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first again?

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I stated yesterday that the Hawks would lose this game because it was a big game on a big stage. Well, they lost. But I am proud of them.

There is no way that the Hawks could have won this game. The Cavs had 8 players on the court at all times (3 refs included) and one operating the clock. This game is an embarrassment to the NBA. I am not one for conspiracy theories but these refs should be investigated for payola. They obviously made EVERY attempt to insure that the Cavs won this game. Even though shoddy performances by refs have become the norm this year, this performance by the refs stands out as blatant intentional game fixing. Woodson should include in his protest a clause that these refs not be allowed to ref any more Hawks games.

If there were another decent B-ball league I would never watch another NBA game.

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Malachi – did you see the game? I doubt it,,when bibby saw the clock at 5 seconds, they tried to make a play.
To bad the donahahe lookalikes didn’t call it the same on both ends. If the NBA wants to regain credibility the last 2 minutes of this game MUST be replayed.

Afraid of that?

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Malachi – Last time I looked it was not the coaches OR the players job to insure that the clock is not being operated unfairly or incompetantly. It is “your” refs job.

Secondly, the shot clock debacle was the LEAST of the blatant cheating that went on in this game.

But I dont want to be a sore loser so let me wish the king a happy bday. I wont be giving him a gift because he already got tons of gifts from the officials.

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This loss is on the Hawks again. Shot clock malfunction or not, you still had almost 2 minutes to play. If the Hawks use that as an excuse it shows where the team is mentally. Meaning we are not ready for prime time basketball.

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GeeMack – Of course you are correct. Any team that cannot overcome (in the last 2 minutes) 46 minutes of blatant cheating by ALL GAME OFFICIALS deserves to lose.

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Has anyone noticed that prior to the shot clock issue, Atlanta gave up a 17 point lead? I’m thinking the momentum was changing prior to the last two minutes of the game, about the time Cleveland became aggressive, offensively & defensively.
LeBron gets to the foul line because he drives more frequently than most. Watch a game without a dislike of LBJ or the Cavs and see who the games are called. It’s pretty much a wash when both teams attack the rim. The refs do not wear Laker blue when in LA, Celtic green in Boston or wine & gold in Cleveland.

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BULLCRAP!!! When the Hawks drove the ball they were HACKED and got no call. YOU watch the game without your head up the kings azz and maybe you will see it more clearly.

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whiners? I think it is clear that CLE is the “king” of the whiners. I’m sure if the game had played out in reverse the LEAGUE would have already issued a replay game to made up when the cle based refs are avaialble.

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Ken – I missed the kerfuffle about the clock, and I didn’t get to see the game. Nice explanation of how things work – and I think you’ve done a great job the past several weeks.

Turning to Malachi, I think it’s a bit rich for a fan of the team with the player who won’t shake hands with an opponent after a loss to call anyone else “sore losers.” (Not to mention that nitwittery about the supressed video clip of the kid who dunked on LBJ over the summer.)

Some “king.”

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MALACHI-Although I have no doubt about Lebron being an upstanding individual off the court, he’s an egotistical premadona on it. As a result, his ego is just too big to allow him to remain in Cleveland. Besides Lebron, your beloved team is comprised of a bunch of castoffs, 2nd raters and past their prime jocks.

I have no doubt the NBA would love to see him in a city that actually has both a pulse and an identity. Considering the way your fans were completely silenced while we were whipping Cavaliers butts, until the officials and clock operator bailed them out, you could have called your arena the city morgue.

Your boys had everything going for them last night. They were at home and coming off a solid win against us the night before. Yet, it took everything Lebron had, plus help from his friends in stripes and the local clock operator, to squeek out a win. YOU CAN BET ON ONE THING. AFTER WHAT WE SHOWED LAST NIGHT, AND WHAT IT TOOK FOR YOUR TEAM TO BEAT US, COME PLAYOFF TIME, WE’LL WHIP YOUR BELOVED CLEVELAND’S ECONOMICALLY DEPRESSED A$$.

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ken, not sure this needed to be a blog unto itself, could have been contained in last blog on one game essentially. a lot of broken continuity with three blogs now about the game.

games like this will make it easier to say no thanks to season tix come this spring.

yeah, cleveland folks it sounds like petty gripes but there were so many bad no calls that so many here saw it was shameful. stupid of you to come and try to defend it, that only makes it look like you agree it was indefensible and needed more shaded and jaded commentary. it was beyond belief and only emphasizes how shady nba bball is. sad but true. josh well set twice blown over by a mack truck no call shoot one was through two set players and i have never seen that before, williams grazes a player and gets called taking points away, v boy pushing off with both hands almost in what could have been a continuation and no call. so many it was unbelievable. anyway, enjoy, it maybe the last of the lebron years in 2010 because with everything else irrelevant in cleveland he is going to turn out the lights when he exits through the door to anything else cleveland might have. a dying industrial town and worse spots town than atlanta with the browns and indians and the bron brons. yeah, you guys are good front runners,crybabies when your efforts are disputed or when you lose.

ken, did you see any of these plays or were you that far out of the site lines? is it against policy for the beat reporter to not say the team he is watching and covering got jobbed? man where were you, nose bleed section? you need to go back and re-watch the game because it seemed in all your writing you missed it. it further betrays the integrity of your product as you try to explain it away. sorry, hard to accept it and it only makes it worse in my opinion. you would have been better off saying yes you missed it instead of saying you miss important parts of games as you write the summaries. i know you are a fill in doing a fairly credible job, leave it at that and just give it up to experience as we all make mistakes. no one is perfect including the guys so critical of you. report what you see or how you interpret things as that is what we are interested in; that is the reason we read it because we didnt see it or want someone else’s view point.

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Wow….I posted on this board last night and the Hawks fans seemed to be very classy. Now all most of them are doing is complaining about the refs. Why wouldn’t you complain about the fact that your team was up 17 points and blew it? Referees can’t turn around a 17-point game, even if they wanted to (which of course was not the case).

I don’t mean to criticize the Hawks, ’cause actually I’m very surprised at how well they played in the first half. I figured the Cavs would roll over them last night. But to call the Cavs frauds or to say they always have the refs on their side…..those are comments made by people who only watch a few Cavs games a year. We Cavs fans constantly see LeBron get hacked every time he goes to the basket. He gets a whistle maybe one out of every three times.

By the way, how about Anthony Parker’s circus behind-the-back shot late in the game? The foul there was so blatantly obvious, but the refs let that one go. Maybe in your perspective the refs didn’t see it because they were too busy daydreaming about the next opportunity to screw the Hawks over. (In reality, it was a game with playoff atmosphere and the refs were letting things go on both ends.)

As far as the shot-clock thing goes, look who’s talking. The Hawks’ scorers have messed up games on multiple occassions. Plus, it’s not as if this was a game-deciding play. Bibby or Smith should have noticed the problem, picked up the ball, and told the ref. The refs always make things right when they see the shot clock isn’t working. Atlanta would’ve gotten the ball side-out, and all would’ve been fine.

Woodson is grasping at straws on this one. It’s very simple….outplay the other team and you’ll win.

