Ballin: Lakers 93, Spurs 91
NBA, Video May 28th. 2008, 9:00am
Yes, D Fish fouled Brent Barry with less than two seconds remaining. No question. But as Barry, Pop, Fisher and Kobe said – you can’t call that. Go ahead and conjure up some Joey Crawford conspiracy, or talk about how uneven the game was refereed – the Spurs went to the line 26 times in the first three quarters, and then zero in the fourth; Kobe (28 points) didn’t attempt one all night – but the story for us was how empty Tony Parker came up in the fourth, and how invisible Manu Ginobili (2-for-8, seven points) was. Vets Mike Finley and Robert Horry were basketless.
The Spurs are finished – you’re not coming back against Kobe down 3-1 if he’s got home court – and if the Tim Duncan dynasty is indeed over (seems premature; remember, they only win in odd numbered years), there’s going to be some serious grave dancing across the country today. Video of the Fisher foul after the jump.
73 Responses to “Ballin: Lakers 93, Spurs 91”
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May 28th, 2008 at 9:05 am
thats a good NO call. Plus its fucking BRENT BARRY shooting the ball. Maybe if it was Parker or Manu they would of got the call.
Kobe is the man, Kobe is the man. Best player in the game without a doubt.
as soon as i saw Joey Crawford calling the game, i knew the Lakers would win. He hates the Spurs
May 28th, 2008 at 9:08 am
That’s the problem with nba officiating…well one of the problems…it shouldn’t matter if its barry or kobe a foul like that is a foul whoever it is
May 28th, 2008 at 9:08 am
So you admit that the ref is why they won?
May 28th, 2008 at 9:09 am
I think he should have sold that foul better, and they would have had to call it. It’s Barry’s fault. If he jumps into D-Fish while he’s in the air (rather than leaning after he landed), the Spurs win.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:11 am
i agree with that 100% Nick P. Sell that foul damnit
May 28th, 2008 at 9:13 am
West Coast Bias was a good read TBL
May 28th, 2008 at 9:13 am
I was actually very happy with the refs last night, they were letting them play and there were many good no calls, including the last play. The fact that the bald bastard was one of the refs does make you at least question the no call.
The Spurs have to be done, right? I mean they are old, I mean freaking old. At some point the legs can’t handle the long season and it sure looks like they are on the downhill. They could (should) have lost to NO, and now their going home in 5.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Jeffajax has it right. That’s what’s wrong with officiating on every level in every sport – officials call it differently for different players. Show me in a rule book where it says Brent Barry can’t get fouled.
Also, the refs did everything possible through 3 quarters to give it to the Spurs. And then there was the phantom goaltend on Odom followed by the shot clock not being reset when the ball magically changed trajectory when it got “near” the rim.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:16 am
@CRM- maybe if it was the regular season, you would make that call. But not in the Western Conference finals. Even Popovich said it was a good no call
May 28th, 2008 at 9:17 am
He should have jumped into him that’s for sure…im not sure why he thought he was going to get around him and get a clean look in a second…but if you jump and land on top of someone its a foul…no matter who it is and when it is in the game
May 28th, 2008 at 9:18 am
If there was a conspiracy last night it was for the Spurs to win, they would have lost by 20+ if the refs don’t keep them in it at the line or all the non-calls, bad calls against the Lakers. I’m pretty sure thats why the Spurs were not crying about the last play last night, the refs tried to give them the game and they weren’t able to take it.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:28 am
It was a foul no arguing that should have been two free throws. But really the game should not have come down to that one play. Kobe admitted that he took a bad shot and should have managed the clock more efficently in the last minute. The refs were sending the spurs to the line like crazy it was there for them and they didn’t take it. Lakers close it out Thursday in LA.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:29 am
The refs totally kept the Spurs in the game. Remember Duncan running and dunking the ball from half court at the end of the first quarter? Pretty spectacular, except he did it without dribbling.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:30 am
If it is a foul in the 1st quarter, it should be a foul in the 4th quarter as well.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:31 am
@clown- Duncan learned that from Lebron
May 28th, 2008 at 9:35 am
TBL: TK just announced on his show that he did an interview with you yesterday. Looking forward to that.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:35 am
im all for lettin em play, but there have been a lot of fouls in multiple series that happened on the last play and weren’t called.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:37 am
If it is a foul in the 1st quarter, it should be a foul in the 4th quarter as well.
Agreed, PurdueMatt. The NBA would be better off if they’d realize that.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:38 am
@nicksixers- Tony Kornheiser right?
