I have long felt Bill Simmons jumped the shark — except when he’s talking about the NBA. It’s the only sport of the big 3 where his Boston team isn’t a contender, and thus the last one in which he’s kept a valuable, insightful, league-wide perspective that isn’t skewed to his guys.
Anyway, today he noted that the following was “a very fair sampling of the e-mails that drifted into my mailbox on Sunday night and Monday morning.”
The emails are below the fold, and I feel so much better as a Mavs fan for having read them. When the general public, most of whom could give a flip about either team, comes down firmly on your side, you feel much less crazy for having outrage.
If the Heat somehow win this series, all of this hubbub will eventually be forgotten, and the Mavs will simply be reported as having blown a big lead. But I hope some people will remember it exactly as Simmons describes:
In my Finals preview, I wrote that “No team depends on the refs quite like the Heat. When the refs are calling all the bumps on Shaq and protecting Wade on every drive, they’re unstoppable. When they’re calling everything fairly, they’re eminently beatable. If they’re not getting any calls, they’re just about hopeless. I could see the refs swinging two games in Miami’s favor during this series, possibly three. In fact, I’m already depressed about it and the series hasn’t even started yet.” Well, we had our two games — Game 3 (the last five minutes were just obscene) and Game 5 (again, a top-five debacle). And the series isn’t over yet.
Funny, that’s my count, too. 2 games decided by the refs in favor of Miami, meaning the Mavs should have won in 5, if not 4, given that the Heat might’ve rolled over after and 0-3 start to the series had game 3 been called close to evenly.
Anyway, check out the public’s reactions and tell me David Stern doesn’t have a problem on his hands.
I do solemnly swear, this 19th day of June, 2006 that I will never watch an NBA game again. Everyone is supposed to say what a great game that was with a straight face? At least the WWE has the grace to give you a wink. If watching a man in a flak jacket and thigh pads repeatedly throw himself into defenders to draw foul calls is what passes for “competition,” or better yet watching said man hit layups because no one can breathe on him, I believe I can live without [it]. Why would anyone follow a “sport” that employs Dick Bavetta and Stu Jackson? All that was missing was David Stern running onto the court with a steel chair, ABC execs in tow. Bill Simmons, I name thee prophet. It went down exactly as you said it would.
– James, Richmond, VirginiaTwenty-five free-throw attempts is nonsense, not even MJ would have gotten some of those foul calls. And I’m not just saying this because I’m a bitter Pistons fan. Sixty-year-old officials should not be officiating 20-something-year-old professional athletes.
– Paul, Detroit, Mich.Have you ever, I mean EVER, seen a guy get more calls than Wade in Game 5? As staggering as it is to even think it, much less say it out loud, this surpasses the level of calls Jordan used to get in the playoffs. Simply AMAZING. I am a die-hard NBA fan, and I understand and accept the whole “stars get calls” factor, but this is an insane new level. Every time Wade falls down (even if not touched) he gets a call. You called it in your preview, the refs were gonna give some games to Miami, and they did.
– Jonathan, Raleigh, N.C.Please admit to everyone that the treatment Dwyane Wade is receiving is absolutely absurd. The final play in Game 5 summed it up: He commits a backcourt violation, pushes off on Terry, then goes wildly to the bucket and gets bailed out on a phantom foul call. Is what the NBA has to do to create its star of the future?
– Mark, ChicagoI watch very little NBA basketball; however, as the playoffs have been playing out, I have found myself watching more and more games, becoming more interested. Then comes the Finals and I feel like I am watching pro wrestling, except I can fool myself into thinking those matches aren’t fixed. At least it makes the NBA the easiest sport to gamble on.
– Jeremy Louden, CincinnatiI want to say something about Dwayne Wade, but I fear I may get called for a foul.
– Warren, Ludington, Mich.Unfortunately you were right that the NBA finals could come down to the officials. David Stern would rather choke to death on his own vomit than hand Mark Cuban the trophy. It’s clear he instructed the refs to take an active interest in the outcomes of the games. Every time Wade drives the lane the refs call a foul on whoever is closest.
– Jeff, BaltimoreAfter witnessing the Game 5 debacle, I am absolutely convinced that Stern is trying to fix the Finals for D-Wade and the Heat. Stackhouse’s suspension, Dirk’s phantom foul in OT, and then Joey Crawford’s inexplicable call for a Mavs timeout — it all adds up too perfectly. This could be a conspiracy as far-reaching as Watergate. I can already imagine the inevitable ESPN movie, “All The Commissioner’s Men,” where a stubborn, upstart young sports columnist brings down Stern and the entire NBA hierarchy. So, Simmons, the only question is: Will you be our Bob Woodward?
– Robert P., Topeka, Kan.All the comparisons between Wade and Jordan need to stop right now. There’s no way Jordan would have gotten that call in the final seconds of Game 5.
– Chris Richardson, Charleston, W.V.
As a Seattle Seahawks fan who could give a fig about hoops, let me clue you (and Bill) in as to what’s going down, should the Heat prevail:
(if you’d like a reference point, check the post-Super Bowl neutral observer mail here: http://www.profootballtalk.com/2-1-06through2-8-06.htm )
1. Gnashing of teeth by Mavs fans and assorted outraged observers — in your case, with the spectacular additional pyrotechnics of Mark Cuban’s blog.
