‘We know we’re not playing at last season’s level but we’ll do everything to turn it around come playoff time’

that would sound more veteran-like.

“Rigged 37 – 17″ referring to the disparity in fouls between the Celtics and the Lakers. Blaming the refs is strategic as a player, but signifies a sore loser in a fan. A player just wants to try and influence the refs, which should not even be possible but is in this league. A fan who whines about the refs cannot accept losing, which is as much a part of life as winning. Ask Charley Sheen or Charles Barkley: both will tell you. Many Celtics fans refuse to accept the whining, calling out these folks for their lack of sportsmanship and integrity. You can lose with dignity or you can whine!

I don´t think that big jump-shooters are not fouled as much, the fouls are just not hard ones, but a little contact or a slight push may be enough to bring the player out of balance and the shot to the rim. Collison played a lot of dirty defense with contact and pushes against Dirk for some time, as in last years PO.

OKC got 9 of their last 12 points with free-throws, it’s easier to find the plays knowing that you get the calls.

But I don´t care if someone is famous or champ. A foul is a foul, and if refs see not the same on both sides, it takes some fun away from watching. So I don´t agree that the champs or famous players should get credit, but Dirk in many games did not get the calls he should get.

But what is Dallas talking during last-minute timeouts. If the result is crap so often, they should better play through quick. At least the other team would have no time to think too.

Blaming the refs is a cop-out excuse, but that doesn’t mean there’s no merit to it. Varies from game to game, but if we’re going to talk about THIS game, OKC shot 33 free throws, Dallas 10. A portion of that is that Dallas is a jump shooting team, but at the same time, a jump shooting team with a giant German who the opposing teams are constantly pushing and trying to move out of position. I think Dirk, much like any big guy, doesn’t get the calls he should all the time. Because he’s not always banging down low, the fouls (which are still fouls) aren’t always as obvious. More concerning for the outcome of the game was that the refs blatantly missed several calls. Harden’s continuation was a bad call, as was the final foul that resulted in Ibaka’s free throws. If Dallas executes better, Dallas wins, but if OKC doesn’t benefit from that continuation call, Dallas probably wins, too. When you’re a good team playing at home, hey, you sometimes get calls. It happens. That’s the benefit of having a great crowd. It’s a tough loss for the Mavs on a lot of fronts, though. Oh well.

One of the worst things about the NBA is the whole mentality that certain players should get a call where other players don’t. Kobe gets that call while a rookie shouldn’t. That is a bunch of crap. Fouls should be called the same for every player. If the better players actually are better, they shouldn’t need the refs to help them out.

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