that's never a good thing to do

i give the bulls credit they fought like hard in game 2 , came up a little short, but , they knew if they could win that game the hammer would be down

I guess I got spoiled with competitive games
from the Bulls/Celts series.

Horrible basketball game but for the life of me I fail to see why Orlando is a lock in this series

This is the type of performance that makes
you wonder...

It really is absolutely awful.
I give the Celtics credit for
putting forth good effort without
their best player.

Houston game should be interesting.
Yao was really outstanding last game.
Battier and Artest together guarding
Bryant is probably the best duo he
could face.
If Houston shoots well, they can be
very tough. Their Defense really plays
well if they score and Yao has a chance
to get back. If the Lakers get running,
Yao's effectiveness decreases exponentially.

my analysis, for whatever its worth.

Lakers in 7 (because I have tickets to game 7) :tro:

I'm not a ref complainer because it gets you nowhere in the NBA, but why the f.uck is Joey Crawford allowed to even walk into professional arenas anymore? He is a complete joke.

NT

Tim Duncan laughed from the bench
and got teed up.
(this led to the incident that sealed his first dismissal)
No joking with Crawford.

Kobe got in a nice cheap shot on a cheap shot
artist... Artest. A little higher and give
the Rockets game #3.

Yao broke his foot.

Took him long enough. He and McGrady are two of the most brittle athletes ever. You just come to expect them to get hurt at some point.

Yao is just too big.
Its sad because he really is
a very good player.
Wonderful hands, great touch.

Humans were not made to be that big.
If it aint the foot, its the back, knees, something.

I feel bad for the Mavs. Wright clearly fouled Anthony but because the ref didn't feel like calling it, the Nuggets lead 3-0 instead of 2-1. Give credit to Anthony for playing through it and of course, he still had to make the shot. And Dallas didn't execute on their final possession when Dirk missed that shot and they also didn't stop the Nuggets from scoring on the previous two possessions before Anthony's game winner. But damn, what a horrible way to have a game decided. All the times when calls probably shouldn't be made, they make them. When a foul is clearly committed, especially in a situation where they should know it's coming, they don't call it.

I don't feel bad for the Mavs. The guy they stand around and watch is a huge b.itch who folds in crunch time. If that foul had been called we would have been forced to watch one more of these games and Jason Terry's face and constant trash talking is almost as tiresome and annoying as Kevin Garnett's.

NT

Rockets are DUN :D

So because you don't like Dirk or the team means that the call shouldn't have been made? Either it's a foul or not and how we feel about the teams really doesn't change that.

Bad calls are going to happen.
The NBA admitted they were wrong.
But the players are told constantly to play
through till the whistle, constantly.

And no need to commit the foul with the
chest and body. Grab him dammit.
Bad job of fouling, bad job of playing through,
bad call.

Tough luck for the adolescent Mark Cuban.

What I said was that I'm glad the call didn't get made. All it would have done was give the Mavs another game in a series that they're a huge longshot to win. I'd rather the series just end. They have been DOMINATED by Denver this year (6-0 coming into today) and while today's game was entertaining, the Nuggets are clearly a horrible matchup for them.

Me hating Dirk has nothing to do with the non-call today and everything to do with him being a notoriously terrible, terrible player when games are on the line. He's the anti-Kobe. He took a completely ill-advised 3 pointer with
18 on the shot clock just inside the 1:00 mark then missed what would have been a clinching jumper in the final 10 seconds. It happens all the time in big games. He has a mountain of talent but no balls when the game is hanging in the balance.

NT

Pulled his hand away after he fouled him(like he didn't want it called.) What the fk was he doing?

I know.
Hang on, dont let him get close to shooting.

Another side plot. I think Kobe did a wonderful
job of pushing Artest to his mental limits. I am
assuming it was on purpose. Kobe had baited
him verbally and then with the elbow, Artest
was done mentally. Everyone was so suprised
how Artest was maintaining composure and Kobe
tweeked that gangsta attitude.

Somewhere along the way, Kobe watched a Celtic "fk with head" video.

You sure?

All kidding aside, even a die hard Rockets fan like myself never expected that today. I'm sure we're still odds on to lose in LA and be ditched in six games, but this was a nice way to respond to adversity. There's certainly no quit in the Rockets and if that can be combined at some point with health and starpower something great can happen.

FYI, someone posted this on this board in June 2007 (it wasn't me):

"The steal of the draft will be whoever drafts Aaron Brooks from Oregon. Guy was made to play in the NBA. "

NT

Turk missing some important shots. Brick, brick ,brick. Stands around like he's watching a bellydance.

Barkley sticking with those Orlando women? Good luck wid dat, Chuck. One side got men, and the other side got women(especially that Turkey-Glue Lady.)

If the Lakers had a point guard...

Kobe got a lot of rest in the regular season.
Now he has to dribble the ball more, games
are tougher. As much as he likes Fisher he
has got to ask for a point guard next year
for offense and defense.

They need a PG that can play over 30 minutes
effectively.

Celts, Houston, or Cleveland deserve a shot at rings. The others are a bunch of lay-down whores. Every year, Orlando lays down. That Turk is a fkn skinny-legged choke. Lakers gotta be whipped to perform. Somethings wrong with their heart, too.That big baby shouldn't of had a chance to do that. Van Gundy being asked the wrong questions. Asked about the last shot. Ask him why he has that choker Turk laying bricks? Why he being allowed to take shots? What's he? FKN 4 FOR 14? Might want to look at that. Of course, that's the open guy. He's a choke. Why would you cover him outside?

