Yeah, until we get androids that are capable of replaying a situation over and over again in slow motion a microsecond before blowing the whistle, we are stuck with wrong calls from time to time. It's especially tough in a free-flowing game like basketball which has a lot of contact, most of it illegal, strictly speaking.

Yeah, I'm not saying NBA refs are particularly good -- they're not -- but college basketball refs, particularly at the mid-major level and below, are just horrendous to the point of being completely overwhelmed. But even watching the NCAA tournament, I really think there's maybe 10 or 11 good college refs tops.

Certainly, after getting my fill of the guys who ref games at the U. of New Orleans, the NBA guys seem competent by comparison.

Reffing is the most unrewarding job in the world. I had trouble doing intramural games, people can be intimidating. I understand they are pros, I just have some sympathy for refs

Fixed.

As long as Umps can have their own strike zones and football refs can decide when they are going to throw a flag despite "being able to call holding on every play", I am not prepared to say that NBA refs somehow have cornered the market on inserting themselves into games.

Mr. Overrated does in the Wizards again. It will be interesting to see what the Wizards do with Gilbert Arenas this offseason. I think I take my chances with some sort of sign and trade deal and move one without him if I am the Wizards.

Meanwhile, in ATL, the Hawks are making a serious run at a game 7 against the C's.

Man the Celtics can't buy a bucket in the 4th.

Pierce & composure seem to have only a passing relationship. And somehow it seems the Hawks are all up in Boston's head.

And I have to admit I do like the way Al Horford plays.

motherfuckin celtics...post up garnett. When they double him have a guy shoot the 3. It's motherfuckin simple.

wow...their inability to win in the playoffs in ATL is just...mind-blowing to me

]

Not nearly as shocking as it is to me.

it's embarassing

no offense to the hawks, but they shouldn't even really be in this series. How do you drop 3 games to the #8 seed, especially a #8 seed in the weaker conference? A team that you beat easily in what...all but one game of the regular season?

Atlanta's got nothing to lose, Boston has everything. Combine that with their inexperience doing this together, and it becomes a fair amount less surprising.

Regular-season means a whole lot of not much this time of year.

Damn the eltics look like the Phoenix Suns from a year or two ago when they were unbeatable in the reg season and sucked in the playoffs

8-seeds are 3-46 in NBA Playoff history - I'd say this is pretty surprising. The Hawks have the chance to pull off something ridiculous.

I still don't think the Celtics have played terribly in these Atlanta games (though they really lost their composure in the 4th quarter tonight and played horribly on offense).

Yes, it's surprising that it's going to Game 7, I just mean it's not the shocker to me that it seems to be to most people. I had Atlanta winning one game, maybe two, while everybody else seemed to think it would be four games, probably all by blowout. The salient point is that the Celtics are not a typical #1 seed in terms of having played together in the playoffs, a coach who has been through this before(as a coach), etc. -- they are in kind of a unique situation and some hiccups are to be expected.

Basically just saying that the predictions of Boston as an unstoppable juggernaut after the regular season never made a whole lot of sense to me. It would still be historic if they lost to Atlanta.

ESPN is reporting that Kobe won the MVP

I didn't see the game, just the highlights in passing.... as much as Pierce should just STFU and go to the bench, you have to admit that 6th foul of his was pretty ludicrous.

(On the other hand, I also will admit I like Al Horford and his game.)

Well, there goes any interest I had in the playoffs this year. Unless Atlanta can pull off the upset, that is, and make a run. That would be cool...

See, I don't know how much weight you can lend to the theory of playoff inexperience.

The Celtics absolutely DESTROYED teams in the regular season. Their average point differential for the whole season was over +10 per game. Second best was around +8 or so. They won almost 30 more games than the Hawks in the regular season.

I understand that the playoffs is a different beast, but the talent discrepancy between these two teams was insanely large.

About f'ing time.

I will chalk up the Hawks' unlikely run to that old saying... any given sunday.

Washington Wizards - "Where can't back it up happens"

Largely due to KG's influence, the Celtics were also the most focused team in the regular season, and it's very likely this inflated their numbers. Problem for them is that everybody is focused in the playoffs, more or less(except for the Pistons :)).

It's not true just because I say it is. Only once in the last seven years has the team with the best regular-season record won the title -- and this is with most of them having a lot more games played together than this season's Celtics. More often than not they watch the NBA Finals on TV. This is not an accident.

Obviously they are a lot better than the Hawks. But traditionally speaking great regular season does not automatically equal great playoff performance. Great talent getting thrown together often has problems. Boston might not necessarily have these problems, but it doesn't make much sense to assume they won't either.

what was the reason for a 19 minute delay in the NO-SA game?

NO mascot jumped through a ring of fire for a dunk. That went well.

Then the fire wouldn't go out. A fire extinguisher was required, after which they had to spend considerable time cleaning and drying out the court.

thas awesome

He faired better than Frank the Tank.

