It is practically a tradition.

when I’m actually excited to see a post by fatty. The level of coherent dialog on this site has been dropping alarmingly fast. This feels like a breath of fresh air.

My honest take on the officiating…

1.) The benefit of the doubt always goes to the more aggressive team. We have not been aggressive in attacking the basket. Kyle Lowry seems to draw at least 2 fouls a game by just lowering his head and running full speed into one of our big men (or even his own man) but on the other end of the floor we’ve had ONE guy who has consistently attacked the basket and he has gotten to the free throw line more consistently than any other Blazer.

2.) For better or worse, rules change in the playoffs but for the most part, they have remained consistent. After Game 2 (which was in Portland), the refs tightened up on physical post play but swallowed their whistles every where else. This means our guard/wing defense needs to be more physical (i.e. Hey Blazers, doesn’t it really suck when Von Wafer comes off the bench and throws down a transition dunk, then flaunts his manhood all the way back to the defensive end? Here’s an idea – SEND HIM A MESSAGE.)… Batum also has 6 fouls to use in 8 minutes, so he could afford to play more aggressively on the defensive end… It seems like a reach (and it pains me to say this) but it might be worthwhile to give Bayless some run as others have suggested. He’s a more physical presence on defense and he could be more aggressive against the undersized second unit of Houston.

3.) Yao is established and has a reputation in the league that proceeds him before each and every game. How many Blazers have reputations? I’d say 3. Roy, who has a reputation as a scorer (star-in-the-making) which gets him the benefit of the doubt sometimes… Greg, who has a reputation as a foul-per-minute hacker (which gets him hit with 3 borderline fouls per game)… And the rest of the Blazers who all have reputations as jump shooters. Jump shots do not draw fouls, especially against "elite perimeter defenders" who frequently get the benefit of the doubt on the defensive end (Artest & Battier).

4.) The officiating hasn’t helped us, but it hasn’t put us out of a game yet either. The Blazers have played like a very young team but in the most distinctive moments of the series, it wasn’t the fault of the younger players. Steve Blake has had two major bonehead plays at the absolutely worst possible time (first the contested three-pointer with 9 seconds remaining and then forgetting that Ron Artest and 3 other Rockets were coming up behind him in Game 4)… Joel Przybilla had an uncharacteristic turnover in Game 4, when he decided to try and hit Steve Blake on a fade route after grabbing an offensive rebound… Then, you throw in Travis Outlaw, who is young but experienced and you’ve hit the trifecta. Outlaw, buddy, I love you, but I think you’ve missed the point of the entire series. WE WANT RON ARTEST TO SHOOT almost as badly as we want to keep the Rockets second line off of the glass. You haven’t really encouraged either action. Don’t look at Ron Artest’s point total as your goal, look at his shot attempts… And I wholeheartedly believe drawing up a play for Travis at the top of the key was a coaching mistake. It doesn’t mean McMillan should be fired, but if I’m drawing up the play I want the ball going to Travis in the corner, Rudy from the top of the key, or Brandon Roy anywhere else. I’m willing to bet the ‘hot shots’ chart would support me on this.

Poor officiating aside, the Blazers were in a position to win two games in Houston. Neither time did I leave the game feeling like one call blew our chance at a win. Now it’s time to come home to Portland, get a solid 10 point win we can build on, and hope that the third time is a charm when we head back to Texas…

After watching Shaq get away with murder against us in the playoffs, none of the calls really surprise me anymore. The officials definitely protect Yao in this series and to a lesser extent BRoy and Artest are also protected. The NBA is all about superstars rather than super basketball, it’s lame but it’s been this way for a long long time.

you own it fatty!! word up!

Is this Dave’s way of venting without having to own-up to it?

my eyes are bleeding now ;-0

how’s the nephew doing though, dude? did you ever get him the roy, LMA, Oden jerseys and is he still a blazer fan?