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Sturm, yes the Mavs made some mistakes in the final minutes. But that can be said of virtually any close loss in the NBA. I know it’s easier for you media guys to live with yourselves when you refuse to join in on the fan backlash that comes with horrible officiating. Norm has made a career off of being the “nothing to see here” guy any time there are some horrible game-deciding errors made by referees and officials. But as far as I’m concerned, that IS the story of the game.

Instead of the Nuggets being forced to inbound the ball with 2.5 or so seconds left and convert a basket to survive, Carmello is handed on a silver platter a wide-open three point attempt to win. The NBA has since acknowledge the error, but as you stated, it’s not going to do any good. Unfortunately, they won’t allow us to replay those final seconds. Justice will not be served here.

I think the bigger question is, why did this happen? How can an experienced referee crew miss such a blatant and no-brainer call, especially after calling the game the way they did all game long? And why does it seem like the Mavs get the short end of the stick so many times when it comes to NBA officiating in the playoffs (see ’06 Finals) and NBA League Office decisions? Even if it’s subconscious, it appears as though there is an inherent bias against the Mavs, likely as a result of Mark Cuban’s actions since purchasing the club. There’s bound to be resentment on behalf of David Stern, Stu Jackson and the officials as a result of his behavior. I’m no conspiracy theorist, but this one is hard to ignore. Until Cuban sells this team, the organization is destined for failure by the powers that be.

I’m probably as bitter about that loss as the next Mavs fan, but they had several opportunities to put the game away. They failed to do so.
Obviously, the non-call on Carmelo was a devastating blow, but if you make some of those shots late then it doesn’t have to come down to luck, officiating, or whatever. Not much can be done about it at this point. Raving about conspiracy theories and bad officiating just seems to be the last resort of a bad loser.

As a Dallas Mavs fan I lost, but as a NBA fan I won.

Its tough to see the Mavs choke in the clutch again. No matter how many times the Mavs, their owner and their fans complain about the officiating look at the facts. The Mavs had 100 points with 3:58 left on the clock. They only scored 5 points the rest of the way. Howard and Terry both missed free throw shots. Its hard to complain about the refs when you shoot more free throws than minutes in the game.

As a fan of the NBA, I’ve in finally seeing Carmelo Anthony evolve into the top player most of us thought we would be. He’s been in the shadows of James and Wade since they were drafted. Even his great play in the World Championships and the Olympics has been overlooked because losses. Could be a one year thing, but I’d like to believe he’s just getting started.

Understand that Bob’s mentality it to never blame the officiating for a loss.

One I happen to agree with.

Course, I also believe it is possibly to give the refs their proper roasting without insinuating that it was the primary cause for your team’s defeat. And it does seem sometimes that Sturm does adopt the ‘nothing to see here’ attitude when dealing with officiating controversies.

Mention all the reasons that Bob mentioned for the loss last night. They’re all valid. But is it beyond them to suggest that perhaps, just perhaps, that blown call as well as the rest of the game where 70 free throws were handed out, should disqualify this crew from officiating anymore playoff games ever?

I cannot tell you the media’s view on a given topic, I can only speak for myself. But, given that I usually spend 2,000 words a game speaking for myself, many of you already know I hate blaming the refs. Yes, they mess up. And yes, last night’s was pretty painful. I just hate it when it appears that some suggest there is some conspiracy to keep the Mavs down. What does the NBA gain from a sweep? If there is a fix, surely, they want the series to be good. Also, Dirk’s decision to shoot with 4 or 5 on the shot clock is just as bad. Antoine Wright’s decision not to play to the whistle was very poor. I just think in sports we can blame altitude, refs, league conspiracies, curses, and other elements way too easily if we don’t ask tough questions of the guys in our uniform. So, the ref’s call was horrid, but…Anyway, there you go.

If he was trying to foul there, why did he throw both hands in the air after the contact in the international symbol of ‘i didn’t foul’?

Agree with sturm though, terrible execution down the stretch.

