NBA FINALS: Heat-Mavericks

[EDGECRUSHER]

Lebron isn't getting to the line because he isn't being physical. There was a pretty bad no-call on Miami late in Game 5 where I believe Marion had a breakaway and was clearly hacked on the arm. I don't think the calls are going against Miami, I just think they aren't being treated like superstars in the Finals and they aren't used to it. In the regular season, the stars get the calls, but it's different in the playoffs. Unless you are Jordan, in which case you can throw a guy onto the floor if it allows you a better look at the basket.

As far as the game goes, Lebron probably had the most unimpressive triple-double I have ever seen. Hard to knock a TD, but damn if he didn't look unimpressive.

[bsmooth]

I just want to put the facts out there... From the box scores

Game 1   Heat-26 Mavs-32  Heat win
Game 2   Heat-24 Mavs-21  Mavs win
Game 3   Heat-15 Mavs-27  Heat win
Game 4   Heat-24 Mavs-30  Mavs win
Game 5   Heat-26 Mavs-27  Mavs win
Totals         115        137

Mavs have a 22 free throw advantage through 5 games which equates to 4.4 shots a game. But two game where the Mavs had 6 or more free throws the Heat won.
So officiating is not the reason the Heat are down 3-2. The fact an injured Wade outscored James is.

[mecadonzilla]

Wow.  I had no idea that James was even in the game in the 2nd half, much less scored a triple double.  Has there ever been a more forgettable triple double?

[mecadonzilla]

Saw this on fark.com tonight:  I saw LeBron before the game and I asked for $1. He gave me $.75. I said "where's the rest"? He replied "I don't have a 4th quarter".

[Thundergod]

Weak defense played against you. And hittin every goddamn 3 pointer you chuck up, ya, no ones beating you. The country is all smiles now. Que lindo...

[EDGECRUSHER]

Yeah, the Mavs were just hitting all of their shots. Terry's long 3 against Lebron was guarded very well, but he hit it. With a hand in his face and 5 feet behind the 3 point line he hits it, what can you do?

[Landshark]

I still like the Heat's chances, only because I've seen this happen so many times in the Finals.  The underdog team takes a 3-2 lead, but the favorite team has the final two games on their floor and they end up winning both. 

[Dave Gray]

I am still not happy with the officiating in game 5.  Same story -- fouls away from the ball, and HEAT not getting calls going to the rim.  The charge call against James (while the defender had his foot in the circle) was unforgivable, and pretty much ended the game.  There was an earlier charge call on Bosh where the defender only had one foot on the ground.  Those kind of calls don't result in shots, but they break momentum cost you points.

Credit to Dallas last night for finally hitting big shots, as a team.  Their role players knocked down a ton of 3s, which made it hard to overcome.

[Pappy13]

I am still not happy with the officiating in game 5.  Same story -- fouls away from the ball, and HEAT not getting calls going to the rim.  The charge call against James (while the defender had his foot in the circle) was unforgivable, and pretty much ended the game.  There was an earlier charge call on Bosh where the defender only had one foot on the ground.  Those kind of calls don't result in shots, but they break momentum cost you points.

Credit to Dallas last night for finally hitting big shots, as a team.  Their role players knocked down a ton of 3s, which made it hard to overcome.

And it still sounds a LOT like Mavs fans in 2006.

[Dave Gray]

^ I don't remember that series, in terms of fouls, but it very well may be the case.

It still doesn't make it right.  You shouldn't have "make-up calls" for something 5 years ago.

[Spider-Dan]

It's highly unlikely now that the Mavs will win the series. They have to beat the Heat 3 of the next 4 games, with at minimum one of those victories in Miami. Can anyone see the Mavs winning against the Heat 3 times out of the next 4 games? Maybe they win 1 more game in this series and tie it at 2, and maybe they win game 4 and then force a final game by winning game 6, but I don't see how the Mavs can beat the Heat 3 of the next 4 (which needs to include at least 2 victories in a row)

In late-breaking news, a series is not over when one team leads 2-1.

The Heat still have a good chance to win (I think it will go 7), but declaring a team "highly unlikely to win" when they are down 2-1 is just silly.

[Pappy13]

^ I don't remember that series, in terms of fouls, but it very well may be the case.

It still doesn't make it right.  You shouldn't have "make-up calls" for something 5 years ago.

I don't think you quite understand what I'm saying. It doesn't have anything to do with "make-up" calls, it's just the breaks of the game.  Sometimes the calls go your way and sometimes they don't. When you are winning the games those calls don't seem like a big deal, but when you are losing they are much more important. The Maverick fans will forever see the 2006 finals as a series where they didn't get the foul calls and couldn't win it all because of that, but the reality probably is that the foul calls had little to do with it which is how the Heat fans remember it. Should the Mavs win it this year, it will be the exact opposite. That's what I'm trying to point out. A few calls here and there don't change the fact that Miami is being outplayed in the series.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

In late-breaking news, a series is not over when one team leads 2-1.

Unless it is a three game series. 

[mboss]

Are we forgetting Lebron's flop at the end of the 1st quarter of game 4?  He didn't even get touched and pretended like he was hammered.  He got 2 free throws and a technical assessed against Rick Carlisle for complaining about a blatantly wrong call.

I'll freely admit JJ Barea is a flopper.  He's looking to flop as a defender, and because he's so tiny, he gets some calls to go his way.  But then again, the refs know this and usually don't blow their whistles unless needed....mostly. 

I think this has been a pretty evenly refereed series so far.  I just think Wade, Lebron, & Heat fans are not used to to refs not calling ticky tack fouls against their opponents. 

Lets not forget LeBron acting like he got poked in the face by D. Rose in the Bulls series, only then to wink over to his bench. Not that it decided the series...but just piling on.

[bsmooth]

I am still not happy with the officiating in game 5.  Same story -- fouls away from the ball, and HEAT not getting calls going to the rim.  The charge call against James (while the defender had his foot in the circle) was unforgivable, and pretty much ended the game.  There was an earlier charge call on Bosh where the defender only had one foot on the ground.  Those kind of calls don't result in shots, but they break momentum cost you points.

Credit to Dallas last night for finally hitting big shots, as a team.  Their role players knocked down a ton of 3s, which made it hard to overcome.

It was 26 to 27. Free throws did not make the difference in this game. Also as the Heat have proven twice, getting an significant advantage against them in free throws does not mean victory.
Officiating is not the story of his series. The fact that Wade seems more like a superstar baller in the vein of Jordan as opposed to James is the bigger story.