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Malachi… The fans are just trying to make an excuse because the Hawks choke against top flight teams. The Hawks are 2nd rate team with 2nd rate talent.

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Anthony…I couldn’t agree more. I’ve watched that play with Bibby and Josh Smith several times and they didn’t seem rushed one bit. In fact, when Smith got stripped of the ball there was still several seconds on the shot clock.

ATL fans think they can hang with the big boys, but the Cavs just showed them they’re still nobodies. I hope the Cavs meet them in the playoffs so we can sweep them again and send em home crying.

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You need to watch that play again, Malachi, because the play didn’t get started until there were five seconds left on the clock. Bibby dumped to Smith, who looked up and went to the basket with three, at which point he was stripped.

Sure, the Hawks fell apart after that play, and credit to you guys for taking advantage of the situation and winning the game, but you’d be doing the exact same thing Hawks fans are doing this morning had the shoe been on the other foot.

And time will tell on how things wind up in the playoffs. We’re just starting to get good, and sometimes good teams go through things like this and come out on the other end a better team. Regardless, good luck the rest of the season and in keeping the Franchise around beyond the summer.

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I don’t think the “shot clock operator was cheating, “Jenious. It very well could’ve just been a user error.

Either way, we did blow a big lead in both games — that much is known. I’m not as mad about it as some Hawks fans seem to be this morning. It was a bad call on a night where we still should’ve won, but we’ll go through this experience and come out a better team down the line for it. (It will be interesting to see how the NBA rules on the protest, though.)

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Jenious,

If the only way I can have credibility is to say that NBA refs are instructed to fix games, then I’ll be happy to not have any credibility.

A couple Hawks fans have it right on here. Don’t hang your heads, keep playing, keep pushing forward. You’ve got a good team this year, a team that I think can beat out Orlando for the Southeast division and the 3-seed. (In fact, I’m hoping they do.) These kinds of things happen, and if your team is in the right mental frame of mind, you’ll grow from it. If your team is in the wrong frame of mind, you’ll let it affect you and it’ll drag you down.

And hey, the Celtics lost last night…..that’s something everyone on this forum can be happy about.

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The hawks lost and Lebron won. That’s it.

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Well said, Mike is Back. Couldn’t agree more.

Tough call. Tough crap. Great game by Lebron. Great game on the road by Atlanta. We’ll get ‘em next time…

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Anthony/Malachi, what’s the real word among Cleveland fans as far as Lebron returning? Are you guys worried he’s going to New York or something along those lines next year, or are you pretty confident he’s going to return?

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See previous question, Malachi.

Are you guys bringing Lebron back this offseason?

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Fellas – Im a Hawks fan so as to provide my bias.

Now, here is how I see it. First, the point that the Hawks were up by 17 and couldn’t hold on does suggest that the Cavs outplayed our boys down the stretch. And, that is where games are won and lost. The Cavs are a great fourth quarter team, a point that is hard to dispute. They are that way because of one great talent, a former great talent who takes up a lot of room which creates even more opportunities for the great talent, and a bunch of guys who understand their roles. Nothing wrong with that.

The Hawks are arguably among the best “nine deep” teams in the NBA and that will serve them well over time. This team has the potential to go deep in the playoffs and will if they continue to mature as a team in 2010. Don’t forget the win in Boston. They led, were challenged and game back and pulled it together. These Cleveland games – albeit disapointing – were great learning experiences for the team. Like him or not, Woodson has done exactly what he said he would do and he will get this team ready (as a 3 or 4 seed) for the games when they count. The fact the Hawks didn’t roll over after a tough loss in Atlanta should be encouraging.

Now, a comment about the officiating, coming from the perspective of someone who officiated at the high school and collegiant level for 10+ years. NBA officiating is as much about show as it is getting it right. While there are a number of very good NBA officials, there are also a number of average to downright sloppy officials who are more interested in being on the court with giants for ego’s sake than getting the call right. No doubt, NBA basketball is likely the most difficult sport of all to officiate because of the “compact” nature of the playing surface and the continually increasing size of the participants. Yet, the mechanics of officiating and the demeanor of officials should be consistent and it simply is not. We can argue all day about whether James, Garnett, Bryant etc. get the benefit of being stars (I beleive the answer is yes…largely because it is subconciouos human nature that the “stars” are better than others) but what cant be argued is that officials should have consistent control of the mechanics of the game and their own demeanor.

The shot clock issue was an official error. . .while you can say that Josh Smith, Mike Bibby or Mike Woodson should have done something that misses the point that the officials (and the table) blew it. And, while that wasnt the only thing that cost the Hawks the game, it created an artificial advantage for the Cavs.

Moreover, officials demeanor makes a big difference. Case in point during the Cavs game in Atlanta on Tuesday. Ref 51 (I believe that is Leroy Richardson) was clearly trying to get his 15 minutes of fame by chumming up with Labron in the Josh Smith battle to the point where it led to one of the most egotistical technicals of the season on Mike Woodson. Egos like that have no place on the court.

Officails should have one goal in mind – letting the outcome of the game be decided on the floor by the players. The clock issue and, especially, the Richardson T on Woodson are examples of errors and egos that interject officiating in the outcome formula for the game.

For the NBA game to be more pure and, candidly, more entertaining, offcial ego check should be Stern’s number one priority.

Two great games – the best team (especially in the fourth quarter) probably won. And, both teams should be proud of the back-to-back that may have produced some of the best basketball played in the league this season.

Just my opinion. Happy New Year, all!

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Good call, Hawk. Agreed.

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Granted, this game was offciated poorly, but there are 2 very important things the Hawks just should have known better to do..

1) If this was Kobe and the Lakers or even Doc and the Celtics, a time out would have immediated been granted once they noticed a shot-clock error. They would have done whatever it took to have the ref notice it as well b/c that was a very important possesion.

2) Josh Smith really needs to learn either how to talk to the refs, or learn to say nothing at all, esp in the 1st half of any game. I truly believe Josh costed us foul calls on them b/c he had most of the contact from the Cavs in the later part of the game.

So all in all, this should be more a learning experience than anything cause we will see the Cavs again and other great teams to come, just Josh learn to shut-up, and Hawks learn to observed and take care of every possesion!!

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REFS GOT PAID WAY 2 GO LEAGUE OFFICIAL.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!

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If I were a Cavs fan, I’d probably be 50/50 myself, Lowen. You make very good points in your post.

I don’t know if you were around in the Browns/Broncos days of the 80s, but I actually suffered right there with you if you were. (I was a HUGE Browns fan when I was little, because of Kosar, Slaughter, Langhorne, etc.) Earnest Byner’s fumble was one of the most distressing moments of my childhood. lol

I know the city of Cleveland needs LBJ to return in terms of financial need. Sad as it is to say, he’s a lot of your local economy right now, and being in the business world, I can understand how valuable he is to you guys. I’d rather him stay there than go off to NYC to form a super-duo with Wade, Bosh, or some other player, to say the least….

