2018 Watch the Playoffs thread

[Ibn Battuta 127]

27 minutes ago, ~O~ said:

The mental gymnastics that people have taken to lie to themselves that LeBron's block wasn't a goal tend is the exact psychological damage I'm talking about in my rants.  He knew it was a goal tend himself and called the timeout as soon as possible so no review could be made.   The guilt was in the reaction just like the guilt of the out of bounds previously on him.   The collective bias on various networks are out of control and fans are damaged.  Most of all he knew the ball slid out of his hand on that no call out of bounds dribble.  Thaddeus Young may have hit it but I've checked the replays, it was off Lebanon hands as he tried to pass and the guilt was immediate.  it slid right off his pinky/index finger.  The bias here is collective.  

 

To extend...the country is socially damaged as it is.  

I’m still trying to figure out LeBron’s connection to a country in the Middle East 

You should be more upset at NBA rules that prevent officials from reviewing missed calls. It was a bang bang play and the refs swallowed the whistle which is not atypical at that moment in the game. 

[JJZFL 619]

10 hours ago, Magicfan1987 said:

I know it was meant to be a comment on the maturity of his game

Ah. I see. Thanks for the clarification. 

[ML6 520]

9 hours ago, ~O~ said:

The mental gymnastics that people have taken to lie to themselves that LeBron's block wasn't a goal tend is the exact psychological damage I'm talking about in my rants.  He knew it was a goal tend himself and called the timeout as soon as possible so no review could be made.   The guilt was in the reaction just like the guilt of the out of bounds previously on him.   The collective bias on various networks are out of control and fans are damaged.  Most of all he knew the ball slid out of his hand on that no call out of bounds dribble.  Thaddeus Young may have hit it but I've checked the replays, it was off Lebanon hands as he tried to pass and the guilt was immediate.  it slid right off his pinky/index finger.  The bias here is collective.  

 

To extend...the country is socially damaged as it is.  

Let it go man

[fan for too long 2 531]

51 minutes ago, ML6 said:

Let it go man

Why should he?  If you choose to stay asleep that is your choice. His attempt to wake people up is his choice, and a valiant effort imo. There are a lot of truths that are hidden to the vast majority of society. On purpose. Research!  

Oh and the nba has come out and said that it was goaltending. How convenient. Means nothing now. 

[ML6 520]

3 minutes ago, fan for too long 2 said:

If you choose to stay asleep that is your choice. His attempt to wake people up is his choice, and a valiant effort imo. There are a lot of truths that are hidden to the vast majority of society. On purpose. Research!  

 

Thanks Kyrie/Kanye

[fan for too long 2 531]

Just now, ML6 said:

Thanks Kyrie/Kanye

People would rather believe a lie. Than believe they have been lied to. 

[ML6 520]

Do tell, great Seer, what is the lie that us sheeple are believing?

[fan for too long 2 531]

1 minute ago, ML6 said:

Do tell, great Seer, what is the lie that us sheeple are believing?

Research on your own. Is all I am saying. Don’t be condescending. 

[ML6 520]

More than anything I don't really know what you're getting at.  You're speaking in nebulous conspiracy theorist terms, most likely intentionally, because even you don't know what you're getting at.  Is your point that the NBA is rigged?  Are you supporting healthy skepticism in general (seems like you're taking a stronger stance than that)?  Do you have conspiracy theories in many aspects of life? 

I would be less condescending if I had any idea what the hell I am supposed to be responding to. 

[ML6 520]

The problem with conspiracy theories/theorists is that they're spoken/speaking in absolutes.

The moon landing was faked.  9/11 was an inside job.  Vaccines cause autism.  Sandy Hook was a false flag operation.  The government has a cure for cancer that they're keeping secret.  And to a lesser extent: the NBA is rigged to benefit certain players/teams.

Another problem is that, by definition, conspiracy theories disregard well-known facts in favor of a much more convoluted explanation of what happened.  You have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get to certain conclusions.  The simple explanation is almost always more correct because, well, you don't have to bend the fabric of history to build your narrative.

If we're talking strictly NBA issues, the point from a small number of you seems to be that the NBA is rigged to support LeBron, or the Warriors, or whoever you want to highlight.  Is this possible?  Sure!  Unlikely, but possible.  On your side is the historical fact that Tim Donaghy used his ability to impact the outcome of games illegally.  There is a historical precedent that it can happen.  Thus, a logical person would accept that something like that is POSSIBLE, and yet can still come to the conclusion that it is IMPROBABLE.

We have years of evidence to suggest that: a) basketball is a challenging game to referee given the speed of the game, what visual angles are available to the refs, the skill level of the players, etc; b) humans make mistakes; c) referees are humans and therefore can make those mistakes, even in important moments, and have done so repeatedly; d) certain players are more difficult to referee than others.

