Ultra Febo

Senin, 29 April 2019

Warriors vs. Rockets: James Harden complains about officiating after Game 1 loss in second round of NBA playoffs - CBS Sports

The Houston Rockets suffered a familiar loss on Sunday afternoon, as they once again came up just a little bit short against the mighty Golden State Warriors, losing 104-100 in Game 1, as the Warriors took a 1-0 series lead.

After the final buzzer sounded, a frustrated James Harden let off some steam in the postgame press conference by complaining about the officiating. Specifically, Harden was upset about the Warriors encroaching on his landing space after he takes jump shots.

"I just want a fair chance," Harden said. "We all know what happened a couple years back with Kawhi. Call the game the way it's supposed to be called and we'll live with the results."

Harden was referencing the infamous moment from the 2017 Western Conference finals, when Zaza Pachulia undercut Kawhi Leonard, leaving him with an ankle injury that kept him out for the rest of the series. That one moment not only swung the series in the Warriors' favor, but opened up a wider discussion about protecting jump shooters.

This season, in particular, the league made an emphasis to call fouls on defenders when they didn't give a shooter any space to land. As we've seen time and again, it can be a dangerous play, and that's why fouls are called even if there's no contact on the shot. In Game 1 of this series, the Rockets felt the refs let a number of those plays go.

In the first half, there were multiple times where Klay Thompson infringed on Harden's landing space but wasn't called for a foul. It was such a theme that the TV broadcast even brought it up.

Towards the end of the third quarter, there was another play where Chris Paul actually made a wild, flailing 3 but didn't get the call, then complained to the ref and was given a technical. A few moments later, head coach Mike D'Antoni got a "T" of his own.

Finally, in the waning seconds, with the Warriors clinging to a three-point lead, Harden believed he was fouled by Draymond Green on a potential game-tying shot.

There has been and will continue to be plenty of debate about the last play, as a foul call would have given Harden a chance to go to the line and tie the game. On that one though, it's pretty clear that Harden jumps forward, which makes it a very difficult call for the referee. How far does the area around a shooter's feet extend? It's not clear, and is often left to the referee's judgment.

But after a number of missed calls on similar plays throughout the game -- D'Antoni told the press that referees admitted missing four such calls in the first half alone -- it's easy to see why Harden and the Rockets were upset.

Draymond Green wasn't having it though. After being informed of Harden's comments, a dismissive Green joked, "I've been fouled by James on a James 3-pointer before."

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https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/warriors-vs-rockets-james-harden-complains-about-officiating-after-game-1-loss-in-second-round-of-nba-playoffs/

2019-04-29 15:46:00Z
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NBA Playoffs 2019: Basketball gods use referees for payback on James Harden, Rockets in Game 1 loss to Warriors - CBS Sports

There will be people who believe the Houston Rockets' Game 1 loss at Golden State on Sunday was the basketball gods exacting their revenge on the NBA's reigning MVP, James Harden, for his sins against beautiful basketball.

As you well know, Harden's game is predicated on an array of weapons: A stepback 3 that's one of the most terrifying shots in today's NBA, a stop-and-start feel for the game that may be second to none, a newly instituted floater, and – this is the part that has so offended the basketball gods – an ability to draw fouls.

Harden has led the NBA in free throw attempts for five of the past seven years. In the two seasons where he didn't lead the league, he finished in second and in third. This is typically a category dominated by bruising big men who fight in the trenches down low, but Harden's done it mostly on the perimeter. And plenty of people – perhaps even a few of the basketball gods – think that's playing the game the wrong way. Sometimes, it feels like Harden isn't even trying to get to the rim, or attempt a shot. It can just feel like Harden is using his acting abilities in concert with his impossible-to-guard basketball skills to bait a referee into calling a foul on him so he can get two or three free shots from the line.

For people who feel this way about Harden, Sunday's 104-100 Warriors victory was the basketball gods taking their pound of flesh.

The basketball gods' instrument was the referees. At least four times in the first half – and at least two more times in the second half – Warriors' defenders encroached in Harden's or in one instance Chris Paul's landing space as they descended back to earth after launching a 3. Usually, the perpetrator was Klay Thompson. All season long, that's been a point of emphasis for NBA referees. If a defender doesn't let a shooter have a clean landing, it's been called a foul all season. And that's for good reason: Those plays can often result in injury. (See: Zaza Pachulia vs. Kawhi Leonard, Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference Finals.)