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First and foremost I want to say I am very proud of this team. They played on helluva game last night. As me and my wife watched the game, it was painfully obvious the NBA had an agenda for Lebron’s b-day. It was utterly disgusting watching NBA TV, and listening to the commentator’s analysts of the game. It’s clear they didn’t watch the game, and they definitely didn’t have a clue. Thank you once again NBA for confirming all our so -called conspiracy theories.

Secondly, I think Woodson coached an excellent game, and the Collins substitution was big. Finally, we have Woody making good in game adjustments.

Lastly, the reporting on this game from all of the media sources was flat out horrible. If the shoe was on the other foot, the NBA and the media’s reporting would have been vastly different. As a long time Hawks fan, I’ve witnessed this for years. Wow, I’m on board to buy Tim Donaghy’s book; his statements no longer seem farfetched.

Happy New Years !!!!!

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hmmm lets see if first take talks about it

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we lost a 17 point lead because the game was slowed down by cavs shooting more free throws then the hawks.

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17 point lead…Control of the game…Cavs should not have won this one, but the Hawks lost it more than the Cavs won. Can’t blame the refs on this lost after blowing 17 point lead…Cavs turn it up on the Hawks and they could not respond. After most games, we can always point to Refs blowing calls when our team loses…Overall it was a good NBA game…

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im just sayong from what i saw the hawks clearly kept trying to drive the ball but didnt get no foul calls….so as for coach woodson he probably thought well “thats not working lets go with the iso joe”

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FIRE MIKE WOODSON

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These next 3 games are a must-win. New York, Miami, and NJ

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Atl is no sports capital, although the BRaves won it all thanks to the mistake by the lake, have you ever won anything?

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Come on Atlanta fans. Next time Lebron is in your house cheer MVP,MVP,MVP,MVP,MVP!! Maybe he will take pity on you losers and throw his headband into the stands after kicking your butt!

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It’s funny to see any “Cleveland Fans” on here trying to justify anything from last night. Every NBA fan knows that the game was HANDED TO Cleveland last night. The foul calls, the no-calls for Cleveland, the shot clock..Everything.

That was a joke last night.

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Volman,

You’re right, the Cavs did have it handed to them…..by the Hawks.

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ClevelandBob – you are a joke. The Cavs rival the Celtics for on court whining and just like the Celtics it pays dividends for them.

Anyone who actually watched the game last night, biased or not, has to come away thinking the fix was in. If it was just one thing, say just the massive difference in FT attempts, then I’d tend to not agree with with a “fix” theory. Now combine that with the fact that the Hawks were screwed with the shot clock and the fact that the refs were more than willing to go back and “fix” the clock for LeBron after the Smith goaltend at the end of the 3rd but turned a deaf ear to Woodson saying they didn’t know what he was talking about.

And all you Cavs fans running your mouths in here about Atlanta fans. I really can’t wait to see you guys cry Cleveland into a Katrina level flood when LeBron leaves for NY. Stern and his cronies will ensure that will happen. Just watch.

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^refs

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GeeMack

December 31st, 2009
10:31 am

JJM

The Cavs shot more FT because they took the ball to the hole. While the hawks settled for jumper just like the night before. Thats not officiating thats effort, the Cavs had more than us both nights.

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GeeMack, I’m not sure if you watched the game but Atlanta took but Atlanta took 31 shots in the paint (9 in 4th alone) and Cleveland took 33 shoots in the paint (only 6 in 4th) so your theory about Cleveland driving so much more than Atlanta doesn’t hold water. Cleveland took only two more shots in the paint than Atlanta overall and in the decisive 4th quarter where Atlanta took more shots in the paint by a 3 shot margin Cleveland shot 8 more free throws than Atlanta (11-3 edge and one of Atlanta’s 3 was for a defensive 3-second call against Cleveland). So it doesn’t seem to me that Atlanta was settling for jumpers, but they were aggressively driving to the bucket but the refs did not see fit to make any calls. Of course on the other end, Cleveland was less aggressive and settled for more jump shots but somehow managed to shoot 8 more free throws than Atlanta. Go figure.

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David Stern may choose to handle this differently given the Donaghy stories. Let’s face it, there is an “integrity cloud” that hangs over this year’s NBA season. The shot clock issue coupled with the free throw disparity may lead Stern to handle this differently. If not, the Hawks are still learning and progressing. We are no better than the 4th best team in our conference and that will be true with or without 1-2
more wins.

On a separate note, I wonder when (or if) the Hawks will begin to view the Cavs like they do the Heat and Celtics. I was disappointed that we did not seem to have that “anger” that we show when facing those other teams. It feels like we wanted to “test ourselves” against the Cavs but we want to beat the ish out of the Celtics and Heat. Maybe last night’s game will get us closer to having anger management issues with the Cavs.

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Anybody who thinks Donaghy was lying is in denial like MLB fans were about Canseco. Call me a conspiricy theorist or whatever; I’ve seen crap like this go on in the NBA since Jordan was in the league…hence the Jordan rules. There is absolutely no accountability amongst the refs. Is it a hard job? Sure. That said fouls are fouls regardless of Mike Wilks commits them or Lebron James. Cleveland fans can yell “whiners” all they want. Doesn’t faze me a bit. I know what my eyes saw. If the Hawks lost because they took bad shots (ala the Orlando game) I can admit that. If they Hawks lost because they underestimated an opponent (see the Knicks loss) I can admit that. If the Hawks loss because a team was better than them that night (see the Denver loss), I can admit that. If the Hawks loss because the other team made plays at the end (the first Cleveland loss) I’ll grant you that. I’ll even grant that our very own Josh Smith whines on every call (even though he’s guilty most of the time). However, when we go to the paint 30 plus times, the refs turn the other way, blow the whistle if someone so much as breathes on Lebron James, and gives us a short clock WHILE WE HAVE THE LEAGUE AND THE GAME IS IN BALANCE, nah, I can’t go with that.

And for those who want to argue “the Hawks blew a 17 point lead”, get out of here. This is the NBA. Great teams make runs. The Hawks made a run to build the lead. The Cavs made a run to reduce the lead. If this were the Clippers, I’d go with that argument. The problem comes into play when both teams are playing well, all things equal, and the refs start giving calls to one team. That’s what happened last night. If I weren’t a Hawks fan, I’d say the same thing. The refs impacted the game and anybody saying something otherwise is in denial.

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KEN, YOU’RE GOOD MAN…EVERYONE WAS JUST HEATED AFTER LAST NIGHTS “DEBACLE” AND YOU JUST GOT CAUGHT IN THE CROSS-FIRE.

CHRIS SHERIDAN OF ESPN POSTED A STORY ABOUT LAST NIGHT’S ISSUE:
http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-091230/daily-dime

I GOTTA ADMIT, THE NBA KNOWS HOW TO CREATE CONTROVERSY. I CAN REALLY SINCE A HAWKS-CAVS RIVILRY COMING TO A COURT NEAR YOU SOON!!!

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WOW!!!!!

READ THIS:

There is an NBA procedure for instances such as this. A pool reporter is permitted to question the lead referee about a rule interpretation, and the referee is obligated to answer so long as it does not involve a judgment call, and the pool reporter is obligated to share the referee’s answer with all other media.