Also fun fact about Goldstein: his house was in the Big Lebowski

I totally agree with hating Denver. This team is comprised of everything that made the NBA lose fans for a long time: brutal play that gets marginally and inconsistently called, “thuggish” look, severe attitude at every whistle blown their way (even from George Karl, is he not better than that?). I hate watching them. I hate listening to the announcers while watching them (can we please get a game channel where the only noise is arena noise?). I hate the name “Birdman.”
No doubt there was poor execution at the end. But Dirk look so beat up by the end of the game he didn’t seem to be able to jump. Even my wife pointed this out! That’s bad.
Game 4 should be 10% about winning and 90% about trying to not let ONE dunk or layup happen. I want to see guys on the floor. 12 guys times 6 fouls a piece…72 hard fouls. Let’s get it on.

RE:bdub, I can’t believe I’ve actually heard this argument from two people now. Are you serious? Antoine Wright hacked Carmello pretty clearly across the arm and then he raised his hand in the air to call for the foul. That’s what you do when you foul someone and you are acknowledging it to the officials, you raise your hand. It would have been nice had Antoine really just shoved Carmello out of bounds or completely wrapped him up to remove all doubt, but (1) who is to say the refs wouldn’t hit him with a flagrant of sorts and (2) who would possibly think the referees would ignore a blatant intentional foul in the final seconds when your team has a foul to give. The NBA has admitted its error, so it’s really no use in acting as if it didn’t take place.

I can’t blame Antoine Wright here. It’s almost beyond belief that the referee wouldn’t call that foul. As Carlisle says, he makes that call 100% of the time. Yet we’re all of a sudden putting the onus on Wright to continue playing after he commits an intentional foul? Give me a break.

RE: Jon

If you are acknowledging a foul, you raise one one hand, not both

Maybe, thats how wright always does it, I don’t know, but I can definitly see how the ref would not see that he is trying to intentionally foul if the player raises both arms after a brief swipe at the ball/hand

I think Wright raised his hands as if to say, “I’m not fouling him on the shot.”

If Wright reaches in and wraps up, it gives Anthony a chance to fling something towards the rim, and you better believe he would get 3 shots.

Sure the Mavs had missed opportunities, but that is like saying:

If the Mavs made all their shots, they would have won.

If Denver would have missed 1 shot that they made, the Mavs would have won.

There are so many “what ifs” in an NBA game.

ok here it is..this analogy..in the real world what is the worst thing that anybody can say about another person to tarnish his reputation..i suggest the following..”you are a racist” and for bob sturm it would be “you are a homer” that is why he and most of the ticket hosts,including norm,always errs on the side of”You pathetic homers,dont blame the refs” i have been listening to sturm make excuses plenty of times for his beloved stars..that is why i never listen to the ticket…having said all that i guess bob will “sturminate”me well screw u bob and the bald horse u rode up on!

GravyPan: “It’s called playing to the whistle. Wright anticipated the foul call and stopped defending, allowing Melo to have a wide open look at a three.”

Players just assume that call is going to be made. And it’s a fair assumption as it is made 99-100% of the time and absolutely should be made if the referees are doing their jobs. Sadly, this one time, the referees chose not to do their jobs and some people are trying to make Antoine Wright the fall-guy for their f***-up. I’m not going to be a part of that.

Jon-

4 point lead – 31 seconds left – at home. If you lose the game, it’s on you.

Dallas let Denver inbound the ball at the 31 second mark and dunk it in less then 3 seconds. That type of play loses games.

Dirk shot with 5 seconds left on the shot-clock…giving Denver the ball with 6.5 seconds instead of 2. That type of play loses games.

The call sucked, but Dallas got WAY more questionable calls than Denver throughout the game. Dallas’ inability to execute allowed that call to matter.

You asked the aggie to execute in the last 5 seconds….and he choked (what was the deal with the hands in the air).
I’m just sayin……

Please provide a link to the “Overly-tattoed NBA player”. That sounded very funny when I heard about it on the BADD show today, but I had to leave the listening vicinity if a link was announced.
And when is the Ticket going to have a 5K….