Photo credit: David Richard/Associated Press
I am a witness. Although I may carry a philosophical disagreement with Nike’s efforts to contribute further to Lebron James’ messianic complex, (See billboards with James stretching his arms wide, as if he were on a cross, under the words “We are all witnesses”) I have to admit that on Friday night I was a witness to something supernatural. Lebron James scored 35 points shooting better than 50% from the field. His most important three points were his last three points. In fact, they were the last three points.
Hedo Turkoglu hit the biggest shot of his career as he drained a jumper from the free-throw line with one second left in the game. Unfortunately, that was all the King needed to put up a high arcing three-pointer for the win. Cavaliers 96, Magic 95.
An hour later, I still can hardly verbalize what we went through watching the game. Early in the first quarter it was clear the Cavs came to play and had no intention of losing another home game. At the end of the half, it was apparent that the Magic, down by 12 would be unable to challenge the Cavs for a second straight night. But then as the second half played out, Orlando made another miraculous resurgence.
The second half, and especially the fourth quarter created one of the most engaging basketball games ever played. Although sullied by a barrage of awful calls, we had the opportunity to witness greatness. As the teams traded throughout the waning seconds of play, fans and observers alike were drawn into the thrill.
The officials did nearly manage to ruin any enjoyment we may have found. I am not sure what the NBA is going to do, but they have the worst officials in all of sports. I have seen junior high volleyball games officiated better than the Eastern Conference Finals Game 2. And those are not good refs.
To add insult to injury, NBA players have decided to take advantage of the idiocy rampant in officiating by hurling their bodies at the hint of any contact by an opposing player. They are all guilty. Every player, every team. It’s getting so bad, English Premier League soccer players are tired of the flopping. John Kerry even phoned in to request they stop abusing his patented technique – the flop. In fact, we haven’t seen flopping this bad since Jennifer Lopez stopped making movies. The refs aren’t fixing any games, they are just ruining them with horrid calls for everyone.
In 48 minutes of play, the NBA refs managed to call 49 fouls. That’s more than a foul a minute. If the NBA loses viewers, it’s likely because the flow of the game is often destroyed by the abominable calls. There was one free-throw taken for every three shots taken. Not an exciting brand of basketball.
How can we fix this? My first thought would be to replace Hugo Chavez-er-I mean David Stern. My next, and perhaps more constructive thought, would be to add an official to each of the baselines. By providing 2 baseline officials, the refs would have a better perspective of the action, and more eyes on the court. Although I’m no accountant, I would guess the NBA can afford it.
So, where do we go from here? The Cavs come to Orlando on Sunday for what is sure to be another fantastic game. I would bet that the Amway Arena will be filled with blue and white as the Magic look to hold serve and maintain their home-court advantage. Let’s just hope for the Magic’s sake, we are not all made witnesses again.
