WWE Basketball Finals: The Heat's Big Three come up short in Game 5, but a potential Game 7 might be different

The Miami Heat's Big Three could not get the job done. No we are not talking about the media's pretend Big Three of Dwyane Wade, Lebron James and Chris Bosh.

The Big Three does not include Bosh. Is that what you thought? Please! At times we hardly even remember Bosh is on the court! At best, Bosh is an x-factor.

No, we meant the big three of Dywane Wade, Lebron James and top company man, Joey Crawford. That big three did not pull the Heat to a Game 5 win. Although, Game 7 could be a different story.

With seven minutes left (give or take some seconds) in a close Game 5, the Disney Sports Network affiliate showed the Big Three gathered together. We only wish we had the picture to show you! Go back and watch the game and you'll see it.

It was perfect! No words needed to even be spoken. Wade and James just leered at Crawford as to say, 'we can't take this game over by ourselves. We're going to need ya big guy.'

Perhaps Crawford gave them a silly call or two from there. But he did not make any especially outlandish calls with regularity. One might even say he called it straight up (but Shots Heard would never pretend that Crawford is ever on the up and up). 

Shots Heard called that Crawford would be the Game 5 and Game 7 referee. We know David Stern's game. Stern is an a-hole. We have no need to even sugarcoat that fact. 

Despite Crawford predictably being chosen to officiate, it was clear taht Crawford would be saving his best game rigging stuff for Game 7. Frankly, a Heat win in Game 5 would likely only build momentum for a Game 6 series clinching win at home in Miami. 

Neither Stern nor Crawford want a six game series.

Stern's pockets get lined by Game 7 earnings and that reality is reflected by Stern handsomely paying Crawford by the playoff game.

Crawford did his best to keep the game close by rewarding Wade with 12 free throws in 34 minutes. But he was not going to go so far as to absolutely throw this game for the Heat (2006 WWE Basketball Finals style) by putting Wade on the line every time a Mav breathed on him.

If there is a Game 7, Crawford knows who Stern wants win: THE HEAT. That is when the figurative heat will really be on him to make bogus calls or conveniently miss calls just like he did in last year's Game 7 WWE Finals in which he did Stern's bidding of ensuring a Lakers championship victory against the Celtics.

To win, James or Wade had to have a great game or Crawford needed to interficiate and throw the balance of the game. None of those things happened. But might it be a different story in Game 7. One thing is for sure, Stern's best company man, Joey Crawford will be officiating a Game 7 if there is a Game 7. It's sad that we know that (without actually knowing it). Sad.

2011 WWE Basktetball Finals: The numbers do lie, Points in the taint

Through four games of the 2011 WWE Basketball Finals, the Dallas Mavericks have shot 21 more free throws than the Miami Heat. The Phil Jackson approach to such numbers would be to think that the Mavericks are getting the benefits of the calls. That would be a fallacious approach to the matter (as was generally the case in Phil's history). Not all teams were created equal.

Let us consider why the Mavs should get to the free throw line more often than the Heat.

The Mavs size advantage

The Dallas Mavericks have three seven footers (Dirk Nowitzky, Tyson Chandler, Brendan Haywood) who offensively perform on the low post. The Miami Heat have none. The closest thing they have to a low post presence is Chris Bosh, who is really a high post player and has no intention of consistently bodying up the Dallas bigs. For that matter, he has no intention of rough housing with anybody's bigs. Shaq knew what he was saying when he called Bosh the Rupaul of Big Men (Oh and special shout-out to the RealGM.com a-hole mods  who thought it was cool to censor any and all conversation on that matter).

It's also noteworthy that the Heat would much rather see Haywood (the league's worst free throw shooter) on the line rather than shooting chippies. They will foul him on purpose and if the refs conveniently miss the call, all the better.

Mavs are ready for the James and Wade drives (and they do not need to foul)

It is true that Miami Heat stars Lebron James and Dwyane Wade can consistently use their quickness to get into the lane. But when it happens, the Dallas defense is geared to have helpers prevent easy lay-ups and dunks by those players. Of course that will leave somebody open, but let's face facts, the Miami role players are not inspiring fear in anybody. 

The strategy is clearly to force the role players to make open shots or force James and Wade into bad shots. It's a solid strategy, but some of it is negated when interficials look for any excuse to turn a non-foul into a foul.

How often in this series have you seen Wade and James get easy driving non fast break lay-ups and dunks? You could probably count them on one hand.

There is just rarely a need to foul James and Wade. That fact is reflected in Game 1. In that game James and Wade shot a combined 7 free throws. 

When David Stern inserted his Company Man Dream Team of Joey Crawford, Ken Mauer and Ed Malloy for Game 2, they called enough pretend fouls to put Wade himself on the line 12 times. The Heat went to the line 24 times that game to the Mavs 21.

Mavs have more players that frequently get to the rim

Besides James and Wade, who gets to the rim for Miami? That's right, nobody! On the Mavs side you have Dirk, Chandler, Haywood, Marion, Barea and even Terry. Even a player like Kidd is going to penetrate the lane more consistently then any third player on the Heat. 