2. Response from Heat fans and eager-to-be-reasonable observers asserting any or all of the following:
a. The Mavs did some thing(s) wrong at some point in the series; therefore, they can’t blame the officials.
b. The Mavs should have “responded” better to “adversity.” (Optional: look how well the Heat responded to adversity in situation X! Mavs should be more like Heat.)
c. We’ll never know what might have happened otherwise in this hypothetical parallel universe — who’s to say the Heat wouldn’t have won anyway?
d. That “bad” call/no-call was actually a good call/no-call anyway, for any value of call/no-call.
e. Tut-tut to your conspiracy theories, the only sort of person who could perceive some kind of bias or failure of evenhandedness is the sort who wears tin foil hats. Next you’ll say the refs shot Kennedy, you crazy nut.
3. Message board warfare between adherents of (1) and (2), again amplified by Cuban pyrotechnics; frisson of establishment media gleaning offseason copy from same without venturing to assent to any crazy nut’s crazy ideas.
a. Discussion of “perception” problem as *the* problem. Fretting about effect on merchandise opportunities.
b. League just waits out the storm.
c. Various ideas for reforming officials’ guild mooted, tabled and dropped.
d. Increase of 300% in funding proposals submitted to Cuban’s charitable foundation.
4. (3) begins to bore bejeezus out of everybody not personally invested. Respectable columnists spin sneering/satirical stories, features about healing rifts from “controversial” finals, he-said-she-said that just goes to show it was all a big misunderstanding. Credentials of referees in question extolled by wise heads who’ve known them for years.
a. Mavs institutionally come to terms with league, quasi-officially burying hatchet. Team suits speak of smoothing-over and forward-looking. (What can they do? Bolt to the CBA?)
5. Draft. Free agency. Trades. Coaching changes. The anticipation of a new season wafts fresh in the air.
a. Mavs fans still complaining looked on as cranks, often shushed by other Mavs fans in mixed company.
b. Fans who swore off the league back on the couch with pretzels, now cracking ironic about officiating.
c. Heat fans still trolling your message boards.
d. Any reference from the team to motivation from/discouragement by/lingering anger about previous year’s debacle now considered an unhealthy distraction, met with finger-wagging.
6. Everything continues like it always does.
a. Amazing wealth accruing to all league-affiliated actors.
b. Might want to stay off the motorbike, Dwayne.
7. Controversy forgotten*; Heat keep trophy.
8. (Optional should current team fail to realize any NBA title during its window of opportunity) Diehard fans continue grumbling about it in local bars or team message boards to like-minded patrons, earning quizzical and/or pitying looks from visiting out-of-towners. cf., Brett Hull’s skate, Eric Gregg’s strike zone, Kings-Lakers 2002 Game 6.
That should do it. Enjoy the ride! But since it’s the friggin’ NBA, you know it won’t happen until game 7, right? The Heat would have to shoot the lights out (or Dallas put a lid on the hoop) to win the next one.
Anyway, reflect that at least Dallas has enjoyed an NFL dynasty and a Stanley Cup in the past 15 years, and you’ll have the advantage at home in game 7. Seattle’s going on three decades of bubkes. Oh, which reminds me:
9. (Optional with same contingency as #8) Penis-measuring comparisons of fan angst and/or at-last-someone-who-understands commiserations among camp followers of bridesmaid teams. (For best results, stay within a single sport: Byron Russell pushoff hordes on standby.)
* may be graced with adjective “controversial” in references during succeeding basketball season, and in 2006 Finals wikipedia entry.
Sounds like what’s happened to the very real charges that the Republicans are stealing elections.
Do you remember game 6 of the 2002 (or was it 2001?) Western conference finals. I haven’t seen a basketball game since then. Certainly not an NBA one.
I didn’t even like Sacramento particularly either. but one ought not support blatant corruption.
(posting moments after game 6 ended)
Re game 7: I stand corrected. But also see 2(a) and 2(b) — Mavs not responding to adversity, Nowitzki being half the man Wade was down the stretch, and therefore having no right to complain — your Tuesday morning sports column lede is writing itself as we speak.
Re Amanda M.: Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
Man, so many phantom calls going Wade’s way the entire game. The late-in-the-fourth call on Dirk when Wade threw the forearm into him as Dirk was backing away was ludicrous. It stretched the game to two possessions when it should have been going the other way. And that’s just one of many mishaps.
I am actually fine with the loss in the sense that life goes on, but like jedmunds, I may not really watch much after this. I think the NBA just lost a lifelong fan over this series.
That isn’t sour grapes, either. Lord knows I didn’t expect the Mavs to win a title going into the year or even into the playoffs. Again, look at those comments from around the country — this is a travesty and nothing new to objective viewers all over the land. I’ve just never been in the position to feel the sting of the ref-run shenanigans so much.
Time is hard to come by these days, and the NBA just made my life a lot easier. I’ll always be pulling for the Mavs, but after watching the refs hand the title to Wade, it’ll never be the priority it was for me again.
There is no pro sports league in this country officiated one tenth as badly as the NBA. Whether it’s intentional or just incompetant, it’s too much for me to take.
Fuck it, I watched hockey. *That* was a championship series done right.
Well, it’s clear from the opening titles that the general feeling is their profit-making ability stems from star power. That seems to me—speaking mostly from my ass, of course—to be what was motivating the unfair calls.
Lol,I adore Miami! They are the top team in basketball! We will never ever see another power houseteam like this again! Go D Wade!