Pretty simple, no?

Well, lead referee Kenny Mauer would have none of it, relaying two words — “no comment” — when a Cavs public relations official informed him a pool reporter wished to question him about the play in question.

Mauer could have explained that he was acting within the rules as they are written, and that there is no recourse for going to a video review on a malfunction such as this.

“I think we should have won this game, and I think they know that, too,” Bibby said. “I was bringing the ball up, and that’s why I started to go because the clock was down. I didn’t know, it was the middle of the game, I thought it was kind of quick. You look at the shot clock, you see the shot clock down, and you play.”

Said Smith: “Malfunction? I thought one official was supposed to check the clock.”

This is the second time this month that a lead referee has refused to explain a critical rule interpretation — even though the league office has encouraged them (but not mandated them) to do so. A league spokesman said Mauer was within his rights to decline comment, and so all we have for an explanation this morning is the video of the play, the video of Woodson’s ire and the pending protest (which seems almost certain to be turned down).

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Lowenbrau,

IT WAS CLEARLY A FACTOR!!!!! AGAIN READ BIBBY’S RESPONSE:

“I think we should have won this game, and I think they know that, too,” Bibby said. “I was bringing the ball up, and that’s why I started to go because the clock was down. I didn’t know, it was the middle of the game, I thought it was kind of quick. You look at the shot clock, you see the shot clock down, and you play.”

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Fresh,

Of course that’s what Bibby’s going to say. He could either be telling the truth or he could be saying the right thing to support his coach’s protest. Who knows. But a heady, experienced player like Bibby should have recognized the error.

And I didn’t say it wasn’t a factor…..I just don’t think it decided the game. Like I said…..the Hawks had many opportunities, before and after this “error”.

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we just need to get rid of woody & iso joe johnson

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sick of them both, its not the right way to play basketball

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Lowenbrau,
Whether or not there were opportunities for the Hawks to win this game before or after the error is moot. What is relevant (at least according to the precedent set the league when granting Miami’s protest against Atlanta) is if the Hawks were placed at a “competitive disadvantage” (Stern’s wording) by an “grossly negligent” error on the part of the Cleveland Cavaliers timekeeper and when notified of the error they failed to remedy the situation. Whether or not the Hawks blew other chances is irrelevant.

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Big Mone,

I believe in that one specific instance, Atlanta may have been at a “competitive disadvantage”. But I don’t believe it prevented them from winning the game.

Boobie Gibson canned a 3 late in the game but they only gave him 2. (Replays showed it was a 3.) Anthony Parker basically gets intentionally fouled on his circus shot but no call was made. My point is that these types of officiating/scorers gaffes happen all the time in games and they affect both teams. But the team that executes better always wins. That’s what it boils down to.

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WOOWWW!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS ON THE LEAD REFEREE OF LAST NIGHTS GAME:

“In 2000, Mauer was convicted of a felony, three counts of tax evasion, and one count of obstruction of justice for not reporting downgraded airline tickets as income to the Internal Revenue Service.”

SMDH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NBA…YOU GOT TO DO BETTER.

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Yes, ATL fans have so much class, booing LBJ everytime he touches the ball! Wake up, Hawksfan. This type of “preferential treatment” has been around in the NBA for decades. Jordan got it, Magic got it, Bird got it, Kobe, Wade, Lebron, Howard all get it. It happens and you know it. The Hawks have a decent team, better than 80% of the league, however, they do need to learn how to close out games, AND how to overcome games like last night when the officials are not on your side. It is not impossible. If Lebron gets such favorable treatment from the refs, why have the Cavs not won anything yet? Because other teams (Orlando last year, for example) overcome these favorable calls by MAKING SHOTS and EXECUTING THEIR GAMEPLAN! The Hawks, and their coach, let it get in their heads, and they lost again.

Even after all the non-calls, AND the shot clock issue, it still came down to a 3 point shot by a player who has never hit one before. Once the Hawks learn how to keep their composure, these types of games will be wins. Until then, you will continue to lose to the elite teams.

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Lowenbrau,

I PRESENT YOU WITH FACTS:

1. The lead official of this game is a convicted felon.

2. There was an egregious error during this game. Protests by coaches and players were ignored. Questions about the error by a pool reporter, Chris Sheridan, were ignored.

3. The Cavaliers had a +23 free throw attempted margin in this game.

4. The NBA itself has acknowledged publicly that they will “protect their stars.”
4a. Lebron James shot more free throws than the entire Hawks team.

5. Lebron James is a global icon. It is in the league’s financial interest to have him (and his team) do well.

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I don’t understand why you Hawks fans are surprised. This is after all the NBA, National ‘bron Association. I’m sure David Stern will deal out some severe punishment to those ref’s. They had the nerve to call a goal tending on their King. I also saw one of the Hawks breath really hard on him, a flagrant 1 foul should have been called. Face the facts, the commish wants the King vs Kobe finals this year. He won’t let what happened last year happen again. He can’t have the Queen sulk off the court after a loss in the conference finals again.

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I know that everybody is sick of Josh Smith complaining to the refs whenever he is called for a foul. My best guess estimate is that Josh complains about the fouls called on him at a rate of about 90% of the time. Well .. if Josh is at 90% then Labron must be around 98%. Labron not only complains about the fouls called against him, he is quick to play the crowd so they can help him work the refs. Once the whistle is blown and a foul is called on Labron, he frequently sprints down the court with a look on his face as if to say, “Can you believe they just called a foul on me without consulting with me first?” One thing we have to give Josh credit for is, he doesn’t show the players on the other teams the mistakes they make when they are called for traveling. Just like the other night when Jamal was called for traveling as he took that extra little hop to the basket. Labron showed Jamal why he was called traveling. What a gentleman and class-act! As a matter of fact, last night Labron demonstrated that same extra little hop to the basket but the refs dare not call traveling on the King (especially on his birthday). The more that I watch NBA games(like the last 2 games that I saw with the Hawks playing Cleveland), the more that I realize how much NBA games are like reality shows. People get into the reality shows because they want to believe so badly that none of it is scripted. It was obvious to anyone watching the Hawks game last night that Labron’s team would not lose that game on Labron’s 25th birthday. Hail to the King and his 48 points! Happy Birthday Labron! By the way .. the script calls for Labron to be the “next” Michael Jordan. Thank God Michael Jordan didn’t need a script.

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….and neither does Lebron, Real Deal. He is, like it or not, an amazing athlete.

(…and if you don’t think Jordan got calls, you’re either nuts, blind, or don’t know anything about basketball.)

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Where’s the sense of fair play? Maybe the Hawk bench should have pointed out the discrepancy the moment it happened, but it’s the job of the shot clock people to keep track of the time, and of their mistakes. The Hawks put out such a strong effort, they absolutely deserve the benefit of the doubt. I don’t like to see anything “handed” to anyone.

As far as the whole “Labron”/Jordan comment, two things: First of all if you can’t spell someone’s name correctly then maybe it’s time to stop the critical comments and finally achieve that 3rd grade education you’ve been thinking about. Second of all, if the misspelling is meant as an intentional slight, then you need to find your head, because LeBron doesn’t slight people (certainly not you).

