Subscribe Feed (RSS)It just keeps going on and on. Over at Blazersedge.com they’ve been bouncing off the walls about it and then there’s Mike Barrett’s blog post concerning the officiating in the series. Among other things, Mike said this:
Portland is not a physical team, and outside of Greg Oden, we almost never see the Blazers in foul trouble. Houston is one of the more physical teams in the NBA, and are known for possessing a suffocating defense that survives on hard fouls, rough play on the perimeter, and absolutely pound you down low. Yet, in this series, the Blazers have been called for 101 fouls. The Rockets have been called for 83. That’s a huge disparity. Houston has attempted 96 free throws, and the Blazers 79.
I like Mike a lot, he’s one of broadcasting’s great guys and a very smart man. But I take issue with some of what he said. First off, I’ve heard people all season say Portland isn’t a physical team. Let me tell you, their opponents do not say that. I’ve heard all year from opposing coaches how physical they think the Blazers are — and the fact is, you simply cannot lead the league in rebounding and not be a physical team. It just can’t happen.
And then there’s the assertion that Houston pounds you down low and because it plays great defense, it certainly must commit a lot of fouls.
The fact is, during the 82-game regular season, the Rockets comitted 118 fewer fouls than did the Trail Blazers. That’s part of what makes Houston a good defensive team — the Rockets don’t foul. I don’t think, then, it should be surprising to find Portland fouling more frequently than Houston in this playoff series.
The mistake the Blazers have made is over-correcting, defensively, in defending Yao Ming. Because he killed them in Game 1, they adopted a strategy of playing in front of him and behind him — which was the right thing to do. But they’ve simply gotten carried away. Rather than mix their coverage, or allow Yao inside position once in a while when he earns it, they’ve continued to wrestle with him to get in front. Many times during that scrum, Yao is just as guilty of a foul as the Blazers, but to officials it appears Portland is committing the first foul because of its desperate effort to get in front of him.
(While over-correcting on Yao, Portland has also allowed the other Rocket players too many wide-open shots. Luis Scola has profited the most from this strategy but so have many other Houston players.)
Tags: Dwight Jaynes, fouls, Houston Rockets, Luis Scola, NBA playoffs, Portland Trail Blazers, Referees, Yao Ming
Here’s the thing. I totally do not want the reputation of being a whiner. Look at where it has gotten Adelman. He always whines. A lot. And so does PJ in LA. A lot. I like the demeanor of Nate, let it go and get back in there. I also like that Portland has sent tapes to the league now and has taken a shot at the officials. Statistics don’t tell the real truth here. Yes, Houston has shot more foul shots, but they have earned more too. Feel free to pick up Lowry so he doesn’t race from one of the floor to the other, beat everyone to the basket, and get the foul. The officiating has been wildly inconsistent though and needs to be called both ways at both ends. Yao gets nice treatment from the refs, both offensively and defensively. If they are going to let the big man play, then extend the courtesy to Pryz and Oden as well. I think it’s ok for Nate to draw attention to the refs on an off day and fire a shot off to the league office, but I don’t want my team to turn into a bunch of crybabies and start whining. Except for game 1, all the games have been close and were there for the taking. Let’s make sure the refs aren’t an issue in Game 5 and just win the thing.
Dwight,
You commented in a later post that coaches’ being “preoccupied” with the officiating is not helpful. That is true. But if the officiating is given no attention, no scrutiny, why expect it to change? The league doesn’t want attention on the officials (which is why players and coaches are forced to lie or issue a “no comment” when questioned about it) and is simply more likely to clean up its act when there is a fuss.
Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
Now Dwight, you seem to believe that Monty McCutchen, Bill Kennedy, etc were doing a good, fair job. I won’t even take on that debate here. I already complained earlier in the year that McCutchen should never again be permitted to ref a game involving the Blazers. But again, that’s another discussion. And maybe he was just doing his job.
Mccluess is going to start outlaw now lol
Mike B. is close to the game ………he sees it from the floor. Not many of us do see what he sees. His opinion of what is going on from his seat is probably true. When you look at the “big picture” of the team I think it is realistic to say we are not as physical as other teams. We may have Joel that bumps around but we really do not see that very often……not conistant enough from others to say we are a physical team. Mike Barrett is a fair judge of what is REALLY going on. The officials have leaned towards the Rockets. EVEN if I was not a Blazer Fan I would say that after the last game. Mr Monty was all about the focus on him and not on the game. I have said this for years how EGOS play a part in a select group of NBA officials. I am not saying we are down in the series because of officials but we have not been getting the fair game called at times.