And yet on Sunday, again and again and again (and again and again and again), referees neglected to call those plays as fouls. When officiating analyst Steve Javie, an NBA referee for 25 years, was brought onto the game telecast, he had a pretty clear take: "They should have been fouls." According to Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni, the referees came up to him at halftime and admitted the missed calls. "They missed four of them – that's 12 foul shots," D'Antoni told reporters. "We could've easily gone to the line another 20 times." Harden himself voiced his displeasure afterward: "I just want a fair chance," he said. "Call the game how it's supposed to be called."

There are a couple of caveats to be tossed in here. One is that the game was poorly officiated on both sides. The entire fourth quarter seemed to be one big makeup call: The fifth foul on Steph Curry with a little more than eight minutes left, where he clearly got all ball…the phantom call on Andre Iguodala a few seconds later, after which Warriors fans chanted (somehow without irony) while Harden shot his free throws, "Refs you suck!" And even a call on Kevon Looney earlier where he sure didn't seem to make any contact with Harden on a jump shot.

The second caveat has to do with the irony of Harden saying refs should call the game how it's supposed to be called. Plenty of basketball purists would say Harden doesn't play the game how it's supposed to be played. A big chunk of his game is predicated on the referees seeing a defender make contact with Harden, whether real contact or imagined contact, and calling a foul. Harden is a genius. He has hacked the system. He finds glitches and exploits them. But much of his style of basketball depends on referees continuing to have the same interpretations of fouls that he believes they should have. And so Sunday was then a live-by-the-foul/die-by-the-foul moment for Harden. The referees missed plenty of calls: About this, there should be no dispute. But that's what happens when your game depends so much on the referees. Overall, NBA referees are excellent at what they do. But they are human. And they miss calls.

If you don't like how Harden plays basketball, I get it. He flops. A lot. So does Chris Paul. And so do plenty of NBA players. And so do plenty of professional athletes across all sports, trying their damnedest to get any possible edge. There are two ways to look at Houston's loss in Game 1: One is that the referees screwed the Rockets. And that they did, not calling a handful of calls relating to defenders encroaching in the landing areas – calls they've made all year long.

The other way is that a significant portion of Harden's greatness – a significant portion of his MVP award from last season – is based on convincing referees to see the game the way he wants them to see it. Sometimes he is, in fact, fouled when he does his arm-flailing thing. Other times he's not fouled, yet he's able to convince the referees otherwise.

Look at it that way, and James Harden on Sunday was the boy who cried wolf. Did referees miss a whole bunch of calls against Harden in Game 1, enough missed calls that they might have swayed the outcome of the game? Absolutely. A foul should be a foul, no matter if it's in the regular season or the playoffs, during the opening minutes of the first quarter or the final seconds of the game, in a play that involves the reigning MVP or a journeyman bench player.

But if you cry wolf to the referees too many times, sometimes the referees won't be there to save you when you need it most.

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https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-playoffs-2019-basketball-gods-use-referees-for-payback-on-james-harden-rockets-in-game-1-loss-to-warriors/

2019-04-29 13:56:00Z
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Bucks vs. Celtics: This is the real Playoff Kyrie Irving - SB Nation

MILWAUKEE — When people ponder the essential mysteries of the entity that is Playoff Kyrie, they tend to focus on the scoring outbursts and the otherworldly shotmaking. Playoff Kyrie can do that, of course. We’ve seen it so many times over the years that the image of Irving going off on some 20-point scoring binge is fresh in everyone’s mind.

We saw some of that in Game 1 of the Celtics’ Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Bucks on Sunday, when Irving dropped 26 points on a variety of post-up fadeaways, mid-lane runners, and pull up jumpers. He led all scorers in the C’s shockingly easy 112-90 victory, and his shotmaking was a crucial component of their offensive efficiency.

But the scoring wasn’t what made this a Playoff Kyrie performance. It was his passing, which resulted in a game-high 11 assists. It was his defense, which has been on point throughout the postseason. Most of all, it was the balance he brought to the task of managing the game. Save for a couple of turnovers, it was about as flawless a floor game as you could ever want from your point guard.