Very strangely officiated game tonight between the Hornets and Spurs. Both teams have been the victims of some really silly minor fouls that have been called, while lots of muggings by both teams were ignored.

When David West was drafted, I thought he would just be a solid stiff at PF. Amazing that hes turned into a guy that can create his own shots so well.

Chris Paul was sick in the 4th and West is a very good player. This Hornets team is a blast to watch.

Buying season tickets to the Hornets this year is officially the best sports-related decision of my life. I think our little secret down here might be getting out.

Perkins is having the best 1st quarter I have seen in a long time. He is doing it on both sides of the ball.

8pts, 6rebs, 2 blks

scary thing is (as they mentioned) dude is only 23...he may not have TONS of room to grow, but he's still young and has a lot of productive years ahead of him

I'd love Perkins if he'd just stop dribbling the damn ball. Seems like everytime he gets the ball in the paint, he comes down with it and dribbles under the basket.

valid point. He's thick...he needs to learn to just go up with the ball.

then again - he's only been a "regular" last year and this year (IIRC) so hopefully he's learning that

I don't know what's up with the Hawks. I went to games 3, 4, and 6 (unfortunately), and the Hawks were fired up for the entire game each time. Other than Joe Johnson, the Hawks just look confused and helpless. Mike Bibby was hopping around like a rabbit throughout each of the Atlanta games, but he just entered the game like it was a preseason contest.

That's some good Defense...held Atlanta to 26 points and very few second chance opportunities, something the Hawks thrived on in the Celtic losses.

60-30 midway through the 3rd at the Garden

dola

and Marvin Williams ejected for the Hawks for a flagrant-2 on Rondo

Will the Hawks even get to 50 points? Wow.

So could the Hawks pushing Boston to a game 7 be the best thing that could have possibly happened to them in round 1? Wake them up a little, make them realize that this isn't just for shits and giggles? Let them know that everyone will be gunning for them?

Barring an epic meltdown of disasterous proportions... the Celtics are going to win this one. Thanks for the good TV, Hawks. :)

If only they could play every game in Boston.

I don't think that's going to be a real problem. The Celtics were 31-10 on the road this season and beat some very good teams along the way. I thinkt heir road struggles in this series will be an anomaly.

I think the Game 3 loss did that. The truth is, in the small sample size, they have played poorly and haven't shown they can win on the road. At the same time, they have looked incredible every game at home, and they do have home-court advantage.

:D :D :D at Jack Nicholson standing inches from the court shouting at the ref "C'mon Charlie, he fucking killed him!" on national TV.

Interesting comments from Joe Johnson after Sunday's loss in Boston.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sp...hawks0505.html

"I thought we'd come into this game knowing what was at stake and knowing we had a chance to make history and move on to the next round," Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson said. "I thought we'd come out with a lot more enthusiasm and a lot more discipline and we didn't do any of that. We came out so lethargic. We had no continuity on offense. It was a joke, man."
...
"We're so inexperienced and we showed that every game in Boston," Johnson said. "We had no chance of winning games here. None. I guess some of these guys thought we were just going to be able to come out and play hard and have fun. There's more to it than that.

"Four games here and we got run ragged all four times. You would think in Game 7 you would have a [expletive] clue. We didn't have a clue as to what was going on out there."

Thing that struck me was that, in addition to his understandable frustration, I'm pretty sure somebody was sent under a bus ... but it seemed more like the players than the coach. Johnson has already voiced his desire that Woodson stay while saying that the team needed more veteran players because "We've got a lot of young guys that are just running wild [on offense]".

He's right too. The only games of this series that I saw were all the road games, so the only times I've seen the Hawks this entire season have been in these playoff wins, and they looked like a very good team. Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Joe Johnson, Childress and Horford all showed plenty of glimpses of talent and made the Hawks look like a pretty awesome for an 8th seed.

But you can't build a contender through the draft alone, no matter how much young talent you pick up. They had the right idea bringing in Bibby, but still far too many of their impact players are inexperienced - Bibby and Johnson (from his Phoenix days) are the only playoff experienced players on the entire roster. They lack veteran role players and at least one veteran contributing starter.

As good as Josh Smith often is, he'd be the guy I'd look to deal this offseason. Outside of Johnson he'd have the most value, and he's also often the most erratic. And, I believe, he's a FA? Sign and trade perhaps?

dola

Hawks also have the draft rights to Aussie 6'11 PF/C David Andersen, 27 years old now, and apparently are thinking about bringing him over next season.

He's with CSKA Moscow (a team SI said was probably better than half a dozen NBA teams) as their starting PF right now and just took out the Euroleague title. I've seen him play a little bit for Australia at the international level, and he's a very talented jump-shooting big guy who would be able to step straight in and contribute in the NBA.

His contract with CSKA Moscow is up this offseason, but it'll be a question of whether the Hawks are willing to pay more than he can make playing in Europe.

Hope the Lakers can maintain their composure throughout the series against the Jazz and finish it quickly.

Love all the Atlanta false hope now.