I wish the Hawks could get some of the calls that the much more respected Boston Celtics got tonight.
It is hard enough to stop Paul Pierce without him getting those bogus calls. The shot he made at the end of the game was simple fantastic, I'll give him that, but those foul calls that we was getting throughout the game were just horrible.
Pierce reminded me of a French soccer player flopping all over the field. He almost flopped as much as Tim Duncan does. Nobody does that.
Atlanta was already short manned to start the game. One of their top players, Josh Smith was out and will be out for 2 to 3 weeks. The referees did not help the Hawks chances at all tonight.
How is a team supposed to beat a top tier team like Boston at Boston if their players are getting calls like these? These calls won't get talked about because nobody respects the Hawks and the media is not going to talk down about the Big Three.
- B/R Ticket Guide
I won't talk down about the Big Three either but I will talk down about Paul "Big Flop" Pierce.
Here's the situation: I'm Al Horford and I'm standing with my arms straight up in the air. Paul Pierce jumps into me and throws up this straight up garbage looking shot.
Here comes Mr. Ref walking in here and blowing his mighty whistle. PPPPPPPPP. Foul. Horrible! Some people don't deserve whistles.
This being said "Mr Flop" did come up with an amazing shot to win that game. I will give him that. These Boston versus Atlanta games have become very entertaining television. We could have quite possibly seen an Eastern Conference Finals match-up tonight.
I know it is still way too early to be calling something like that, and to the average fan out there who only watches nationally televised games you are going to think that I am nuts.
But with Josh Smith out, and Zaza Pachulia not being able to play the second half, the Hawks hung in there in a hostile environment and gave Boston everything that they wanted and more.
The Hawks have heart this year. They haven't had that for a while. And I am loving every second of it.
Except, of course, for that last second where "Mr Flop" had to beat them.
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about 1 month ago
I think you hit the problem right on the head. The flopping is out of control and needs to be stopped. I think the Spurs attend acting school (a bad one) during the off season to prepare for their nightly performance. Have you noticed that the top teams get away with it and even more the top players on those teams. I don't think they even try to make a shot anymore its all about drawing the foul. The Celtics have been watching Spurs tapes in an attempt to recreat the flopping and whining...I can't wait to see what this season brings us...
from about 1 month ago
I couldn't agree more. I think Poppovich makes the Spur watch tapes from soccer matches so that they can learn how to do it best. The Celtics and Pierce learned from the best. It is just ridiculous that you can jump right into a guy who is standing there, throw a ball up over your head, and go to the line for 2 free points. It's gotta stop
about 1 month ago
It was sickening.
about 1 month ago
David stern has fostered a culture of corruption in the crooked NBA.
Betting on this "entertainment event" should not be legal and stern should be in jail for fraud
The only safe bet is that the Celtics and the Lakers will get "home court advantage" wherever they play
from about 1 month ago
This is why I can never fully love and respect the NBA. Thank the Lord there is still a pure game of basketball out there in college basketball
from about 1 month ago
Thank you Andrew! Of course There were bad calls both ways. It always happens to superstars. Smith got his last night.
about 1 month ago
Sounds like someone has a mouthful of sour grapes...
I watched the game from start to finish. Bad calls went both ways, as is the case in most games at every level of the sport. Pierce does not flop, as you insist, though I would agree that many players do, including some on the Celtics.
The Hawks did play with heart and have looked very impressive this season, so don't cheapen their accomplishments by running down a player who knocked down 8 of 14 field goals and 15 of 16 free throws, as well as a last-second, game-winning shot.
from about 1 month ago
I'm not sour, I just had an opinion and thought I would share it with the rest of you. Both teams played a great game for it to be mid-November. They put on one heck of a show last night. Bad calls will always happen in sports but you cannot deny that the good teams get the majority of the calls, especially the defending champions at home. Overall, it was a great game, I was just voicing my opinion about what I witnessed last night. Thanks for your thoughts about it though.
about 1 month ago
You sound like a flop. I dont care if the hawks drew pictures of hearts on there chest. It takes skill and talent to win games. It really does'nt matter how it gets done. Thats why you have a coach out there. To watch and manage the games, N.B.A NOT COLLEGE. Sometimes I think you keep forgetting that. And if the hearts where beating them with more points maybe they would'nt have to cry about calls. Thats what coach is suppose to do at least the good ones do. How many teams do you know that won championships with just heart. I know one I know one Portland Trailblaziers 1973?
about 1 month ago
Thats pretty funny calvin cause the hawks are 6-1, 4-1 on the road. They played the Celtics on the second game of a road back to back without Pachulia or smith. Hence the foul trouble for horford limiting him to 22 minutes and easy life for the celtics. They are at least the fourth best team in the eastern conference. Its not just heart my friend. Study up.
from about 1 month ago
Thank you Mike. I will not comment on the negative comment from Calvin. I was just writing about something that I witnessed while watching the game last night and my thoughts about it. Obviously there are always bad calls for both teams and Pierce is a great player and showed it last night but he didn't deserve a lot of the calls that he got. The Hawks have a lot more than heart. At full strength, they are one of the top teams in the East this year. Time will tell that story.
about 1 month ago
Very good article. I agree that flopping is a huge problem in the NBA as lots of players won't play real defense as they just attempt to flop. The Hawks have been without a doubt the surprise of the league. Even though the Lakers have dominated, that was expected. The Hawks have won on the road and were one amazing Pierce shot from going into Boston without Josh Smith and with Horford having a below average game.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks for the comment. I appreciate it. The Lakers to me are far away the deepest and best team in the league right now. Nobody has the depth to play with them in a 7 game series at this point. If that team stays healthy, I don't see anything stopping Kobe and Phil Jackson from getting back to the finals and winning it this year. The hawks, once they get back Josh Smith, are a team to be reckoned with in the East.
about 1 month ago
Andrew,
How can you write an article on flopping and nowhere in the article mention Vlade Divac, the master of flopping. Shame on you! To get back to you your point on Pierce, don't be too disappointed if the Finals MVP gets a few more bogus calls than the some of the other players. This is just what happens in NBA and you just have to learn to live with it. Do you not believe that players of Kobe, Lebron, Pierce, Duncan caliber get more calls than the rest of the league. Like it or not, this is how it has always been, how it is right now, and more than likely, how it will be in the future unless Stern decides to do something about it. Remember back in the MJ days, no one could breath on Jordan without getting a foul called. Sadly, that's how this league has been for a very long time. On the plus side, they have taken an initiative to start calling more traveling calls on star players for the first time and hopefully flopping will be the next thing on line.
from about 1 month ago
I agree it has always been like this. I just happened to see one player, Pierce, getting all the calls in this particular game. The Hawks have a star,Joe Johnson, who does not get treated like a star when it comes to foulds. Good point on Davic though, he was one of the all-time great floppers.
about 1 month ago
MJ drew more fouls than anyone, ever!
SOUR GRAPES!
about 1 month ago
Little late there. It was just an observation on that particular night. MJ is not the same as Paul Pierce. Not even close.
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