of the refs making, or not making, calls...it's because the team couldn't pull it together when it counted. Similar to the Jazz-Lakers game 5 tonight where the Jazz lost. The game started out horribly! Turnover after turnover for the Jazz giving the Lakers 20 points alone off of turnovers in the half. However the Jazz didn't go down. In fact, they hung in and made an amazing comeback in the third quarter to tie the game going into the fourth. The first half of the fourth the Jazz remained within one or two points of the Lakers. However, every opportunity we got to take the lead we just simply couldn't do it. The Jazz had a great second half and could've won this game. So what's my deal? It was the horrible officiating done by the refs! I am convinced that the NBA wants to see a Lakers-Boston match up for the playoffs. When two players go down right in front of an official while chasing a loose ball and he doesn't call it but the official in the backcourt does, there is a problem. When Harpring clearly plants his feat and stands for a good one second before Gasol gets to the hoop and is met with a knee to the chest by Gasol and no charge is called, there is a problem. When Bryant can wrap up a defender and push him out of the way with no foul called, there is a problem. When Boozer grabs a board and tries to go back up but is plastered between Odom and Gasol and no foul called, there is a problem. When Odom drives into an open lane with no one around but still, for some unknown reason, draws a Utah foul for the "and one", there is a problem. http://youtube.com/watch?v=xSzkzTn6cpw for highlights, pay particular attention to the 4th quarter ones. (Times 1:11 and 1:32 give excellent example.)
Now I'm not saying the Lakers won because of the refs. They stepped up when they needed to and Utah didn't. However, the Lakers don't need any extra help by the officiating crew just so the two most popular teams in the NBA can meet in the playoffs. Either let them play good hard ball or call the game even on both ends of the court.
Prediction: Jazz played the best game in LA that they've played in a long time. Utah has the best home record and will continue to dominate at the Delta Center (ESA) in game 6. If Utah can play with the same intensity that they played in game 5 then they have a shot at stealing game 7 in LA. Just remember the Utah-Houston match up last year in the playoffs.

5/15/08
And if there were any of you thinking that I'm only complaining because I'm a Jazz fan and the Jazz lost, well there is some truth to that. However, here is a little snippet from J.A. Adande, an ESPN.com writter, "When the Jazz got close to the basket, there was more contact than in a rush-hour crowd shoving into the subway, but rarely a blown whistle. Meanwhile, at the other end, Lamar Odom breezed past Carlos Boozer for a layup and got a gift and-one...The question now is if the Lakers can expect to win Game 6 in Utah, where the calls didn't always go their way in Games 3 and 4..."