It’s time to call this aggression out for what it is: jealousy. I’m sure that if the Hawks have the opportunity to sign LeBron sometime down the road, the fans wouldn’t slight him in the name of spite. This goes for any team and for any player. If the Cavs were to sign Dwight Howard, I wouldn’t go to every game to boo him off the court. So let’s all be a little more pragmatic with our language and a little more honest with ourselves.

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Don’t worry about it Ken. Everybody’s got an opinion, but 90% probably could not do your job. They would just like to act as if they could.

As far as the blown call, anybody who does not think that taking a possesion away from the Hawks in the last minutes of a tight game is “game changing” is kidding themselves. Lets see what the NBA thinks. I’m willing to bet that which ever official was in charge of monotoring the shot clock in that game will probably be suspended. Also, I believe that given the circumstances, the NBA will make the two teams replay the last 1 1/2 mins. In any event, its funny how the fans of other teams always think that blatant missed calls should not be mentioned in the final discussion of a game, until it’s their team.

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I snet the following email to Stu Jackson today. It probably means nothinh but at least it made me feel better.

Dear Mr. Jackson

I am a XX year old white male and CPA that lives in Macon, GA (a demographic I suspect the NBA is happy to have). I have been an underground Hawks fan even when they went 13 & 69 five or so years ago. I have enjoyed watching their steady progress towards respectability and now hope they are close to being a top 5 team with an outside shot at reaching the Conference finals.

Having said that, such a task will be VERY difficult given the current state of affairs with the referees. I went to the Hawks vs Cavs game in ATL Tuesday night. There were a half dozen or so close plays that all went against the Hawks or were “no calls” against the Cavs. THEN last night in Cleveland the Hawks went to the free throw line 14 times vs the Cavs 38 times. There is an obvious slant towards Cleveland, Boston & the Lakers that is VERY frustrating for a fan of another team to deal with. The Cavs with Lebron are hard enough to beat in a fair fight, much less when the fight is not fair. Not to mention the Home Court shot clock malfunction in the last 2:30 minutes of the game in Cleveland. It just seems like 80% of the close calls went against the Hawks, not the Cavs.

I can go on and on about what is traveling for the rest of the league but not Kobe and Lebron. Anything you can do to level the laying field would be greatly appreciated.

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Driving to the hoop to create contact? To say the Cavs were physical and the Hawks weren’t when the Hawks were up double digits throughout the game doesn’t seem to mesh with me. I can buy into the fact that the more aggressive team gets the benefit of the whistle. But, how can people suggest the Hawks weren’t aggressive last night when they came out and outplayed Cleveland for 3 quarters?

The Hawks were up the entire game. They were UP 1 WITH THE BALL UNDER 2 MINS when the shot clock debacle took place. I can name a couple of bogus calls right off the top of my head right now.

1 – Bibby drives and hits a layup with plenty of contact – but no foul (watch highlights).
2 – Marvin Williams leaner in the middle of the paint at the start of the 4th quarter – they called an offensive foul – bogus.
3 – Lebron James “blocks” Smoove’s shot – go look at the replay and tell me how many times Smoove got hit upside his head – no call.
4 – Lebron James should’ve been called for an offensive foul in the paint. Smoove had his feet clearly set outside of the restricted area – Lebron still gets the whistle + bucket.

There were so many suspect calls, it wasn’t funny. Despite all of that, the Hawks managed to hold a double digit lead for most of this game. Sure, they lost. But 9 times out of 10, that Varaejo shot clanks and the Hawks are coming back down the floor with 17.2 seconds to break a tie game for the win. As said before, the Hawks played the Cavs tough enough to pull out a W. It’s not fair to completely put everything on the shotclock, because the fact still lies we blew some healthy leads. But, with that said, to deny that the officiating was something that the Hawks didn’t have to overcome is BS.

As hard as it is to put this one behind us, we’ve got to take care of business against our next 3 opponents. I believe we play the Knicks, at Miami, then the Nets. 3 W’s would be great, because that would take us into that Boston-Orlando-Boston stretch with some momentum.

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What’s Stu Jackson’s email?

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Enter your comments here

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Hey Cleveland fans, go check out LeBron’s sneakers that are a tribute to the NY Knicks and y’all have a really nice day. And when there is a controversial play in Orlando, remember everything that was said today.

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I think all the people of Cleveland Ohio and NBA refs love to ride Lebrons dick.

Sad but true, thats why Cleveland is a gay city and they will never win a tittle even if they have Lebron, just sad.

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Truth-Serum
December 31st, 2009
10:49 am

HAPPY NEW YEARS! HAWKS FANS!

truth, here is right back at you, been nice getting to know you and the newer folks that came to the table with the surge in interest in the hawks. nothing but respect though not agreement, heh heh. i feel safe you can take my disagreements, hopefully the respect as well.

i continue to admire the thoughts of my old band of merry men. AJ really glad to see your comments each and every day. offer still stands dude, you dont even have to sit with me.;-)

be safe all, stay awake, be conscious and especially stay away from the amateurs tonight.

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As pissed as I am about the blatant job of officiating last night, I feel that it was only 25% of the problem the Hawks had! Tell me what you think of this.

1. Woodson is not good at developing talent, e.g. Josh Smith and Marvin Williams!

2. The Hawks only run one set play; the alley oop from Bibby to Smith!

3. The Hawks have absolutely no killer instinct, which is needed to be an elite team! Whole team is
too nice!

4. Woodson will never on a consistent basis, go deeper than the 8th man!

5. At the end of the year, ISO Joe has got to go (along with Woodson)!

6. Bibby can’t defend a blind man in a wheelchair (defensive liability)!

7. The Hawks don’t have a floor general…that take charge guy, that won’t take no for an answer!
We have that in pick-up b-ball!

8. Marvin Williams…nuff said on that!

9. The Hawks are the worst, “good team” in the league!

10. Did I mention Marvin Williams?

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Cavs played defense like football players and Hawks played defense like soccer players. That’s how the refs set the rules. The Hawks almost won an unwinnable game.

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http://www.hoopdata.com/boxscore.aspx?id=291230005

Both teams had 38 shots from less than 10 feet.
Hawks had 15 and Cavs had 17 shots at the rim.
There was no significant aggressiveness difference subjectively or objectively. Data supports what your eyes had seen.

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Start Jason Collins and give Teague more Playing Time.

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NOW RICK! RIGHT NOW DAMMIT! DO IT NOW!

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We probably shouldn’t be complaining considering we did it to the Raptors THREE times.

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Hawk fan, make sure you copy some of these post. It might save you some time the next time you need to bring them out after the Hawk choke in the 4 quarter against a quality team that plays defence. You should probably be thanking the clock operator. If not for his error, you Hawks fans would have to explain why on back to back night you got your collective butts whipped in the forth quarter. Instead of protesting the shot clock maybe you should lobby to have games reduced to three quarters so that you can hang with the championship caliber teams.

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Can’t wait for Cavs-Hawks in the playoffs… it’s gonna be heated

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…and to all the idiots that claim the refs miss and make calls for both teams, please explain the 38 to 15 free-throw difference!

