Did the Magic just get hosed in the final four seconds?

[PurpleFreddy]

Sure looks fishy. LeBron got the superstar call with .5 seconds left. Then on the ensuing play there is no whistle when the Magic's Dwight Howard is mugged on an attempted lob-in. The NBA is friggin' rigged.

[injuredinmelee]

yeah that was a bad no call.

[Emerson1]

Magic deserve to lose for throwing up jumpshots the last 2 minutes.

[Keith7]

Thats the NBA for you.. They want the Kobe and Lebron finals so of course the refs are going to fix it so the Cavs get a second chance.. Its sad nobody can really see whats happening because then things would change and we would get real basketball in the NBA

[wildstangs]

The NBA is rigged. David Sterns remote control that makes all Lebron's shots magically go in the hoop must have malfunctioned there at the end.

Everyone keeps saying the NBA wants Kobe vs. Lebron, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the Nuggets beat LA. Looks like Orlando will win this series against Cleveland. So much for "conspiracy, NBA is rigged guy."

[Keith7]

Originally posted by wildstangs
The NBA is rigged. David Sterns remote control that makes on Lebron's shots magically go in the hoop must have malfunctioned there at the end.

Everyone keeps saying the NBA wants Kobe vs. Lebron, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the Nuggets beat LA. Looks like Orlando will win this series against Cleveland. So much for "conspiracy, NBA is rigged guy."

we'll see how this plays out.. remember NOBODY has made the finals yet

[PhiI C]

The foul could have been called against Howard.

[eagles_victory]

Originally posted by PurpleFreddy
Sure looks fishy. LeBron got the superstar call with .5 seconds left. Then on the ensuing play there is no whistle when the Magic's Dwight Howard is mugged on an attempted lob-in. The NBA is friggin' rigged. Lebron got knocked down on the play it was obviously a foul and Howard was all over Varejo who was just standing his position the reason it looked bad is because Howard was jumping all over his back.

[DDBooger]

I think Cleveland will be knocked out, LA doesn't look like a sure thing, it really throws a wrench in the "fix" theories. I think TXB said it best, teams don't get preferential treatment, but star players do get the benefit of the doubt.

[Emerson1]

Lebron winning the series 4-1 or 4-2 isn't that appealing.

Now Lebron can bring his team back down from 3-1.

It was all part of the plan

[BIG BLUE DEFENSIVE END]

Originally posted by eagles_victory
Lebron got knocked down on the play it was obviously a foul and Howard was all over Varejo who was just standing his position the reason it looked bad is because Howard was jumping all over his back.

Yep. And not to mention Howard got away with goal tending in overtime...that ball was still sitting on the rim when he tipped it.

[PurpleFreddy]

No, it was NOT goaltending. LeBron initiated the contact on the play with .5 seconds left. Howard was under-cut on the lob. There is always tussling for position before the pass, but you can't undercut someone. It's too dangerous.
Remember the call against Howard in Game 3 when he blocked LeBron's 3-pointer and he gets called for a foul? Way too many fouls called (not just in this game) by refs who are standing 25-30 feet away.

[eagles_victory]

Originally posted by PurpleFreddy
No, it was NOT goaltending. LeBron initiated the contact on the play with .5 seconds left. Howard was under-cut on the lob. There is always tussling for position before the pass, but you can't undercut someone. It's too dangerous.
Remember the call against Howard in Game 3 when he blocked LeBron's 3-pointer and he gets called for a foul? Way too many fouls called (not just in this game) by refs who are standing 25-30 feet away. That was a terrible call on Howard in Game 3 but Orlando got just as many touch fouls if not more than Cleveland did in game 3. That was basket interference on Howard in OT on Hedos missed layup the ball was still clearly on the rim. I guess we will have to agree to disagree on the lob play because if you jump up on top of a guy in a defensive position and thats why you get undercut why should that be a foul.

[Emerson1]

It could have been a hold even before Howard made his cut. Varajo had a handful of Howard's bicep

[Phil C]

This series is over basically. No way can Cleveland win three straight against Orlando even with two of the last three games being at home.

[BreckTxLonghorn]

Originally posted by Keith7
Thats the NBA for you.. They want the Kobe and Lebron finals so of course the refs are going to fix it so the Cavs get a second chance.. Its sad nobody can really see whats happening because then things would change and we would get real basketball in the NBA


Are you serious? I know of at least one ESPN analyst who's been saying that for 3 years. EVERYONE gripes on the officiating, and there have been conspiracy theories on what Stern is doing to 'fix' things since the Knicks won the Patrick Ewing lottery in the mid-80s.

It's a no win situation. If you watch every game, they have no excuse to change what they're doing and it sucks. If you don't watch, it gives the back office fuel for the fire in letting the officiating decide games so the finals can have 'lebron v kobe' or 'lebron v carmelo' or 'superkid v kobe' or whatever, because big names give better ratings.