I'm sorry Chuck, but if Nelson were playing, this series would be over by now. Alston is horrible. Just completely useless. I know you said the Magic only needed a distributor, but he's not even doing that.

3 games this series:
7-29 (24%), 1-12 threes (8%), 6.7 PPG, 4.7 APG, 2.3 TO

It cracked me up when everyone said the Rockets were giving up on their season after trading Rafer.

He's a horrible defender, a horrible shooter, has no head, is prone to being impossible to deal with, and was already having problems in the locker room with both McGrady and Artest.

You're never going to get the guy to shoot more than 39%. He took more wide-open 3s with the Rockets than he'll ever get with any other team (Orlando is up there) and he still never had an overall percentage higher than 39.

I'll take a Kyle Lowry-Aaron Brooks platoon over Rafer any day.

NT

The problem with the Rockets is they have two superstars who are, from the looks of it, being trained by D. Wayne Lukas.

He has been a disappointment. It doesnt matter much anyway, no one is beating Cleveland

There's a reason the guy was exiled to And1 for a million years. And it ain't his handle.

McGrady out has been a godsend.
This is a very tough team mentally
(Artest excluded)and physically.

Dont see how it is possible for them
to beat the Lakers without some
inside defensive presence though.
Injuries have not stopped this team
like it killed the old dog Spurs.

Houstonians should be proud as
should Celtic fans. These teams have
shown some resilience.

In other NBA news:

Mark Cuban told Kenyon Martin, and his mom,
that Kenyon is a thug. Kenyon says you dont do
that. He will take care of Cuban. The only entity
Kenyon backs down from is the Law.

Sticks and Stones is just a cultural kinda thing
Im guessin... I mean Jesus would definitley go
with the sticks and stones posture.

Lost in the hubbub is this gem.

Yao gets injured every year like clockwork. Mcgrady gets injured every month.

A shame because this team is well put together.

I've always had a problem with anyone saying that Dirk Nowitzki doesn't play in the clutch. He's one of the few superstars that actually ups his production in the playoffs over his regular season numbers. His career regular season is 22.7 and 8.6 In the playoffs, it's 25.4 and 11.0 I remember when they were facing elimination in 2003 against Portland and he went for 31 and 11 and then the next series, again facing elimination against Sac he went for 30-19. I remember the 2006 playoffs when he went for 37-15 in game seven at SA. I remember when Phoenix tied their series at 2-2 and he went for 50-12 in the next game. When they lost to Miami in the finals, it wasn't because Dirk didn't produce. He went for 21 a game in the two wins and 23.8 in the four losses. They lost because they couldn't stop Wade, not because of Dirk. He had 30 in the game three loss (98-96, Wade 42). He had 20 in the game five loss (101-100, Wade 43). He had 29-15 in the game six loss (95-92, Wade 36).

Dirk is not on the level with James, Bryant, and Wade. Nobody else in the league is. But he's not some scrub bum that can't play and doesn't produce. I was watching last night's game. The way they lost game three to go down 3-0, the Mavs had every right to quit. But in a series where he was already going for 32.0-11.7 and shooting 52%, he upped it last night. With the season on the line and the game in the balance, he scored 44 (19 in the fourth) and kept the season alive. Again, he's not on the level with the very very best in the game......but you just can't do the stuff he does do, against the best players in the world....if you aren't a great player. Maybe not the best finisher ever but far, far from a choker. Anyone that goes for 37-15 at SA in game seven to take out the defending champs is forever in my book immune from the choker label.

He is an especially tough matchup for the Spurs.

And he can thank Manu Ginobili for that last game.
Ginobili goes brain dead occassionally. Look at that
game over and the last few plays, I call the Spurs the chokers.

Orlando should be ashamed of themselves. Chance to go up 3-1 with a short handed, in foul trouble Boston team Sunday, they lose. Tonight, they have a 14 pt lead with 7 or 8 minutes to go and they manage to choke it away. They should have won the series already, and the Celtics are up 3-2 instead.

Give the Celtics a lot of credit for battling, but the Magic are losing this series more than the C's are winning it.

The overhyped center for the Magic...Dwight Howard...had to think of his name because he's so garbage...is a softie and will never win a championship.

Perkins has pushed him around like a little bitch all series. Howard can't do anything if he's not dunking with nobody around. He's a great defender because of his length, but he's pathetic on offense. And his Superman gimmick is stolen from Shaq.

I didn't watch the game. I was watching The Biggest Loser finale. Dwight Howard's fat mom was on that show and only lost 80lbs.

Wouldn't of made a difference, but be nice if they could get the call right on the ball hitting/not hitting the rim. There is a change of possession involved. You might want to get that right. Orlando is gunna choke no matter what it takes, but they should be allowed to fk it up all on their own. Women teams have more nad than that bunch.

The ball would've sailed out of bounds if it didn't hit the rim. How come it suddenly went straight down? The net made of iron? Like you said, irrelevant anyway. The Magic couldn't even get a short rebound on the ensuing forced shot by Ray.

Sidenote, I thought I was going to have to eat my words about Skip, but lo and behold, he came back to earth in the fourth. Some weird ass lefty hook shot over the backboard and then a miss on a wide open three. That's the And1 legend I know.