Yes folks, it's NBA talk. First we start off with the Raptors. For this post, I'm not really going to recap the Raptors triple-overtime game that the team lost on Saturday vs the Nets in Britain. I'm going to rant a little bit instead. If you want a recap, here it is. My rant complaint is this: I believe the game was fixed. "WHAT? You're crazy." you might be thinking. "What reason would the NBA have for fixing the game? The Raptors and Nets aren't big-market or playoff teams, so there's no point. And you have no proof anyways." You're right in saying that the Raptors and Nets aren't playoff teams, but I think there may be some evidence of fixing nonetheless. Let me start by pointing out that DeMar DeRozan didn't score A SINGLE POINT in both the 2nd and 3rd quarters! This is not DeRozan basketball and it has never been done by any other Raptors star ever - not Damon Stoudamire, not Vince Carter, and not even Chris Bosh. Before that, in the 1st quarter, DeMar had scored 13 impressive points. After his disappointing middle quarters, he suddenly turned it on again and scored more points. In fact, he finished the night with 30 points, 18 of which were scored throughout the 4th quarter and 3 overtimes. "Well, that IS suspicious, but it doesn't really prove anything," you might protest. "It could just prove that DeRozan had an off night or needed to play many minutes to find his groove." Fair enough, I'll grant that you could be right there. What about the officiating, however? Throughout the first three regular quarters, as I watched on TV, it felt like a regular game, going back and forth with a good tight match brewing. The fans were clearly on Toronto's side even though the games were advertised as home ones for New Jersey. The calls seemd to be even in that span. Then in the fourth quarter and throughout the first two overtime periods, the action seemed much different, with the referees "letting the players play" (especially in the 1st two overtime periods), and the Nets and Raptors making difficult shots time and time again. I wish I could look at the calls and free throw differences between the teams from the 4th quarter onwards to see if it really was fixed or not, but since I can't I have no way of knowing. The general feel of the game is that the NBA wanted this game to be as close and as long as posible in order to reel in the money and the British fans so that they will watch more games and support the league. In the 3rd overtime, the calls suddenly seemed more consistent and New Jersey quickly jumped out to a solid lead, only to have Toronto claw back until the end. Also, Andrea Bargnani scored a game-high 35 points in the game, despite shooting only 11-28 from the floor. DeRozan shot only 11-26 from the floor, yet he gets 30 points. NONE of this makes any sense, people. You don't think it's strange or suspicious? Wake up. The London fans were cheated out of a good game, in my opinion. It isn't fair for New Jersey to have to tell its fans, "Thanks for purchasing our season-ticket package, but you're only getting 39 games because the league is having us play in Britain against the Raptors, of all teams. If you don't like it, then screw you. Get lost." Here are the stats to check it out for yourself. With this so-called "game", New Jersey swept the two-game miniseries in the U.K. The final score was 137-136. Next up for Toronto is a game back home tonight vs the Utah Jazz who are now without Jerry Sloan, who is retired and Deron Williams, who is now with the Nets. The game can be seen on Rogers Sportsnet One at 7 PM.
Meanwhile, in other NBA news, the Miami Heat have now lost 5 games IN A ROW! That's right, you read it correctly. After last night's home loss to the Portland Trailblazers (who now have former Charlotte Bobcats star Gerald Wallace), the Heat are in a tailspin and everybody's panicking. I love it! Here's the great recap. The final score was 105-96. Also too, Chris Bosh is acting like a crybaby during this streak, whining about not getting the ball more. Read the article here. As the article says, "Bosh wants to play like he did in Toronto, when he was the No. 1 option on largely mediocre teams and piled up impressive statistics working his way inside and out as he saw fit." It even goes on to say, "Bosh is supposed to take all of this up with his teammates and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. Too bad he didn’t try that first. Because by whining (crying would be too strong a term in this matter) about this publicly before addressing the matter within the confines of the Heat locker room, Bosh is feeding the daily beast that is the Heat hate machine." Suggestion to Bosh: take it up with your coach and teammates. Surely LeBron can help you out. After all, you ARE buddies, right? As Phil Jackson says, "Big boys don't cry." Quit acting like a child and be a man, Chris. If you want to play like you did as a Raptor, then WHY did you ever want to leave? Folks, it looks as if all is not well in paradise.
Well, that's all for now. Until next time, game on.
No comments:
Post a Comment