Suns VS Lakers : Game 2

[fordronken]

We lost the game for the exact reason we've always said. If the Suns are missing open jump shots, we don't stand a chance against anybody.

 

[zett]

we definitly lost this game because we didn't show up to play mentally we were weak! but make no mistake about it it was a charge by Kobe nash was set and out side the line while kobe still had 2 feet on the ground! no matter how high you jump you can not go into the defender like that and it not be a charge! plain and simple minus bell and nash the lakers just wanted this one more the we did!

 

[Charles V]

I'm still confused about the Crawford call.

Looking back, I can only describe it as if he made an emphatic "and one" gesture, followed by the blocking call.

At the time it looked like he made the charging call followed by the blocking call. It was very confusing to say the least.

 

[elindholm]

I agree that Crawford's choreography was confusing, but I think it's pretty clear that he neither changed his call nor was overruled.

 

[DeAnna]

- Quit bitching about the refs. Leave that to Laker Fan.

- PHX will win Game 3. Why??

- Because Shawn Marion's sphincter will have relaxed by then.

- Shawn Marion's body language was just horrendous. Head down, blank stare, blowing "air" into his hands after a botched dribble or shot. Are you friggin' insane?

Man up, and make someone guard you. Hell, he should make Odom pay the price on the other end of the court. That's what "great" players do. Ho hum, nothing important, Shawn.

- Brian Grant may have played the 2 most unproductive minutes of ball since Chuck Nevitt got his ass of the bench in the Laker glory years.

- Ray of hope! ANY other team in the playoffs would have beaten PHX tonight. And, it would have a larger deficit than tonight. So, there is a chance...

- Lamar Odom was BY FAR the best player on the court tonight.

- We'll win Game 3. Dominate Game 4. Come back to PHX and win Game 4. And, everybody will say what a great series it was.

Agree on all counts.

Guys, the sky is not falling. It's JUST ONE GAME!!

The Suns had trouble for sure - it's called playing 'physical defense' so give the Lakers some credit. They executed their gameplan almost to perfection last night, but we will still win this series.

 

[D-Dogg]

Crawford thinks people pay to watch him ref games, not watch bball players play. He's got a bigger ego than many of the players.

I shouldn't even know a ref's name...ever.

 

[Chaplin]

Crawford thinks people pay to watch him ref games, not watch bball players play. He's got a bigger ego than many of the players.

I shouldn't even know a ref's name...ever.

Come on, just admit it. You heart Violet Palmer.

 

[D-Dogg]

Come on, just admit it. You heart Violet Palmer.

haha

Me and Nick Van Exel.

 

[abomb]

Me and Nick Van Exel.

Did someone say "NVE"? One, two, three, Cancun!

A-Bomb

 

[sunsfn]

The call on Nash was wrong by Crawford, and it did make a difference even if he missed the free throw.........he got two points instead of a foul against him! That dunk also helped them keep the momentum going, a charge changes the feeling and the suns get the upper hand if just for a few minutes. With the suns a few minutes can be the difference in them winning or losing. (They only lost by 6 points)

The no call against Kwame was huge also.
If every time the ball was free someone just decided to run over someone because there would be no foul called, there would be a lot of hurt people in the NBA. There has to be a foul called when someone goes down, I do not believe that was just a no call!

I was unhappy with the two suns fouls when they drove to the basket against Walton early in the game. The one against Nash could have gone either way, but he was the offensive aggressor on that call and did not get the call like Kobe did late in the game.

However, it always has been the aggressor that gets the call in the NBA, right or wrong, and the suns were not the aggressor for most of the game last night.

The way the game started with Nash having to score was not good for the suns, and that led to Nash trying too hard in the 2nd quarter to take over and score himself, when he could have passed to Thomas a couple times at the 3 point circle and did not.

Diaw is being passive and this may be because he is a 3rd year player and this is his first playoffs. Hopefully he gets more aggresive because I think he could score a lot more if he decided to.

Marion has got to step up in the next game or we may be in trouble!

 

[jbeecham]

OK, then Joey Crawford is a moron because his "basket counts" motion is very similar to the "charge" motion refs make. Most refs make a hand motion of the hand up in the air and then moving downwards (like a ball going through the basket). Joey made a forward punching motion which is a charge call. Then he pointed at Kobe (or pointed at where the call occured for whatever reason????) and then made a blocking call on Nash.

 

[jibikao]

OK, then Joey Crawford is a moron because his "basket counts" motion is very similar to the "charge" motion refs make. Most refs make a hand motion of the hand up in the air and then moving downwards (like a ball going through the basket). Joey made a forward punching motion which is a charge call. Then he pointed at Kobe (or pointed at where the call occured for whatever reason????) and then made a blocking call on Nash.

I saw the "punch motion" too and I thought it was a charge. The crowd THOUGHT it was a charge 'cause I heard cheering and then massive booing.

 

[D-Dogg]

Of course...Joey is an attention *****.

 

[D-Dogg]

Damn, I hate Joey Crawford...look for a poorly reffed game with that clown on the floor.