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@Madonna…. The Cavs went to the basket and the Hawks settled for Jump shots! Simply!

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OK,SO WOODY DOES NOT WANT TEAGUE TO PLAY IN TIGHT GAMES AGAINST ELITE TEAMS(NOTICE I DIDN’T SAY,”OTHER ELITE TEAMS”),UNLESS WE ARE BLOWING THE OTHER TEAM OUT BECAUSE HE DOES NOT WANT TO LOSE THE GAME..

WELL,WE LOST THIS ONE AND THE ONE THE NIGHT BEFORE..

IS IT TIME FOR COACH WOODSON TO RE-EVALUATE HIS COACHING PHILOSOPHY WHEN IT COMES TO DEVELOPING HIS BENCH AND YOUNG PLAYERS??

OTHELLO HUNTER-BEEFED UP,PLAYED BETTER IN THE PRE-SEASON,AND LOOKED AS THOUGH HE MAY GET SOME MINUTES AT LEAST EVERY OTHER GAME..SO,NOW DO U THINK THAT ROOKIES THAT WE DRAFT WILL WANT TO PLAY HERE IN ATLANTA?
OTHELLO HAS TO BE ASKING HIMSELF,”SELF,WHY DID I EVEN COME BACK HERE TO WEAR A SUIT..I COULD HAVE DONE THIS S— AT HOME”..

RANDOLPH MORRIS-YES RANDMO GETS IN GAMES,BUT ONLY WHEN IT COMES TO IT BEING A BLOW OUT OR HORFORD,JOE SMITH AND ZSA ZSA ARE ALL IN FOUL TROUBLE..WELL,HE TRIMMED DOWN,SHOWED HE HAS SOME OFFENSIVE SKILLS,AND IS NOT BAD ON THE DEFENSIVE SIDE..BUT,YES,HE NEEDS TO BE MORE OF A BEAST ON THE BOARDS..BUT HE DID ALL OF THIS FOR WHAT??????
NADA..ALL THE LOSING WEIGHT,AND THINKING HE WAS GONNA GET THE CHANCE TO PLAY,IN AT LEAST EVERY OTHER GAME?? NOW,IF A PLAYER IS LAZY AND DOES NOT CARE TO GET IN THE GAME,THEN ATLANTA IS THE PLACE FOR HIM..I DON’T THINK THATS RANDMO..

AND LAST,JEFF TEAGUE-HE’S A ROOKIE WITH FULL OF POTENTIAL..WE SAW WHAT HE DID IN COLLEGE AND WHAT HE CAN DO WHEN HE STARTED IN PRE-SEASON,AND WE SAW THAT HE HAS SOME GROWING TO DO IN GAMES HE PLAYED THIS YEAR BUT HIS PRO’S FAR OUTWEIGH HIS CONS!!

AND WITH THE HISTORY OF YOUNG GUARD MINUTES PLAYED UNDER COACH WOODSON,EVEN IF WE WERE TO HAVE GOTTEN A CHRIS PAUL,AARON BROOKS,DERRON WILLIAMS OR EVEN A YOUNG MAGIC JOHNSON,DO U HONESTLY THINK THEY WOULD BE WHERE THEY ARE TODAY UNDER COACH WOODSON??
I DOUBT IT..BUT,I HAVING SAID ALL OF THAT,I WILL STAND BY OUR COACH TODAY IN HIS PROTEST OF THE SHOT CLOCK SO CALLED MALFUNCTION IN LAST NIGHTS GAME..

THAT GAME SHOULD BE REPLAYED,RIGHT FROM THAT MOMENT..AND I BELIEVE THAT THE NBA WILL SUPRISE US ALL,AND…………
NAW,NO THEY WON’T..THEY DON’T WANT TO UPSET THEIR POSTER BOY #2,LEBRON JAMES..WE’LL JUST HAVE TO GET OVER IT,MOVE ON,AND I HOPE THAT PUTS A NOW OR NEVER FIRE IN THIS TEAMS BUTT!!

GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!

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I’m gonna stop knocking the Hawks for a couple of weeks. They showed a lot of heart in Cleveland and I think they are another scorer and 3 offensive sets from challenging for a NBA championship.

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jbird yes the refs can. ask mark cuban who spent a lot of money to witness it from his court side seat. ask steve nash as well.

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Here’s the real reason why the Hawks lost last night:

Bibby 1-3, a 3 point shot
Horford: 0-2 with 2 FTs
Josh Smith: 0-2
Crawford: 0-3
Williams, Pachulia, Evans, Joe Smith, Collins-no shots

While Joe Johnson shot 50% (5-10 with a FT)—and actually outscored LeBron James in the fourth quarter (11-10)—the rest of the team went 1 for 10 with 2 FTs; a total of 5 points for the entire quarter! No points scored over the last 6 minutes of the quarter! You can’t beat any team with scoring like that let alone one of the best teams in the league—in their building. And, if the team (aside from JJ) is only going to score 5 points, then the team must become extremely stingy on defense. You can’t give up 29 points and you definitely can’t let Anderson Varejao, of all people; outscore the entire team (aside from JJ) by 4 points!!

If you’re a Hawks fan, you have to love the effort given by the guys in both games but you also have to be concerned about the lack of offense late in games.

All of the other things that some are grumbling about (the referees, the shot clock, free throw disparity, etc.) are simply stumbling blocks that test the team’s resolve and maturity. When they can overcome those types of challenges to win the game is when they will have the mental toughness necessary to win a championship. Will that happen this year? Only time will tell.

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Keep it Real! apparently you didn’t see the whole game!

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Ken,

Don’t mind these guys. You’re doing a good job IMO. These guys are experts at everything except “their” own jobs. Evident by the amount of time they spend on this blog.

On last night game:

Yes, it was an unfortunate mistake by the officials. I believe the game should be replayed from that point on. If not. oh well, move on.

The rest of the BS is a non-issue to me. The officials didn’t win it for the Cavs. We had the game but couldn’t hold the lead. It happens. I’m proud of the guys, I thought they would get blown out. They showed that they are right there on the verge of cracking the Big 3.

All these scrubbs continue to go on and on about the NBA being a fraud but continue to watch and spend countless hours blogging about it. What does that say about them?

Keep up the good work.

Woody=COY

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NUNNA YO BIZNEZZ I think the Hawks heard you but felt you were a lunatic and better off shout on Ken S. blog page….what do you do for a living? LOL

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Ok, I’m from cleveland, and i understand how you Hawks fans feel, getting the shot clock accedent and having about, 20 less free throws. Now let me tell a little story. You guys got cheated, thats true, but you have to understand, this is not an all the time happening accurence, the cavs havent shot 30 sum free throws in a while. At home, unless they suck *cough nets cough*, the home team will get a majority off the calls. The fact it was lebrons birthday had something to dowith it. Also, big franchises like the Lakers and Celtics and Knicks get most of the calls wherever they are. Why? Because there is a large population of people in those cities. Thats why the lakers and celtics have the most overall rings. The NBA wants a lot of viewers because viewers = $, so the slightlly rigg the games insuring that they get big ratings. Another thing is how meny stars are on a team, which is why Shaq and Kobe won 3 championchips so quicklly, they were in a big franchise and they were popular players. It took longer for Shaq to win one with Wade because Miami is not as populated as LA. Michael Jordan was not as fortunate with the calls, but he was so good it didn’t matter. Thats my opinion, i probrablly drifted off topic there…

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There you go. A wrestling fan who happens to watch the Hawks. Nuff said.

