[AlphaBean]

Originally Posted by The Outlaw LOL I find it quite amusing that you say the Lakers have two of the biggest thugs when Sam and Spree (Albeit one of my favorite players) are on your team. The thing is, yeah the Lakers do get some calls. But it's not like they get every call possible. That's just silly to assume. The thing is, there is no way anyone can guard Shaq without somewhat fouling him. That's how dominating he is. But, being reasonable, the refs call the obvious fouls instead of the little contact that has to be made if they even want to contain him. Do you see where I'm coming from? Granted, everyone isn't a 300+ pounder, but some fouls are going to be called and some are not. It's the way it's going to be and whenever you accept it, the game is much more fun and entertaining. I have pretty much learned to take the NBA as it is and not wish it was something it's not, every foul isn't going to be called so I'm not going to blame every one of my team's losses on the refs. ANd I'm certainly not going to complain about them if my team wins Now, if the game is just too one sided to bear, I will simply turn it off and wait for the next game and comment on the calls, I just don't see the point of ranting up and down about the calls or non calls of a game. Now if I was playing the game then yes I'm sure I would be more upset, but I'm not so I'm just going to watch the game and enjoy.

Sam and Spree are old and smallish. I wish they were more physical, but Sam is hobbled and Spree, I dunno. Sam can be physical, but he gets called for it.

Remember five fouls in two minutes?

Shaq does get fouled a lot, yes. However, he travels more than anyone, never is called for it. He uses his elbows like it was LEGAL (and the refs tend to think some elbows are legal under the NBA rule book, i.e. Brad Miller and Karl Malone), and yeah, that's part of being a superstar, so I'm not going to fault the Lakers for their style of play... I just think it doesn't make for good basketball. A few years ago, the Kings had more talent than the Lakers, but lost because the Lakers had the refs on their side. This year, the Kings are doing the same. I think that the league wants Lakers/Kings, and that's a travesty... because the Kings don't have the talent to hang with the Lakers. Do they have Brad Miller, who will probably force Shaq to beat his ****ing ass? Yes. And if the Kings make it, I hope to God Shaq puts Miller in his place... many times. Of course, Shaq won't get suspended in the West finals if he attacks Miller (YAY!), so dunno, doesn't matter. I'm rambling now... Lakers are good... but the NBA should let them win on their own, because it takes away from the skill when you want to create a dynasty (i.e. Jordan never EVER having to dribble).

"We're responding to what they do," Miller said. "They have a couple of guys who are grabbing and holding people."

throwing people to the ground...

Anyway, your next point... Blah blah blah, basically. You're a Laker's fan. Your team gets all the calls, so you can talk shit to other teams. A team that has so much talent and one of the best coaches is getting the shit beaten out of them by a team of hacks (remember Vlade admitting it? ), I am a little upset. I want things called straight up.

But when you got a ref with a grudge, then you know the Wolves are ****ed.

Tell me who's reffing game 7, I'll tell you who's going to win.

n the first playoff series, Denver's plan, according to people involved with the club, was to undercut Garnett and handle the Wolves as physically as it could without getting called by officials. Wally Szczerbiak was sidelined by one of Denver's undercuts and was out for six playoff games. Well, the Kings have gone one step further with Miller, the biggest goon on the floor. He has been knocking people down, undercutting Garnett and others and getting away with it.

This came on the heels of a similar incident in Game 3 at ARCO, when fans threw giveaway maracas onto the court. Some broke, creating a slippery -- and dangerous -- floor surface.

Isn't that when everyone kept slipping? So KG slips and gets a turnover at the end of the game because of that shit.

The Wolves are 7-1 in the playoffs when Danny Crawford isn't in the officiating crew and they are 0-3 when he's present. Saunders was complaining to Crawford about a call with 5 1/2 minutes left in the first half Sunday. The coach was overheard saying the Wolves had lost only a handful of games since late March, and Crawford had been present for most of them. The Wolves are 16-4 since March 27, and Crawford has worked three playoff losses -- Game 3 vs. Denver, and Games 1 and 6 vs. Sacramento. The last time the Wolves had seen him in the regular season was on March 27 in Los Angeles. Crawford officiated a 98-82 victory over the Clippers that started a nine-game, season-ending winning streak. The fouls were 23 for the Wolves and 22 for Sacramento on Sunday. In Crawford's three playoff games, the winless Wolves have shot 49 free throws to 75 for their opponents, and they have been called for 73 fouls, 12 more than their opponents.

There it is. You can tell something is horribly wrong in the games the Wolves have lost. Game 4, that wasn't anything, that was the Wolves not trying to win. Games 1 and 6 were tough, though. It was painful to watch KG getting turnovers because he was being hammered. He's not big enough to hold onto the ball when someone punches him in the wrist. And he can't power up a shot when someone has their arms wrapped around him.

Maybe it's just KG isn't good enough? I mean, if Shaq can do it, why can't KG?



See what I did there?

I pointed out how the NBA doesn't care about skill as much as it does brute force anymore. If you're not stronger than your opponent, you shouldn't be in the NBA. Or maybe they shouldn't let ANYONE play defence!

I'd like to see Madsen kick Miller in the nuts, how's that defense for ya? The way things are going, it might be the best bet, if he were to tear something.