Yes to your main point - but it only becomes a bad thing (or a very bad thing) when it goes beyond letting the players play in the way we've come to expect them to, and turns into obvious favoritism. The NBA wants the skillful, charismatic players to have a chance to exhibit their talents. And the set-up inherently awards the more confident, aggressive, experienced, and well-known players. The guys who've been there before are almost always going to be more confident anyway - of the officiating and everything else. There will always be disagreement about what's fair. As long as it's lively rather than forcing fans in droves to quit watching, the NBA says fine - that's sports. I think the league does favor the Lakers, right now - because it favors the superstars with whom people have come to identify. Overall, it makes the continually re-negotiated judgment that it would be better to have the game played Shaq and Kobe's way than anybody else's. I would say that as a past MVP and a major star and MVP candidate, and as reigning mega-contract champions, they clearly get some opportunity to nudge the officiating in their favor. They "know" that if Kobe is playing well, and drives the lane, the expected situation is that he gets off a decent shot or must have been fouled. They trust that Kobe is that good. If Kobe goes in like a dork and flails around, he tends not to get the call, even if the defender does pretty much exactly the same thing as the previous time. I think it's clear that they get a better deal on the road than, say, Mark Madsen usually does (or, even worse, a similar player on a perennial loser). But the fans, the coaches, the commentators, the beloved old guys - all make a contribution to how the games are called. An opponent probably has an opportunity to "act like a champion," and get better treatment. The officials do tend to give an advantage to the overdog, but try to keep it from being THE decisive element, and home court tends to cancel it out. It goes back to the "you've got to knock out the champ to beat him" theory, though I suspect (and I think the Charley Rosen article supports this thesis) that at a certain point the Lakers begin to get held to a higher standard. Their crappy regular season record and off and on play has also affected how much they get to "control" the game (including the officials). One way of looking at it is that Shaq's been officiated in a certain way (or set of ways - a spectrum) for years. Buss has invested over $100 MM in him, on that basis - not just how he's officiated, but how he plays (and is allowed to play). Likewise, the networks and the fans pay for a certain product. The league has to think carefully before making any significant shifts.
Have you ever seen such a bunch of winers as the NBA players? I am sick of it. Take a foul call like a man, quit the fucking whining. It needs to stop.
For the reasons you put forth, it is entertainment over sport. I miss the sport being the source of the entertainment, rather than the other way around.
how the hell do you let the big ''O-FA'' shoot the last shot ?? yea, it almost went in but the damn dude is O-FA in the whole series !
Wow - major call! If you're right, I'll have to declare you my basketball oracle, and re-consider everything I've disagreed with you about. If it's okay with you... As a Laker fan who's been managing his expectations all year, I can't go that far. Odds are definitely against them. The most I can say is I refuse to be disheartened: Played lousy, but came back from 25 down, on the road, in an arena where they've never won, and were just a smidgen of a bounce away from stealing it. Oh, by the way, Bowen definitely fouled Kobe - but shit happens. As for Horry - amazing how what goes around comes around. This year 0 for the series on 3s, and now this... But when you consider how close the shot was to going in, you can't really fault them or him. He was and unfortunately still is the very definition of "due." Would have been a great story if he'd made it.... Suddenly, you can see why they hung on to Medvedenko. It still may be too late for him with the Lakers. If so, too bad he blew his chances this year.
Pretty well played game. I do wonder if it is simply a matter of LA turning it on in the 4th quarter, or SA choking. I certainly don't recall the Bulls playing quite like that. One of the real strengths of the Bulls was the 3rd quarter, where they would so often really turn it on and rip the heart out of their opponents. Shaq certainly displays a lot more class than Kobe when interviewed after a loss. I know you love the guy, Kobe, but all I see is ego. Here is a guy who says no one can stop him...that he can score at will, yet he doesn't take the final shot....
You think he should have taken the shot he had with Bowen all over him when Horry was open? If Kobe had taken the shot, it would have been a desperation shot. He would have been rightly criticized for heaving one up when he had the celebrated last-second assassin wide open. You can argue that Horry was hopeless, but if Horry was really hopeless, he shouldn't even have been out there. I wish the Lakers had set up a better play, but the other team has a vote - I guess SA had the thing properly defensed - though Duncan confessed that he was supposed to have been guarding Horry. Anyway, I think it was a fair call. The shot did almost go in.
Kobe says he can score at will, that no one can stop him. I guess he didn't have the will to score, rigth?. As Barkey said later that evening, Kobe could have just jumped into Bowen and got 3 free throws. Kobe could have driven to the lane. Why should he care if he gets criticized? It is not like that ever stopped his selfish ass from going one on one.