For Kyrie, it’s not a question of choosing to be a scorer or a facilitator. It’s a matter of understanding the rhythms of the game and allowing himself to go with the flow. Presenting the matter as a choice is a restrictive binary construction. Playoff Kyrie contains multitudes.

“I’ve been all over the board emotionally trying to figure out, how do we dial back in?” Irving said. “How do I dial back in personally? Do I come out more aggressive? You start to overthink the game, and it’s just basketball. So you prepare the right way, you give great energy, you give your teammates great energy and it’ll come right back to you. And I genuinely believe that.”

Turns out, Playoff Kyrie is really about generating positive karma. When he’s feeling good, everyone feels good. When the Celtics feel good about themselves, they make the game look so easy.

For the last few weeks, Celtics coach Brad Stevens has been talking about how well Irving has seen the floor. When Irving draws two defenders, he’s been making the right read and when it’s go time, he’s gone. What Irving has done during the postseason is keep his approach delightfully simple.

Take the trusty pick-and-pop play with Al Horford. It’s one of the oldest actions in the playbook. The big man sets a screen and drifts back to the perimeter, while Irving commands the attention of multiple defenders. From there it’s a simple matter of making the read, delivering the pass, and sprinting back on defense after the shot.

Simple stuff, really. But, oh so important for the Celtics to attack a Milwaukee defense that packs the paint and dares you to shoot from the outside. This is the essential tactical pivot point of the series. The Bucks want the Celtics to take those shots and the Celtics are happy to oblige.

In most cases, allowing the big man to shoot from the perimeter is a good trade, especially if the alternative is Irving slicing a path to the basket. But most big men aren’t Al Horford.

“It’s very vital for our offense,” Irving said. “It brings continuity. It brings spacing. Especially when we’re in the right spots and staying disciplined in our half court offense and we have either matchups we want to go at. Or Al knows when I’m going to be getting downhill and we communicate throughout the game about how we want our pick and roll offense to be, how we can be more efficient, so I don’t miss him on easy shots or easy opportunities that he can make for others.”

Time and time again, the Celtics went to pick-and-pop and the Bucks were either happy to concede that ground or were horribly messed up in their rotations. Even when it didn’t result in a Horford jumper, it opened up opportunities for players like Jaylen Brown and Marcus Morris, who were a combined 12-for-20 for 28 points.

When things got tight, like they did in the second quarter after the Bucks erased a 15-point lead in a matter of minutes, Kyrie countered by simply making the right play. Whether it was hitting a cutting Brown for an easy two or taking his defender off the dribble for a pullup 3, Playoff Kyrie was in control of the situation without dominating it.

“So, the second and third quarter, I really don’t worry about shots,” Irving said. “I can get my shot any time I want. I think everybody in the building knows that. But aside from that, evolution of my game has come from just being able to pace the game very well and manage it, and establish these guys throughout the game, because they’re special as well.”

This is the balance the Celtics have been searching for all season. How do you form a team around a half-dozen players who can score along with a point guard who can get any shot he wants, whenever he desires? The regular season made that look next to impossible, but we’re officially a long way past those old talking points. This is the postseason and Playoff Kyrie has arrived right on time.

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https://www.sbnation.com/2019/4/29/18522090/kyrie-irving-highlights-celtics-vs-bucks-game-1-nba-playoffs

2019-04-29 13:43:51Z
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NBA Playoffs: The Boston Celtics' blueprint is working ... finally - WEEI

As we sit here basking in the glow of the hottest team in basketball -- (a classification I believe is fair considering the Celtics' sweep of Indiana and Sunday's blowout over the top-seeded Bucks on their home court) -- it seems like a productive exercise to learn from the roller coaster that led us to this point.

So many twists and turns. So many definitive statements. So many doom and gloom scenarios. And now, this.

In some ways, it reminds me of Major League Baseball spring training. All you have is reactionary takes. Jackie Bradley Jr.'s swing is fixed! Sam Travis will hit 40 home runs! The Red Sox can win 100 games by rolling out of bed! (That last one I may or may not have said at some point in March.)