From page one of this thread...

While it wasn't terribly officiated, there were a lot of stupidity going on out there.

It wasn't nearly as smoothly done as game one was. That was a pretty good job in that first game.

 

[golfcardfan]

D-dogg of course your not too upset the officials have done nothing but help your team this series! Ticky tack fouls are called on almost every laker that drives and the suns can get mugged and then whistled for an offensive foul. The officiating has sucked and sucked bad.

 

[golfcardfan]

The NBA and REFS are doing eveerything they can to make this more of a series than it should be. If it was called straight up it would not be close, all the fouls being called is slowing the game too much which hurts who? THE SUNS thats why they have not played well too many BS whistles to keep the pace down.

 

[abomb]

The NBA and REFS are doing eveerything they can to make this more of a series than it should be. If it was called straight up it would not be close, all the fouls being called is slowing the game too much which hurts who? THE SUNS thats why they have not played well too many BS whistles to keep the pace down.

/readying my tinfoil hat

A-Bomb

 

[LakeShowMan]

D-dogg of course your not too upset the officials have done nothing but help your team this series! Ticky tack fouls are called on almost every laker that drives and the suns can get mugged and then whistled for an offensive foul. The officiating has sucked and sucked bad.

You mean like the no call when Tim Thomas (which he admitted in the paper the following day was a foul) fouled Kobe and gave him a welt on the side of his head, that would have gotten the game to 2 points late in game 1?

Come on now, bro.

I will not say the refs haven't been wrong, but to claim that they are siding on one side or the other just reeks of excuse making.

 

[D-Dogg]

The NBA and REFS are doing eveerything they can to make this more of a series than it should be. If it was called straight up it would not be close, all the fouls being called is slowing the game too much which hurts who? THE SUNS thats why they have not played well too many BS whistles to keep the pace down.

You ever think there are a lot of calls because the Lakers are playing a physical game? In a deliberate attempt to slow the game down?

I'm glad that only the Suns are getting called for fouls...that way we don't have to sit Luke and Smush about 3 minutes into the game for foul trouble or have Kobe sit with fouls in the second quarter...oh wait.

It's also really cool that the Suns shot 35 freethrows in game one after shooting what, three a game or so during the regular season?

Please, please, please, please, please don't act like a Sacramento Queens fan. Please.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Honestly, people need to stop bitching about the officiating. How big of a baby are you? We got outplayed and outhustled almost the entire game. Our defense was attrocious most of the game. There were a couple bad calls - just like there are every game....

2 calls do not lose you a game. The 6 minute scoring draught and Kobe's ridiculous shots as time expires will however.

 

[abomb]

Honestly, people need to stop bitching about the officiating. How big of a baby are you? We got outplayed and outhustled almost the entire game. Our defense was attrocious most of the game. There were a couple bad calls - just like there are every game....

2 calls do not lose you a game. The 6 minute scoring draught and Kobe's ridiculous shots as time expires will however.

Well said!


A-Bomb

 

[golfcardfan]

You can make all the claims you want the games are delibrately being called tight to make a series out of it. If it was officiated normally the lakers would not have a chance at the suns pace period! Phil Jackson in the ears of the refs all the time and the uncommon amount of fouls being called makes this a much closer series than if they let them play. Not saying the lakers are not playing it that way on purpose, but their were calls last night where they replayed and the guy was not even near him and a foul was called. Even the announcers mentioned it there were many phantom calls and it all boils down to slowing the game down to a slow pace boring game.

 

[golfcardfan]

If you need proof how many time have the lakers beat the suns the last few years? That was the first time they beat them with Nash on the floor. Not saying the suns played well because they obviously did not, just that the suns would win much easier if the officiating were like other series and let the teams play.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

If you need proof how many time have the lakers beat the suns the last few years? That was the first time they beat them with Nash on the floor. Not saying the suns played well because they obviously did not, just that the suns would win much easier if the officiating were like other series and let the teams play.

And how many times in those games have the Lakers used a balanced attack at the Suns? How many times in those games have they exploited the Odom / Marion mismatch sooooo well? The Lakers are using a completely different game plan than they had earlier this season - it isn't unreasonable to expect a completely different outcome....

Also, at the end of the game - the officials DID let the teams play. Remember the no call on the Kwame / Bell incident? If that isn't letting the teams play, then I dont know what is

 

[D-Dogg]

it all boils down to slowing the game down to a slow pace boring game.

Yes, that is essentially what playoff basketball is about. It's why teams like the Spurs, Pistons, and Shaq/Kobe Lakers played in finals and won.

Look at it this way, what the Lakers are currently doing right now in this series is just the same as what the Pistons did to the Lakers in the finals a couple of years ago. They beat us to death, and with Malone down we had only Shaq as an inside presence, and he got thoroughly dominated by Ben Wallace. So dominated it was sickening. Kobe got dominated by double teams from Rip and Tayshaun. The Pistons took them directly out of their game, and upset a more talented offensive team. I hated that series...