Mar 24 2009
Disgusting
I got a hot stock tip for you guys. It’s a company called SEG Co. SEG Co. is a company that works in the developing world giving them something that America has an overabundance of. That product? Shit-eating grins. Lord, if I’d only invested in them before last night’s game, I’d probably be a millionaire (or at least have the beer paid for). These grins were everywhere, whether it was Igoudala giggling as he went to the line while mouthing to a teammate, “I know that wasn’t a foul,” or it was Steve Javie, the generalissimo of shit-eating grins, smirking as twenty thousand people all told him that he was horrible at his job.
And that’s what it comes down to for the fans from last night. It was a great game, some details of which will be addressed later, but the officiating marred it. I think it’s fair to expect a certain kind of professionalism and even-handedness. No, I’m not saying that the game was fixed, because honestly, who really cares about a game between the Sixers and Blazers? David Stern isn’t commanding his army of winged demons to wait outside Steve Javie’s house if he gives Brandon Roy a foul call. Put simply, it’s just unnaturally bad officiating. The Sixers shot 39 foul shots to the Blazers’ 17. Some of this difference can be accounted for in the torrent of free throws to end the game, but that still leaves a massive disparity. The worst part was that these calls and non-calls decided the game.
The game tonight wasn’t decided on Brandon Roy’s airball at the end of regulation. It was when Aldridge was called for a weak foul against Igoudala. Igoudala made SEG Co. holders a lot of money as he stepped to the line and drained two shots. Brandon obviously didn’t have it last night and looked hopeless as he tried to shake Willie Green. That call was a dagger. However, the officiating went from horrible to worse during the overtime. Brandon Roy gets mugged two times in a row, once when the Blazers are down 1, and once when down 3, with both muggings leading to Sixers fast breaks. The refs gave eight points to the Sixers (in four point swings, of course). Now, I hate to say the refs were biased against us, but come on. I don’t mind when the referees do a bad job; after all, it’s tough work to get every call right. I mind when the referees do a bad job and only one team gets all the benefits. If you’re calling contact, call it on both sides. If you’re letting them play, do it on both sides. No matter what, last night shouldn’t have happened. No team should get every bad call to go its way.
The officiating last night is made even more horrible because it ruined a good game. There was tons of energy on both sides and serious emotional swings as the game went on. To start the game, Reggie Evans, looking by the day more like Rick Ross, was out on the floor pumping up his teammates even though the refs were waiting for him to get off the floor for the tip off. Throughout the game Evans was just a great show for any fans that happened to watch him.
Theo Ratliff constantly had whimsical looks from the bench, as if he was in “For Love of the Game” style flashback. I can imagine him in the Rose Garden, looking up at the Hustle Board and thinking, “Ah yes, I blocked 11 shots in a game and that kid was able to walk because of it.”
The most awkward pre-game ritual of all time probably consisted of Philadelphia’s trainer rubbing up and down on Willie Green’s back in a motion that at its best could be called a deep caress and at its worst could be called a furious dry hump. It led my girlfriend to remark that she hoped the trainer used protection. He did - rubber gloves and a Shamwow.
The Blazers looked like they were having fun throughout the game, even during the miserable opening half. They came out with fire in the second and stormed back in the game. There were heroes everywhere, from Oden to Blake to Aldridge to Rudy. It just happened that the automatic guy had one of his most disappointing games of the season.
This isn’t meant to pile on Brandon. Dude comes out and brings top-level game 95% of the time. It just happened that tonight he had an off-night. Tough luck, and you’d have to be crazy to blame anything on him.
Ceci n’est pas un foul
And in the now typical “Nous aimons Nicolas Batum” section, we love Nicolas Batum. He made some great things happen when he was on the floor, and it was sad to see him have so few minutes.
Speaking of sad to see him leave, it was horrible to see Travis leave with what might have been a broken finger. He was doing a great job last night, and we probably could have used a bit more offense in overtime.
It was, all said, a damn fine game that just had a few blotches on it. The Mona Lisa with a mustard stain.
Great posting for a puzzlingly satisfying game.