So rather than assuming there is a large, league-wide conspiracy to undermine certain teams while supporting others, it would be more logical to just accept that the game is hard to ref. 

You will also notice that conspiracy theorists seem to do things like highlight certain facts that fit their narrative while dismissing others that don't.  For instance "LeBron goaltended Oladipo's layup" is a fact on its own.  Leaving out the context of another fact -- "The preceding play was an incorrect call, the ball was out on Young and possession should have remained with the Cavs, and therefore Oladipo would not have had the layup opportunity" -- is irresponsible, although certainly intentional. 

[Justin Jaudon 221]

47 minutes ago, ML6 said:

The problem with conspiracy theories/theorists is that they're spoken/speaking in absolutes.

The moon landing was faked.  9/11 was an inside job.  Vaccines cause autism.  Sandy Hook was a false flag operation.  The government has a cure for cancer that they're keeping secret.  And to a lesser extent: the NBA is rigged to benefit certain players/teams.

Another problem is that, by definition, conspiracy theories disregard well-known facts in favor of a much more convoluted explanation of what happened.  You have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get to certain conclusions.  The simple explanation is almost always more correct because, well, you don't have to bend the fabric of history to build your narrative.

If we're talking strictly NBA issues, the point from a small number of you seems to be that the NBA is rigged to support LeBron, or the Warriors, or whoever you want to highlight.  Is this possible?  Sure!  Unlikely, but possible.  On your side is the historical fact that Tim Donaghy used his ability to impact the outcome of games illegally.  There is a historical precedent that it can happen.  Thus, a logical person would accept that something like that is POSSIBLE, and yet can still come to the conclusion that it is IMPROBABLE.

We have years of evidence to suggest that: a) basketball is a challenging game to referee given the speed of the game, what visual angles are available to the refs, the skill level of the players, etc; b) humans make mistakes; c) referees are humans and therefore can make those mistakes, even in important moments, and have done so repeatedly; d) certain players are more difficult to referee than others.

So rather than assuming there is a large, league-wide conspiracy to undermine certain teams while supporting others, it would be more logical to just accept that the game is hard to ref. 

You will also notice that conspiracy theorists seem to do things like highlight certain facts that fit their narrative while dismissing others that don't.  For instance "LeBron goaltended Oladipo's layup" is a fact on its own.  Leaving out the context of another fact -- "The preceding play was an incorrect call, the ball was out on Young and possession should have remained with the Cavs, and therefore Oladipo would not have had the layup opportunity" -- is irresponsible, although certainly intentional. 

This. I was pissed as hell at the no-call on the goaltend, but only in the context that I wanted the Pacers to win (especially on an Oladipo shot beating LeBron to the basket). I stopped being pissed the moment Bron hit that 3, because apparently he just wasn't going to lose that game, no matter what.

 

Do refs give stars more calls? Yes, usually. Is it a conspiracy? No. It's humanity. Some stars become that way at least partly because they are good at getting calls (Harden, DeRozen, Reggie Miller, etc.). They know how to game the system and the psychology of the refs. It's inherent to there being rules that some players will understand how to manipulate them. Some stars get calls for the same reason they're great to begin with. Durant gets calls because those freaky long arms tend to collide with defenders more often than guys with less crazy long arms and body control. LeBron is a star for the same reason he's incredibly difficult to officiate. He's a huge guy who moves really fast in unpredictable ways. So sometimes refs don't see things because they're just as much in awe of the fact that he could do whatever he just did as we are. He gets a lot of shot-fouls called because he gets fouled a lot by guys trying to find some way to stop him; he's so big, with such great body control, the usual tricks to throw a guy off-balance without getting a call don't work. It was the same with Shaq.

In general, young players don't get calls. Why? Because they 1) aren't established in the minds of the ref to receive some benefit of the doubt; and 2) don't know yet how to game the system.

 

This is not conspiracy, it's human nature in sports.

[TrueMagicFan07 672]

I was reading somewhere in the ESPN website that LeBron appears to not be too aggressive in the early going of the game reserving energy to take over in the second half (or 4th quarter). That's fine, but the problem with this is every time LeBron barrels into the lane for a layup, he commits two to three fouls in one play. I say this because he is bumping and shoving defenders on his way to the basket and the refs do not call a foul on him, instead it's called against a defender. However, I was shocked to see a foul called against him in game five for pushing off with his elbow.

By the way, I agree with ~O~ and Fan For Two Long. People see the wrong in many facets of our lives whether it's sports or in society as a whole. Some speak out about it while others criticize those who do speak out because they don't want to be bothered and would rather let go or look the other way. 

It's obvious how refs give preferential treatment to the LeBron James and James Hardens of the NBA as far as blowing the  whistle if a defender  just breathes on them--You know it, I know it, everybody knows it. Does it mean it's okay, that no one should speak out about it?