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Last year wasn’t all you conspiracy theorists saying the NBA was fixing the games to get Lebron and Kobe in the Finals. Somebody forgot hip Dwight and crew. So who’s gonna win this year?

let me give my theory:

Since the Chinese are taking over America anyways and they bought the Cavs, it’s a No-Brainer. The Cavs over the Lakers in 7 of course.

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samuel, the cavs fell apart worse than we did the last two games against orlando. they got real weak after getting overconfident with their display of “mastery” against a depleted hawks squad. yup seem tougher now but we will see if they can keep from reverting to their form, pierce two years ago and orlando last. remember how they were punking and going off on the sideline as they slopped it on the hawks and couldnt get off the court fast enough after being thoroughly hammered by the magic?

i still am surprised how you think we cant compete against the cavs. i think we are much better from 2 through 12 than they are, except their number one guy is a freak. can you imagine what that team would look like say if we did a quick switch of marvin for lebron? it would be downright silly as they would have no chance. two lapses by our guys, one five minutes and four minutes, the last two games are all that separates them now.

mental toughness and focus is what we need as much as new players to fill a very small void between the two. the abyss is not as great as some have wanted to say it is along with you. i hope your COY and the players are able to prove you wrong. in the mean time as truth said, and i agreed, they have to be ready to deliver a knockout blow just like the magic did if they are able to move bron bron out of the spot light. they have to begin to see nothing less than that will suffice and that is the message of being ruthless will have to come out of them.

we all wait to see how they react to this. if woody is as good as you say he is, and i am beginning to believe, he will have them ready.

boston is hurting now and are streaking down as they lose some of their old guys pierce and garnett. that is what i have waited for just hope they are not healthy until after we play them so we can make some room between us and them. i think boston is the one of the big three most at risk to fall behind us over the course of a season if they have injuries. they are also the one that can be most imposing if they hold they’re aging bodies together for this year.

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Doc,

That’s a pretty big “if”. Marvin for Bron. I did say the divide was wide and I have since admitted on more than one occasion that we have closed the gap. But we are not there yet.

I have also said since day one that while Boston may still have the best squad, they are the team out of the big 3 that we could beat in the playoffs. I still don’t think we could be either the Magic or the Cavs in a series. We’ll see. I hope they prove me wrong too.

Woody=COY

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Bloggers of the Year

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The NBA is a joke! The officials and referees are into building stars like Lebron James vs. being fair. I guess this game is a great example of what Donaghy has been describing about the refereeing!

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Hawks fans be HAPPY! We found us a center J. Collins!!!! I know that the Ref”s stole the game but, WE KNOW We CAN PLAY & BEAT THE CAVS THIS YEAR!!!! The Hawks were Kicking the Cavs ASS on the ROAD!!! DAMM!! For this group it speaks volume. When we went to our BIG Line-up it WORKED!!
Cavs had no answer!! So let’s just try to get the HIGHEST SEED as POSSIBLE in the PLAYOFFS and get ready for the BIG PAY BACK!!!!!!!!!! In JUNE @ THE EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS!!!! REMEMBER THE BULLS had to go to DETORIT and KICK the PISTONS ASS & take the PISTONS CROWN!! The Hawks will need to do the SAME to the CAVS!! WE MUST BEAT them by (5)pts or more, this way the margin in points is to wide for the REF’s to CONTROL at EOG!!!! HAWKS in 777777777!!!!!!!!!

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Enter your comments here

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I don’t know if it’s possible, but we should really consider a S&T with Joe + Marvin, Chillz’ rights, and a pick or two, for LeBron or D.Wade this offseason. They both know we are a player away from the finals. Why would they pick any other team? Time to get ATL back to the top of the media market or closer to the top. Is a S&T possible if it includes other plays with the signed and traded player? We have the players to pull off a deal.

And I agree with K.Strickland that Cleveland has no room to grow. They are eternally !@#$ed when LBJ leaves, or stays, and they will not improve at all or grow because THEY HAVE NO YOUNG PLAYERS

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Thursday, Woodson said that the officials could have first realized the problem when Smith crossed the halfcourt line with about 12 seconds left on the shot clock, which normally would constitute an eight-second

Wtf does this even mean? Shot clock would be 16 if it was an 8 second violation. Why would it be 8 second violation at 12 if the clock started at 15? Makes no sense at all.

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http://www.celticsblog.com/2009/12/7/1189120/should-woodson-get-extension-hawk

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KEITH-that’s exactly what I was going to say. After Smoove got that tech, he didn’t get another call in his favor for the rest of the gm, and there were some blatant fouls committed against him. The most obvious example of officiating bias was the actual play that led to Smoove’s technical foul.

After Lebron got to his spot in the lane, he knew he didn’t stand much chance of scoring with Smoove positioned directly in front of him. That’s when he lowered his shoulder and cleared Smoove out so he could get his shot off. If Lebron wasn’t going to be called for a charge, at worst it should have been a no call, but instead they called a foul on Smoove.

The entire episode wouldn’t have been necessary if the officials hadn’t overlooked Lebron obviously traveled on the play. He had to change pivot feet in order to make the extra move of dropping his shoulder to clear Smoove out and get his shot off. You could see that was what Woodson was complaining about on the sidelines.

We’ve all seen this crap before, and on all levels. Officials will go after a player, players or team that makes an issue of the officiating. Often the official(s)knows they either missed an obvious call or made a bad call, but the complaints get out of hand before they get a chance for a MAKE UP CALL. At this point they’re either embarrassed, angry, or both, and have usually lost control of the gm.

It’s often magnified when it involves officials that are already under investigation for irregularities, like these are.

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From G Baby:

((( The NBA will not replay the last 1:57 of the game, it would set a dangerous president. Imagine if this happened in the first quarter, would you be bound to replay the last three quarters? I’m a Cavs fan and I want to win fair and square, but, Woodson should have ran out onto the court like a screaming maniac at the point he noticed the clock hadn’t reset.Larry Brown would have! We have seen coaches across the league do the similar thing and get their point across without being assessed a technical foul. Most of the time the refs huddle and get it right and I think they can use video proof of that. In my opinion the flow of the game was not interrupted, and we arrive to the end of the game. Fair? no. Every NBA game has human error involved that you can’t hit the rewind button on. This one is in the books.)))

OK sir . . . remember this post if they DO decide to replay this game. Don’t whine and cry like we’re so-called doing, if the decision is that the short shot clock DID affect the game.

You Cavs fans are trying to rationalize a bunch of BS in my opinion. This was NOT a mistake. This was purposely done. How in the hell do you forget to reset a shot clock, when the defending team gets a stop and is going the other way? Even if they reset it kind of late, it still should’ve been done.