Of course with the Celtics the games we were reacting to actually counted ... sort of. If they had fixed what ailed them during those uncomfortable regular season ruts than maybe you would be starting this Eastern Conference playoff series in Boston and not Milwaukee. But besides home-court advantage did it really matter? Because as we're finding out now all of the drama was just that, drama.

Danny Ainge had a plan we bought last October, jumped ship on five times since, and is now truly taking root.

The blueprint was seemingly not flawed.

Brad Stevens can coach. Kyrie Irving can lead. Gordon Hayward can play. Al Horford can be much more than average. And the Celtics can be considered the team to beat in the East. A month ago all of that was coming into serious question at a most uncomfortable time.

So, what happened?

The C's found themselves at the right time. Remember that first game against Indiana was still being viewed as a somewhat uneasy proposition considering there didn't seem many offensive options outside Kyrie Irving. But little by little, by the time Stevens' team left for Indianapolis it had seen the fruits of their labor. The idea that Irving could control the ball while getting others involved was becoming a reality, pushing aside talk that team basketball wasn't an option with Kyrie at the controls.

The Celtics were finally adhering to the way Ainge and Stevens were imploring them to play and they were seeing results while doing so. It was as if the likes of Irving, Hayward, Brown, Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier were smacked in the face with Albert Einstein's words: "Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value."

No more talk of contracts or minutes. The playoffs are non-negotiable, a reality the Celtics have clearly come to grips with.

Now, the switcheroo is undeniably a product of this different kind of world the postseason presents. Rotations are shortened and playoff alphas -- such as Irving -- are always prioritized. But there have been plenty of examples of really talented teams folding in the postseason because it never did click. Over the past two seasons, the Celtics have taken advantage of such messes. This, however, has become the perfect storm Ainge and Co. were banking on and so many thought would most likely fizzle out.

It took seven months but the plan is working out ... just in time.

Set the tone in Game 1 ☘️ pic.twitter.com/Zh2SjMOg6v
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 29, 2019

Related:

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https://weei.radio.com/articles/column/nba-playoffs-boston-celtics-blueprint-working-finally

2019-04-29 13:19:23Z
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Biggest Losers From The 2019 NFL Draft - The Big Lead

By: Ryan Phillips | 1 hour ago

The 2019 NFL Draft is complete and while everyone is focusing on the winners and losers from the weekend, we’re not going to bore you with all that positive mumbo jumbo. So here’s our look at all the losers from the 2019 draft.

New York Giants

I’m starting to think maybe Dave Gettleman doesn’t have any clue what he’s doing. The Giants believe they got their quarterback of the future in Duke’s Daniel Jones, but selected him at No. 6 overall, when no one was ever going to take him that high. The Giants could have probably waited until their second pick (No. 17) to select him. Meanwhile, they passed on Dwayne Haskins to select the player Scouts Inc. ranked as the sixth-best signal-caller available.

Look, if you’re a huge fan of Jones, fine, I’m not going to argue with you. He could wind up being a nice NFL quarterback, but he doesn’t look like a future star. The Giants could have traded down and stockpiled assets, or filled a more valuable need at No. 6.

As for the rest of their high picks, Dexter Lawrence was a solid pick at No. 17 and Deandre Baker (30th pick) is a perfectly fine cornerback. But when a team has three first-round picks, you expect them to do something monumental or somehow franchise-altering. New York didn’t accomplish that.

Third-round pick Oshane Ximines has upside but needs to bulk up and will face a big jump in competition. Fourth-rounder Julian Love is a versatile corner without a lot of upside. New York swung big in the fifth round by snagging Auburn wideout Darius Slayton. He has elite top-end speed, but he needs to develop a lot as a route runner and he doesn’t have great hands.

Despite a ton of picks, I’m not convinced the Giants really got better in this year’s draft. That’s a massive indictment of the front office.

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2019-04-29 13:03:07Z
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Warriors vs. Rockets series 'is now over' – Richard Jefferson | Get Up! - ESPN

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2019-04-29 13:06:12Z
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Biggest Losers From The 2019 NFL Draft - The Big Lead

By: Ryan Phillips | 51 minutes ago

New York Giants

Despite a ton of picks, I’m not convinced the Giants really got better in this year’s draft. That’s a massive indictment of the front office.

1 2 3 4 …5

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2019-04-29 13:00:23Z
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