Judy — Mike B. is also PAID to be a homer.
We also have a points and wins this year that could just as easily be argued that were generously granted by officials (6 men on the floor anyone?)
The pendulum swings both ways. All players are playing ‘the game within the game’, just like how Adleman complained after game 2.
The Rockets don’t foul ?
I watch a heck of a lot of NBA games,and that Rocket team pushes,shoves,hands on right at the top of the heap.
I don’t care what you say about that they don’t foul..probably a better statement in my mind is,they don’t get called for many fouls.
Good grief,how many times have you seen Blazers holding their heads,their eyes,laying flat on the floor in this series ?
And then when they get an obvious call they complain bitterly. The Blazers have to stop being so nice and knock the crap out of them tonight.
Since you will get called for it anyway guys,get your money’s worth.
If anybody thinks that Joel and Oden gets that many fouls in 5-15 minutes of play,this team couldn’t have won 54 games. Joel is the glue on this team. I don’t remember all year out guys being this much in foul trouble.
Lastly on the Rocket topic..
Shane and Scola ! Can you imagine this series with a couple of our players switched with those two ??
Conference finals baybee.
Dwight, I don’t have time to point out every example, but I have a 47-inch HDTV and I’m pretty darn sure that the LaMarcus Aldridge is taking the same beating Yao Ming is and not getting nearly as many foul calls. Both those guys are trying to get post position, but only one is being allowed to. 47 inches, Dwight. Big and clear.
Dwight,
While it may not be as bad as most homers think, there is still a deparity in the officiating. Can you admit that, at least? Yao does get the benefit of the doubt in most cases. I think his ONE foul as compared to the 9 Joel and Greg had on Sunday is evidence of that. Or are you seriuosly going to argue that Yao is just that good? Please save yourself the embarassment and don’t bother.
Forgot to spell check it… sorry.
While it may not be as bad as most homers think, there is still a disparity in the officiating. Can you admit that, at least? Yao does get the benefit of the doubt in most cases. I think his ONE foul as compared to the 9 Joel and Greg had on Sunday is evidence of that. Or are you seriously going to argue that Yao is just that good? Please save yourself the embarrassment and don’t bother.
Hey Dwight–
So three coaches got to write checks today to the league for criticizing the refs.. Doc Rivers, Nate McMillan and…. Rick Adelman?
Don’t you find it pretty ridiculous to try to say over an over that it’s not an issue when you have BOTH coaches in a series making comments?
Or is this a case of “everyone is nuts/blind/whining except Dwight”?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4108575
I am biased I’m sure, but the officiating has been suspect for years in the NBA. I mean ralph Nader called out the league when the refs threw the 2002 WCF six years before the truth came out about the league’s gambling problem. The fact is the refs need to be seperate from the league. They should be a seperate union and be monitored by a board of directors that hold public/open meetings. Is there a good reason not to do it besides the league losing control over officiating, and, by extension, the outcome of games?
Houston falls into the Pat Riley philosophy. Play aggressively the whole time. Hold and bump constantly. They can’t call all of them.
The game has been called this way for years in the playoffs. I don’t fault Houston for it.
Dwight,
Still a big Greg Oden fan? Just wonderin…..
Its like a politician having to go negative in a campaign, he may not like it, but if the opponent is doing it you know it works so he’s got suck it up and do it. Adelman and the Houston press made it work so Nate and the Portland guys had to go there too, and what do you know it worked:-)
Franklin, did you watch the 4th quarter of this game and see how Oden can affect the game even if he’s not scoring?
Dwight, any idea how the NBA determines which officials work which playoff games? Is it laid out in advance or does the NBA wait and see how games go? And I really wish they’d just keep the same crew for an entire series, the erratic nature of the foul-calling from game to game is just pathetic. No reason the foul numbers should jump like that in the Blazers favor after four games, unless its the NBA’s way to say the Blazers were getting hosed and they’ll make it up to them with some more favorable officiating. In both cases, it is wrong.
Eric,
If Oden were worth a hill of beans we wouldn’t have been in the position in the 4th qtr. The starters would have been resting for Thursday night. Oden has now scored a whopping 2 points in 2 games. That is not exactly what KP had in mind when he made Greg the #1 overall pick.
Franklin,
No one is blowing out the other team in this series, the teams are as close to even as you can get.
If you didn’t see Oden making a difference on defense in the 4th quarter then I don’t what to say, you simply aren’t seeing the game.