Your’re right on one thing. If it happened in the 1st half of the game . . or even the first part of the 4th quarter of a game, this isn’t nearly a big deal.

But this happened with under 2 minutes to play . . in a one point game . . in which both teams were basically battling back and forth. Don’t come on here and try to say that they play had no affect on the game. OF COURSE IT DID.

Hawk fans know good and well what play we were running with under 2 minutes. And it wouldn’t have been a damn pick and roll with Mike Bibby and Josh Smith. Not when Joe Johnson had 33 points at the time, and had scored 14 of Atlanta’s last 21 damn points in that game. We were going to give the ball to Joe Johnson, and live and die by him, like we always do.

The pick and roll that Bibby and Smith ran, would be the equivalent of Mo Williams and Varejao running pick and roll in that same situation. No way in hell would the Cavs do that. The ball would be in Lebron’s hands.

So tell me this Gbaby . . . if the Hawks had scored on that possession, and gone up by 3 points with around 1:35 to go, what play do the Cavs run?

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the wiz may be shopping caron butler, anyone interested in having him maybe to send them a good guy like marvin to help settle down their locker room.

man, the story about how things have deteriorated with the wiz is amazing a arenas seems to have taken on everyone. man now why did they give him the money after serious reconstructive surgery. does he get the t mac treatment soon? sad to say, j crit is in the middle of it.

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The official working the offensive baseline is responsible for seeing the shot clock on all changes of possession – he simply looks at the clock on top of the backboard at the other end. This official is also responsible for making the “8 second” call if the ball is not in the front court when the shot clock is on 16. TWO MISTAKES by one official on one play.

The officials do not use instant replay on shot clock questions but they have the authority and responsibility to refer to the “running play” ( an account of every event and the time that event occurred) to correct shot clock discrepencies and this is done often during games. In this instance the running play would have indicated the Horford rebound, and the time, as a reference point for the shot clock.

There is a long history of the Hawks being jobbed by the officials. Atlanta had a 28 point lead entering the 4th of a game in the Omni with Milwaukee and a veteran lead official, Joe Gushue, working the game. The Bucks used full court pressure the entire 4th quarter yet there was not one foul called against them, not ONE.

In the 4th of the Cleveland game Josh Smith went down the left side of the lane unimpeded until Anderson Verajao came running from the right baseline and collided with Josh as he shot the layup – no call. Just one of several instances.

The NBA knows which officials are likely to favor the home team (the Homers) and which officials favor the stars (the Jock Sniffers). The NBA keeps very detailed statistics on the officials and their calls. The NBA knows which officials are weak and the NBA sent 2 sets of weak officials to the 2 Cleveland games. Further, the league sends instructions to the officials to look for certain plays and also indicating which players and coaches are complaining and about which calls.

You should not think there was anything at all arbitrary concerning the game assignments for the officials. The NBA desires an outcome not just for the Finals but during the season for which teams have the best opportunity to reach the Finals. This is not about sport but about entertainment and David Stern micromanages the league through his assistants and sychophants.

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not so casual thanks for your “official” sounding input. glad you are reading and welcome to comment further. you are just following up on what the thread has been. i for one am sick of it as it has ben a gripe of mine for years and it quite frankly might hinge my decision of whether to support the nba. yes, i know withdrawal affects the hawks in some small way, others may finally throw up their hands as wel to the lemon i spoke of earlier.

yes, as i sated and no one including the press has alluded to is that two huge infractions were made within 4 seconds by some individual official or members of the official team. someone will have to feel it to begin to think this product is nothing more than a wrestling organization run by macmahon.

it was shameless both nights but particularly when they had to cleave 17 points down to give the cavs a chance. sorry, that is what happened folks. if you read dohahey’s book he suggests it doesnt take much for an official to “move” points. he made a lot of money perfecting it and maybe learned from the league how to do it to his financial benefit. after all 17 points is just 8 to 9 possessions. that is something that occurs easily in three minutes; then the game is always “in reach” if you start soon enough.

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Big Ray,

I have a post which is getting blocked. Do you have any idea on what is happening?

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A simple example of the effect of bad calls: Marvin’s 2pt basket + 1FT which was “converted” into a offensive foul at the beginning of the 4th Quarter:

We were UP 85-77. If the basket counted and the FT was converted, we would be 88-77.

11 points up to open the 4th quarter and the team would be ENERGIZED to face the next defensive possession.

Instead, we stayed at 85 and Lebron converted a jump shot on CLE’s next possession (85-79) – lead down to 6 points…

Then the Hawks had another TO, Gibson blocked Crawford’s shot and on the following possession Varejao had a reverse lay up: 85-81.

Lead down to 4 WITHIN 61 seconds after the blown call against us.

So get real people!!!!

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Hawks in 77777777!!

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Hey Fans, If you didn’t know it .You have Red Necks, Blacks Necks and Yellow Necks down here in the ATL.. They love Bobby Cox Dirty jock straps. They Hate any Black Head coaches in the sports world who Win!! AKA. Mike Woodson, Hawks. Paul Hewitt G. Tech. Its the truth! And the truth will set you FREE>>> Someone must expose the Truth of the matter.

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How can anyone watch the Jamal Crawford crossovers, highlights, and gamewinners on YouTube and not tihnk this guy is capable of what Joe is? We need to let Joe go this summer and start Crawford.

Better yet, start Crawford NOW, especially vs. the good teams

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Collins looks to be in basketball shape. Sorta. Glad to see we’re finally using him. And you guys dogged Sund for signing him. Looks like Sund knows what he’s doing. Thing is, how happy is Zaza with Collins in the mix? He was pissed when he lost his staring job to Big Al, so I know he was unhappy about being the 3rd center off the bench the other night.

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terrell, it’s called starting JJ and Crawford together, idiot. It’s obvious Jamal has a much easier time scoring the baskeball on fewer shots than Joe

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Yeah, we owe em one Ken.- Happy New Year!

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Happy New Year, Hawks fans!

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To all HAWKS fans:

“The Book of Basketball” ‘Bill Simmons !!!

Someone on this board recommended this book earlier this season.
Whomever that person was, please let me know who you are.
You said you were going to send Joe [Johnson] a copy.
Anyway; Santa left me a copy for Christmas. I am not even 1/3 finished
as I am savoring every morsel.

Why am I telling eveyone this ?
Because, if you are a b-ball fan [lover] especially NBA, then you ‘Want/Need’ to read this book. I would imagine everyone on this blog qualifies.

To my good friend and full time nemesis T.S.: I promise, you will love this book.

Bubba Crew: Same

Larry, Moe, and Curly; ‘whichever ones of us that are not me’ I honestly think you will enjoy this read.

Marvin Haters: Maybe you will gain a new perspective.

To all my new friends on this board,
(I would love to name ea. individually)
but I’m sure to leave someone out.
Happy New Year to All !

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We need to go low – JJ and Jamal reduce us to standing around. I see a new guard in our future. Besides who can thay guard. Torched by quick pt guards on a regular basis.

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Woody making excuses as usual. Wow!

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