May 28th, 2008 at 9:40 am
irish: Yep. Mr. Tony himself
May 28th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Lets not forget eurosoftie Pau missing two free throws when they were up 7, I almost turned the game off when he got fouled. While I hate the Spurs watching Duncan absolutely dominate that soft bastard has been great.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Wait, so Tony interviewed TBL or TBL interviewed Tony? I’m not sure which one would be more entertaining.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:43 am
The refs gave the spurs alot of calls and chances to win it. They didn’t capitalize. I do agree though the game should be called the same in the 4th quarter as it is in the 1st quarter.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:44 am
TBL interviewed Kornheiser. As Tony says, his fingers don’t type anymore.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Pau did punk out and miss those two free throws.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:45 am
good stuff Nicksixers
May 28th, 2008 at 9:46 am
/true story
May 28th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Meantime, the idea to go to Brent Barry from about 30 feet out, that was a great one, Pop…
May 28th, 2008 at 9:51 am
That’s because Pau is a bitch-ass softie who always chokes in big NBA games.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:51 am
I’m glad I got all the WNBA news I need from the bottom of that video. I think I’m set for another 10 years or so.
Whalen, Player of the Week! WooHoo!
May 28th, 2008 at 9:53 am
@August- its not like Pau has played that many big NBA games to classify him as a choker
May 28th, 2008 at 9:53 am
@ponies: Even as a joke, you can’t bring up the WNBA in Ballin’
May 28th, 2008 at 9:53 am
I agree he should have went to Horry, Finley, Parker or Noseli. There combined 30 Percent shooting up to that point warranted it.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:54 am
+1 nick p. Ponies take that shit to yardwork, they watch WNBA
May 28th, 2008 at 9:55 am
@ irish: yeah i meant to add a / joke about Pau being 0-1 on NBA games anybody outside of Memphis really cared about… premature clicking strikes again!
May 28th, 2008 at 9:56 am
That is a foul. Fish landed on Barry’s head. A foul is a foul no matter who it was shooting or what time it was in the game. That is why the NBA is lame as fuck. The game is an after effect of the calls rather than the other way around. The NBA has some serious issues. The team I love and have loved for ever is in a classic battle that will go seven and I know right now that we are going to get cocked by the shitty refs. I am calling it right now. Game seven in Boston, the Pistons will get jobbed like no other. Mark it down, dude.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:56 am
No (competent) ref is going to bail out a player 35 feet from the hoop while dribbling in the final seconds unless they get knocked on their ass or lose the ball. The way the play occurred, no advantage was gained or taken away – therefore no call is the correct call. If Crawford or anyone else had made the call, everyone would be arguing that “the players should decide the game, not the refs.” You can’t have it both ways.
As said above, all Barry has to do is lean in and start the shooting process (hence, an advantage – shooting – would have been taken away) and he gets the call. Given Barry’s years in the league, he should know better.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:56 am
@ AUGUST we dont care about your sex life buddy.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:00 am
@YYSA: Yeah, because Duncan has no history of being clutch. It’s ironic, though, that the Spurs should be buried by someone not flopping and a poorly constructed play.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:02 am
He totally should have set up Matt Bonner for a halfcourt gimme.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:03 am
No foul, a first quarter foul is not the same as one in the final seconds, much like a basket in the 1st isn’t quite as important as a basket with 10 seconds left. Go back to playing fantasy sports and rooting for TMac.
Roeth said it perfectly, no advantage, if he had raised up to shoot and got hit, then foul. If he wasn’t 75 years old and white he could have easily dribbled to the right and had a wide open shot.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Good no call.
Yes, the series is probably over but to actually say it is over like they are doing on Mike and Mike and on TV is premature, you can’t count the Spurs out until they are actually out, any other team and I think it would be over for sure.
I originally picked the Pistons to win tonight but with the NBA getting closer to their dream final and the game being in Boston, I expect to see tons of home cooking officiating tonight.
Whether real or not, the fact that many normal, sane people can believe in ref conspiracies in their games is not a good thing for the NBA.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Why the hell is Barry even in the game at that point, yes he had a great game until then but he should not have been the 1st 2nd 3rd or any option period. Finley, Manu, Parker, any of those guys would have known to jum into Fisher and force the ref to call the foul. Duncan even said so that Barry should jumped into him, then backed off and said Barry made thge right play by trying to get a clear shot. The whole thing is moot if the rest of the game had been ref’d fairly anyway.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:04 am
@rockabye- Duncan has no history of being clutch huh? 3 NBA Finals MVP or anything like that ring a bell. i dont think you need to hit game winners all the time to be known as a “clutch player”
May 28th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Falling on top of guy doesn’t put him at a disadvantage to get a good shot?
