Nitro

I'm not saying it's all unconscious, and some refs do have vendetta's against certain players. But often times I think we, as fans, overreact to the whole ref situation in the NBA. I think these bias' are over-stated, and when you are a regular guy trying to make split-second decisions in games that are NBA speed, with you only have a certain angle on the play, it isn't as easy as it seems. Some of those fouls are flat-out missed (meaning the ref just didn't see the violation), some are unconsciously missed, some are consciously missed, and some can go either way. In a game where there's over a hundred possessions and so many calls to be made, a few missed calls should be expected.

Gold

Let me give you an analogy. I worked at a CVS for 2 years, and had all kind of customers; very nice ones, annoying but tolerable ones, complete [expletive]s, etc... In my mind, like you said, I was trying to just keep my job and do my best with each. However, when I had the ones who were complete [expletive]s, I might not take a coupon that expired one day ago, may not scan the $1 off coupon on a pack of cigarettes, etc... However, with nice, polite customers, I would do those kinds of things. The NBA is similar. Fouls are subjective, and even though there are general guidelines, each foul is based on a referee's judgement. Let's say you get the equivelant of an '[expletive] customer'...you think those refs are going to give him the benefit of the doubt? Probably not. There are so many layers to it, and so many different analogies I can make, but basically what I'm trying to say is that referee bias is not just conscious, it's unsconscious; meaning, you don't even know it's happening as you do it.

Rudy Gay...really? Griffin is averaging more points on better efficiency, more rebounds AND more assists than Rudy. As for Kevin Love, the only thing he has on Griffin is rebounding, and the Wolves have done worse than the Clippers and he won't bring as much excitement to the ASG as Blake will.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpqOWO6ctsg

With Rose, Wade would've been completely redundant...they have very, very similar play styles. As for LeBron, I understand why Rose wouldn't necessarily want him there, especially since he's still so young. But, if he never wins a championship in his career, he will probably look back on the decision to not actively reach out to LeBron (besides a text late in the process) as a mistake.

I wouldn't even classify the Clips as a bad team. In the last 13 games they've gone 9-4, with wins at Chicago, against the Suns, Nuggets, Heat and now the Lakers. They also beat the Spurs, Thunder and Hornets earlier this season. Since 11/20 they are a .500 team.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_S0CViLms5ys/THKkhx9D1SI/AAAAAAAAA2s/_Al3SvkcliU/s1600/Revis+Island.jpg

Griffin extended his double-double streak today against the Lakers, but his 20pt streak ended at 14 games with 18pts for the game.

Worst: Nets-Cavs Best: Heat-Celtics

It's not just about the conscious bias refs have, it's the unconscious bias as well. Even if you follow the code of conduct as ref, if you don't like someone it's human nature to not give that player the same benefit of the doubt you would another player, even if you go in thinking, "I'm going to give everyone the same treatment."

At the forward positions in the West, who? Durant and Dirk are the only ones I'd say are clearly more deserving. Melo will probably be in the East by the ASG, Gasol's really slowed down since his MVP-like start, Love's team is even worse than Griffin's and he hasn't been as good as Griffin, Randolph started the season off too slow, Milsap/Jefferson/Scola/West/Odom all haven't been as good, and Duncan hasn't been as good as Griffin, plays less minutes and will probably get in as a center. I'd buy taking Durant, Dirk, Melo (if he's still on the Nuggets) and maybe Gasol over Griffin, but any of those other players getting in ahead of him would be just wrong.

I think the Clippers would be an interesting suitor. They are looking to unload Kaman, who is the kind of big man the Wizards could use. Meanwhile, their salaries are both in the $9-11M range, so only a few minor adjustments would need to be made. The Lakers should definitely look into trading for him. They have a $5M TPE from the Sasha trade, and Caracter might be an enticing project for the Wizards to try out. A 3rd party might need to be involved to get everything to match up, but they desperately need a PG like Hinrich. The Heat would be a perfect fit, but I don't think that would work out. They'd have to give up Miller, Anthony and Arroyo for the salaries to match. If the Heat recalled Pittman from the D-League and he played well it'd be an awesome trade for the Heat, but I doubt it'd happen. I think the Hawks would be an ideal fit as well. Hinrich would be a clear upgrade over Bibby (who makes $5M the next two seasons), and the Hawks have a $3M TPE from the Childress deal, which would mean the salaries would matchup near perfectly. So, essentially the Hawks would upgrade at the PG position, and the Wizards would be cutting about $3M of salary.

Farmar was pulling his jersey on the drive to the rim, but that's about it. And it's just one play, so it certainly isn't something that 'clearly' shows the refs hate Kobe (which is probably true considering how much he viciously barks at the refs). I've always held the belief that while superstars, in general, get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to getting calls, the bigger factor is how often you attack the rim. If you attack the rim often and don't avoid contact (like Rose before this season), then you'll be more likely to get calls other players don't. I do think Kobe has been screwed over in the past on a number of occasions by the refs, but I do think his style of play has a lot to do with it. It's not really fair, but it just is what it is.

