09 playoffs thread

booner is str8 garbage imo. like him personally, but as a playa, he lacks fiyah, he was absolutely of no use in this series. his one responsibility on offense is to hit threes to space the floor and he clunked all of them the last 2 games, pitiful. finley still has some game, but he's old as fuck. bowen is a pillar of the community and an honorary sa dude 4 life, i will say nothing untoward about the man. but he should be play fewer minutes in basketball games. mason was pretty useless this series, too, but i think he was still feeling things. gooden, too.

george hill stepped the fuck up, love this guy. udoka, too, both lack some offensive refinement, but they're great on the ball defenders.

just kind of a weird transition right now. duncan is still hofer first ballot, but he's not gonna do it every night, and parker is their offensive leader, so they gotta figure out how to make that work. i still think their window to win titles isn't closed with maybe one big piece and a key bench player (lol that's most teams, i guess, doomed to the middle of the pack now).

Cuz he fouled Brad Miller's face and hard enough that Miller ended up looking like John Merrick as he was taking his free throws.

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, April 29, 2009 8:30 AM

i didn't like that play and felt bad for miller. he looked super-bummed in the bulls huddle after he missed both fts

really seemed like a ref had it out for ray allen last night, some real regular season calls that have no business in the playoffs

did howard get suspended yet

though i'm not really sure why people want that rondo foul to be flagrant

because it was? and because the refs were already reviewing the play anyway? because miller was still dazed when shooting what would've been the game tying ft in ot of a tight-as-can-be series?

yeah i reviewed the def of flagrant and u guys are right

he reached inside the mans mouth and ripped out his teeth - but it was on the final play of the game so its ok :)

Brad Miller also has a very punchable face so it's possible the refs were sympathetic.

oh no my body is broked because i spend every game landing sideways onto peoples feet

ironic for a guy who plays on the same team as Bruce Bowen

booya

bowen is a pillar of the community and an honorary sa dude 4 life

lol what

Haven't you seen the NBA cares spots? Bruce Bowen gives back to the community.

slides foot under hop scotching little girl

knees street beggar in the groin

They give you awards for that sort of thing in San Antonio.

its considered neighborly to hip check a guy into the riverwalk

As it was called a regular personal foul, Miller had to shoot the free throws himself, or be replaced by a Bull of Doc Rivers' choosing. Miller shot, and missed, while blinking again and again, apparently impaired by the fumes of the compound used to close the wounds in his mouth.

If it had been called a flagrant, Vinny Del Negro could have specified the shooter of his choice (in the playoffs, Ben Gordon, John Salmons, Derrick Rose and Tyrus Thomas are all over 80%), and the Bulls would have had the ball after the shots.

With a flagrant, the Bulls would have been favorites to win. Without a flagrant, a blow to the head of the guy shooting for the game is a savvy tactic.

lol i luv the title of that post "Winners, Apparently, Hit People in the Head"

referring also to dwight howard and his elbow

http://a.espncdn.com/media/apphoto/3dd57b37-738f-44c9-8abc-a12099e3fcb2.jpg

clearly making a play on the ball

if you zoom in there's a shiv in his hand

while i appreciate flagrant calls as a deterrent i agree w/ not really calling them in high leverage situations

http://a.espncdn.com/media/apphoto/2c8acf15-f75e-4f3a-b5f4-51b85286a0fa.jpg

doughboy? more like doe boy fresh!

besides the refs had already removed ray allen from the game for no reason

paul pierce is some country strong

I think it's a case by case thing. I think there is a good argument that this foul was egregious enough that a flagrant would not have been a bad call.

"besides the refs had already removed ray allen from the game for no reason"

No reason besides committing a foul.

if you zoom in there's a shiv in his hand

― nah rong (Dr. Phil), Wednesday, April 29, 2009 12:48 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

enhancing... enhancing... enhancing...

http://i41.tinypic.com/zv8uo8.jpg

lol

No reason besides committing a foul.

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, April 29, 2009 12:54 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

one super ticky tacky off the ball bullshit call that doesnt get made 95% of the time and then a minute later also off the ball he got run into on a moving pick by the brad miller throws his hands up and gets called for a double foul - so no it wasnt for committing a foul

"the brad miller"

while i appreciate flagrant calls as a deterrent i agree w/ not really calling them in high leverage situations

agree in general but dude was clearly dazed while shooting crucial ft's. this all woulda been avoided if del negro had TYRUS THOMAS IN THE GAME, dude woulda slammed that shit b4 rondo had a chance for the mid-game gilooly.

I think it's a case by case thing. I think there is a good argument that this foul was egregious enough that a flagrant would not have been a bad call.

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, April 29, 2009 12:53 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

flagrants are important for protecting players but theyre overly putative and impinge on the gaminess of basketball bringing all sorts of non 48 minutes who score the most concerns to the table and shouldnt be doled out in high leverage situations - so call them liberally during the regular season - not so much at the end of playoff games

I think the result of not calling the flagrant in this case was actually overly putative so I'm not sure there is a good middle ground here.

man up and hit yr free throws

I mean the middle ground is clearly allowing Del Negro someone other than Miller to shoot the two foul shoots and not forcing Miller to leave the game if there is overtime, but the rules don't allow you to get to that point so. . .

or man up and accept the fact you got beat on a play and gave up the game tying hoop, senor rondo

it was great theater at the v least - woozy 7 footer trying to hit an unguarded 15 footer

"man up and hit yr free throws"

Under normal circumstances I think that's a fair answer, but it's less fair when you've been seriously clocked in the head by a guy not making a play on the ball.

the slomo replay from behind the play of miller being WIDE open but having to traverse the seemingly endless 15 ft to the basket while all C's quickly converge on him was priceless

I also have no doubt that all you Celtic and Bulls fans would be arguing the exact opposite positions if the situation was reversed haha.

^^^

that's how all close games should be decided. ok your smallest guy gets to clock our biggest guy, and then we see who can make the most ft's.

well duh, i'm not complaining about ray getting tossed and no c's fans are up in arms about rose never getting a call.

i think the refs wouldve called the flagrant if theyd initially realized how bad the hit was but then the whole thing sort of just meandered along until millers at the free throw line all squinting and in pain

but they were over there reviewing the play the whole time. according to local chi announcers, they went to the monitor once, then went back again.

Del Negro should have just told the trainer to pretend to not have any Stop Bleed or whatever, a la Steve Nash's bloody nose

yeah i didn't even realize he was bleeding at first.

i will fully admit the bulls didn't get some calls in that game (how does perk have 0 fouls for the game??) but also that ray fouled out on some tacky bullshit. in a game that close, as i stated, there's about a million things that could have broken differently and produced another result. that's just how it goes.

Tim Donaghy probably had a lot riding on this game and called in some favors

had there been no blood i dont think people would be as into the idea of this being a flagrant - and the presence of blood doesnt necessarily correlate w/the severity of the hit - could easily just be a weird freak cut

just to be clear by the rule book as rondo was not making a play on the ball and it was a blow to the head that was clearly a flagrant - agree w/it not being called tho