May 28th, 2008 at 10:08 am
@jeffJAX- even if it was a foul, it was before the shot was even attempted
May 28th, 2008 at 10:08 am
I know Bowen is known as a good defensive player and all but man he gets away with more grabbing, pushing and holding than ANYBODY in the league.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:10 am
I know i’m a Laker fan and so i’m maybe biased, but still i think that was a foul the same way Odom block on Parker shot was clean and Fisher shot hit the rim. Not to talk about Duncan marathon to the basket without dribbling… If the Spurs had won we will be talking about how the refs gave the game to the Spurs, now we are talking about the other way around…
May 28th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Ok irish…so 2 shots and the ball with a second or so left
May 28th, 2008 at 10:11 am
@irish: even if it was before Barry’s ’shot’, isn’t that still 2 foul shots if called since LA was over the limit?
May 28th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Fish landed on his head! How is that a good no call? Barry gets the ball with seconds left and has the defender LAND ON HIS HEAD… I think there maybe should have been some sort of call there.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:13 am
@JEffaJAx- Barry would of missed the free throws anyway lol
@August- im just saying, if there was a “foul”, it wasnt on the shot
May 28th, 2008 at 10:14 am
It was a foul. Yes Barry sould have had two free throws. Its not the only call they missed. But again it should have never came down to that one play.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:17 am
pwned, Barry was in the game because they had all of their best 3 point shooters in the game. The play was drawn up for Manu, Barry just got open.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:17 am
I agree it wasn’t on the shot so Barry should have had two free throws. Not zero free throws and a 3-1 series deficit.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Indeed….Im pullin for the lakers anyways so im not too upset with how it all turned out
May 28th, 2008 at 10:21 am
@coop247
They both count as two points.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Now that was a terrible (no) call. Good god, even in the NBA that qualifies as traveling.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Duncan didnt travel
/lebron
May 28th, 2008 at 10:27 am
PurdueMatt, spoken like a fantasy sports playing TMac lover. They are not the same, will never be the same, and I shouldn’t have to explain the difference.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:30 am
I agree with coop anybody can score in the 1st quarter. Making a basket in the 4th quarter of a tight game is alot harder.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:34 am
@Irish: I forgot the sarcasm tag in the “Duncan’s not clutch” thing.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:39 am
@All…tough loss for my Spurs. Fisher definitely fouled Barry, but as Duncan and others have said, you are not going to get that call in the final seconds. I agree because that is just the way things work in the NBA.
I am not going to throw any conspiracy theories out there, but I will say this: Joey Crawford is not one of the best officials in the NBA despite what the announcers say. He seems to referee according to which side of his butt itches at the time. He screws all teams equally!
Last night was the first game since game 1 of the New Orleans series that I thought the Spurs looked tired. It is time for the Spurs to trim the dead wood, primarily Finely, Horry and Barry. Pop needs to quit being so loyal to these veterans and realize the Spurs need a serious infusion of younger talent.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Wow, I need to starting hanging out in here more.
So, this basketball, it’s like lacrosse, what? Someone help Me out here – it there isn’t ice and a puck, I’m lost.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:43 am
@coop: Come on, man. You know that’s just wrong. If the Cavs played as well as they do in the 4th Q all regular season in the first 3Qs, we wouldn’t have needed 25 4th Q comebacks (made the number up, but it was something high).
May 28th, 2008 at 10:44 am
@BBB: Horry played how many minutes in the regular season and still has nothing left for the playoffs? Dump him.
Finley still comes in to hit threes and is a good scoring surge by himself every so often; Barry did that last night for the first time.
But you’re right, the Spurs need someone other than Bowen to play individual defense and they need someone other than the undersized Parker and Manu to play the midrange driving and pull-up game.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Jesus, don’t worry about basketball – just continue to follow those niche sports, like hockey. It needs all the help it can get.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:45 am
@jesus- oprah.com is looking for you
May 28th, 2008 at 10:52 am
All I could think of when Kobe said “That was a good no foul” was “Boy, this sheds new light on your claim of ‘I didn’t rape that girl.’”
May 28th, 2008 at 10:54 am
BBB, spot on. I mean they have to hit that wall at some point, Barry, Horry, Bowen are ancient. Even Timmy and Manu are old enough that 6 weeks of every other night games wears on you.
As great as a coach as Pop is, what is this team going to look like in 3-4 years? I don’t see hollywood Tony Parker sticking around on a rebuilding team.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:55 am
@braveSRRob- only a dumb Cav fan like you would say that
May 28th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Horry would have made the 3 to win the game with 2.1 seconds left. I think we all know this. Why he didn’t get the ball… I have no idea.
May 28th, 2008 at 11:12 am
comments like this should get tagged awaiting moderation.