There's 3 reasons that quickly came to mind. I can really analyze and break it down, but the first 3 things that popped into my head are... 1) Talent. The world has caught up to the US in terms of talent, and the gap isn't as large as it once was. The US still clearly has the greatest talent pool in basketball, but the rest of the world has gotten stronger, more athletic and more skilled since the Dream Team steam-rolled through Barcelona in 1992. It doesn't help that in the last 20 years the US has gone away from basic fundementals in the high school/AAU systems, and more geared towards overwhelming the opponent with athleticism. Those European teams are very fundementally sound, and that creates some major issues for the US when they face teams with somewhat comparable talent like Spain. 2) Chemistry. This area is a two fold; first, most FIBA teams have been together for years, while most of the US teams of the last decade have been put together in the matter of weeks. That should be no surprise and needs no further explanation. I mean, it took the Miami Heat all of training camp, preseason and the first 20 regular season games before they started to hit their stride, and the same applies to Team USA. Secondly, when Team USA was having lots of problems, they were building teams with little to no balance. Just a cluster[expletive] of random players and athletes that didn't fit with each other. Marbury and Iverson on the same team...really?!? Not a single 3pt shooter on the same 2004 Olympic team? Having Larry Brown, one of the worst coaches ever when it comes to coaching young talent, being assigned to coach LeBron, Melo, and Wade the summer after their rookie season's, and Okafor the summer before his rookie season?!? When Colangelo came in he understood that the US would no longer be able to destroy opponents solely off athleticism and talent, so he put an actual TEAM together, with balance good enough to get by. Also, he made the 2 years between the FIBA Championship and the Olympics a time for the team to gain chemistry and identity, with each player being forced to make a multi-year commitment to the team. This has greatly enhanced the chemistry and overall level of play for the team. 3) The FIBA floor. I agree that the rules are a major adjustment for NBA players, but I feel the actual floor is just as big of a detriment. Most NBA stars, which are who we tend to send overseas, rely on their athleticism to beat their opponent off the dribble. However, in FIBA, the court is smaller, and the 3pt line is shorter. Because of this, there is far less spacing for players to operate. In the last few year's, with Colangelo running the show, the US has done a good job of putting in a lot of players capable of hitting that short 3pt shot. However, back in like 2002-2004, the idea was that the US would throw a bunch of elite athletes out there and they would simply overwhelm the opponent. That failed miserably. As dominant as our athletes are, without NBA spacing, mixed in with looser rules regarding physicality, and we start to look like amateurs out there. It also doesn't help that most of our players don't know how to move without the basketball, allowing the defense to load up on slasher, which makes things that much harder.

Haha close...I got 12 for that post But that's pretty cool, didn't realize I had so many reps.

Wait...Bird never averaged over 11RPG in a season. So, it hasn't been since at least the early-mid '70's where a rookie has averaged at least 21/12/3 for a season. And Griffin's numbers are only climbing, as now he's at 22PPG and almost 13RPG. With the way he's passing, he might crack 4APG as well by season's end. He definitely deserves to be in the game this year. His production has been unbelievable, he's been efficient, he's been the most consistent rookie I've ever seen (his double-double and 20pt streak are crazy), and he's the most exciting rookie to enter the league since LeBron. There's no doubt he should be there.

Listen, in principle, you are right. Players need a chance to prove themselves before they can be labelled a failure. However, what you're not realizing is that regular season minutes are just a fraction of the way for a player to prove himself worthy. Summer league, training camp, pre-season, regular season and practices are all ways for a player to prove himself. Randolph, theoretically, has the tools to fit in D'Antoni's system well. However, in 11 games in November he shot 27% from the field and looked COMPLETELY lost. I am not talking about the kind of lost where a player needs to learn the playbook and shake off rust. I'm talking about the kind of lost where when you watch him, you are shocked that he is even on the active roster and not in the D-League. And honestly, his skillet and talent ain't as high as people pump them up to be. He's a very overrated prospect. Also, as Blasco said, this isn't the first time he's been a system that should, in theory, make great use of his talents. Yet, Don Nelson gave him the exact same treatment as D'Antoni is.

Exactly...in D'Antoni's head, that person is Wilson Chandler

2 crazy stats from this game: -Wade and Rose combined to block 8 shots :o -EDDIE [expletive]ING HOUSE grabbed as many rebounds as Joel Anthony (you know, the Center) did...in 14 less minutes.

Rose was showin' up Wade, so Wade just went ape-[expletive] and hit 3 straight 3's, putting the Heat up by 1 Like 45 seconds left, let's see what Rose can do.

Bosh is on fire after the 3-12 start. Keeping the game very close with Wade out essentially this entire quarter.

Chicago on a 17-0 run to start the 3rd, with Rose straight up beasting. Wade has 4 fouls already.

Interesting game so far. Chicago got out to a double digit lead, and the Miami offense was looking absolutely awful. However, the Heat's defense started to clamp down, Miller and House started to hit 3's, and Wade took over. Looks like Miller is finally starting to get his groove. He hit his first 2 3's of the year in the first half, and he's the only player on the Heat besides Wade/Bosh/James with a multi-faceted floor game. Once LeBron gets back he should really look to be more aggressive shooting the ball, but he's starting to find his game again.