Steal or Foul?

June 16 08

This is a special feature from guest blogger Christopher Sells.

All this talk of referees possibly fixing games and the league allegedly giving them orders to lengthen playoff series has all of the conspiracy theorists crying foul. As in there should have been one on Kobe Bryant when he poked the ball away from Paul Pierce late in the fourth quarter of Game 5. That, along with all of the fouls that went against the Celtics and their gimpy team (yes, we’re still questioning injuries, apparently), has people wondering if the league is trying to force a Game 7.

Check out the below video at about the 1:15 mark and judge for yourself whether a foul should have been called. Feel free to discuss the other allegations as well, but good luck proving anything.

13 Comments: Steal or Foul?

Posted by
Yung On3
on 06.21.2008

It Was A Foul!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!How could they not see it. Good crunch time foul Kobe .

Posted by
TEMPY
on 06.21.2008

IT WAS A FOUL!

THE REFS FIXED THAT GAME TO KEEP THE SERIES GOING LONGER THEN IT SHOULD HAVE .

Posted by
Joeskotto
on 06.19.2008

First of all it was a foul, Kobe Bryant is a choke and since he was such a hack that game they should hav fouled himout. No Kobe is so great(lol) he cant be fouled out then he shouldnt be a hack and that was a foul. Every who said it wasnt must be a Kobe fan u guys are sad!! .

Posted by
André
on 06.17.2008

It wasn’t a foul man come on. Even Doc Rivers said that it wasn’t a foul. If you watch the slow motion replay on nba.com you can see that Kobe only touched the ball.You might think it’s a foul because Pierce acts like he gets hit at the arm. It happens all the time man with every sport. Nice ref! .

Posted by

on 06.17.2008

It’s not a faul, and it’s finals, you can’t call that as a faul... .

Posted by
Kelika Brown
on 06.17.2008

Kwame Brown for President! .

Posted by

on 06.17.2008

one word ITS NBA FINALS!!!!!!!!!!! .

Posted by

on 06.17.2008

FOUL FOUL FOUL, GOOD REFS .

Posted by
Steve
on 06.16.2008

Steal as clean as you’ll get. There has been more even foul counts in LA than in Boston (Boston’s way) Can’t see Boston complaining too much - Look at the Free Throw attempts this series and Foul counts and you’ll see they favour Boston - See below:Gm 1 - FLS LA - 29 BOS - 22 Fthrows LA - 28 BOS - 35Gm 2 - FLS LA - 28 BOS - 21 Fthrows LA - 10 BOS - 38Gm 3 - FLS LA - 23 BOS - 28 Fthrows LA - 34 BOS - 23Gm 4 - FLS LA - 23 BOS - 24 Fthrows LA - 29 BOS - 28Gm 5 - FLS LA - 28 BOS - 28 Fthrows LA - 31 BOS - 31(also remember for this game Boston was fouling intentionally at the end of the game otherwise LA would’ve had more fouls)If you look at these stats it’s easy to see Boston is getting an even deal where LA is getting nothing at Boston. Boston will win in 6 or 7 because that’s what the league wants. Boston is allowed to play physical whereas LA gets whistled every time it tries - I think it’s all heading one way CELTIC win with controversy. .

Posted by

on 06.16.2008

Thats not a foul because if it was, the series would be over and the league would lose the money they would get from games 6 and 7. Expect a lakers win in game 6 .

Posted by
m.clutch
on 06.16.2008

it was a clean steal...but that doesnt negate the fact that all of the officiating has been pretty whack as of late .

Posted by
lakerman34
on 06.16.2008

HEY HEY HEY!Memphis is a rebuilding team, and they got Pau’s BRO who is becoming a VERY respectable player in his own right, and they got Javaris, who is potentially a star in this league. Also, w/ Kwame, they dump $9M cap space this year. Memphis is only getting younger and making themselves better for the future.That was 50/50 call. The refs just missed that. Unlike Sasha, they aren’t machines, they make mistakes. The angles of all the referees make it VERY tough to judge that a foul. If it doesn’t LOOK like a foul, then it isn’t. .

Posted by
yuri
on 06.16.2008

i dont know if i can trust the league anymore... with tim donaghy and all these convenient trades and inconsistent officiating... im starting to see more and more that its more about entertainment than anything else... evidence.. pau gasol pretty much for KWAME BROWN... i mean cmon... they gave up their WORST player, a few benchwarmers, and a prospect for a proven perennial all star 7 footer... the garnett deal wasnt as bad, but still there is something to be said there .

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