Essentially, foul shots are the result of getting to the basket and the other team not wanting to give up an easy basket. In a fairly officiated game it is unlikely that the Mavericks would have less than a ten free throw surplus.

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It is all about Points In The Taint

During last year's WWE Basketball Finals between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers it was obvious just how many ways that the interficials could decipher the outcome. Shots Heard had to make up a term to describe it. That term was and is 'points in the taint.'

The Lakers won the points in the taint battle and their series clinching play was even a points in the taint play (Gasol landing/traveling before making his series clinching shot).

Back in the days of yore, teams that won the points in the paint match-up usually won the game. In today's NBA, teams like the Miami Heat (who have no low post presence) win games and series by winning the points in the taint battle.

Points in the taint comes in many fashions. It can come by the interficials allowing the Heat to bang against the Mavs on one end and calling touch fouls on the Mavs at the other end. That is actually the best way for the interficials to have an impact on the game. The cumulative effect of calling a game in that manner can turn a 20 point blow-out by the Mavs into a 4 point win for the Heat. This is a very under-rated tactic. And the best part for the interficials, is that there is no signature play that points towards unfairness or corruption.

Missed calls count too. At one point in Game 2, Wade dunked an offensive rebound into the hoop while it was easily over the cylinder.

Last but not least - more and more officials are using technical fouls to deflate a team's morale. On two occasions, the interficials have hit Mavs coach Rick Carlisle with a bogus technical foul. Both times, the refs made a bad call that was civilly objected by Carlisle. Yet, the interficials added insult to insult by t'ing him up. During the first such instance, announcer Jeff Van Gundy said he monitored the entire interaction and found absolutely no wrong doing (including cussing) by Carlisle.

In the previous three five game series, the Miami Heat out shot their opponents from the free throw line by about 50 free throws per series. Given how 'soft' the Miami Heat really are, that's a mind boggling stat.

The discrepancy was so profound that before the series even began, James and Wade were bragging about the touch fouls on drives being a part of their team's model for success. As a fan that watches that type of crap unfold, I'm sickened. It's like a victim having to hear his assaulter brag about the crime after the fact. And yes, the state of NBA officiating is a crime to the senses (and likely a real crime that has yet to go prosecuted).

Make no mistake. The Mavs have a free throw surplus, but the Heat are winning points in the taint. With each of the last (potential) three games being so much more critical we can only expect the points in the taint advantage to be more profound.

If the Mavs play their A game like they did against the Lakers, they willl win the series regardless of points in the taint. The same concept held true for the Celtics when they played the Heat. They were the better team on paper. But a tired team playing their C game lost that series in 5.

If the Mavs play their C game like they have been, they will lose this series. 

If the Mavs play their B game, anything can happen, assuming the Heat don't bring their A game. But so-so jump shooting teams rarely bring their A-game. And the Heat's A game is only an A if good shooting is combined with good defense that leads to fast break points. That is a rare combination for the Miami Heat who are essentially a two and a half man team.

Either way, expect points in the taint to have a major impact on the conclusion of this series.

Picture 1: Eric Spoelstra and Dwyane Wade tell Joey Crawford how he can be a better interficial. Seriously, why do the officials insist on conferencing with the 'stars?' It's to make sure they are content and have reached their star call quota.

Picture 2: How often do we see it? Wade goes in for a lay-up free and clear, grazes against a finger and a ref blows his whistle for the and one. Sickening!

Picture 3: You won't catch Crawford sharing intimate looks with the 'mid market' team's players like he does with Dwyane Wade.

It's Go Time For Joey Crawford

Despite David Stern's best efforts, the Mavs and Heat series is tied two to two after four games. For marketing purposes, Stern needs two Miami victories in three games for the Dwyane Wade / Lebron James 'Dynasty' to begin.

It's time for Stern to go to his best company man, Joey Crawford. Shots Heard is predicting Joey Crawford appearances in the most pivotal games, Game 5 and Game 7. Book it.

And if for some reason we are wrong and Stern does not want to appear so blatant in using Crawford in WWE Basketball Finals games 5 and 7 two years in a row, then still expect to see Crawford in Game 6 or 7 in Miami. 

If the Mavs are up 3-2, Stern will use Crawford to stem the tide and at least get the series to a Game 7. If the Heat are up 3-2, Stern will save Crawford in the event that a Game 7 is necessary. The latter is optimal for Stern. He loves Game 7 money and having his best man on the floor when the series and financial vitality of the NBA are in the balance.

WWE Basketball...Stern predictably rigs Game 4 of Heat vs. Bulls

True to the spirit of my word, I have not followed  the Eastern Conference Finals charade. I know that the WWE has the higher rated Miami Heat slated for a victory. There is no need to watch a rigged fight. But just for fun, I flipped the channel to overtime of Game 4 of the Heat/Bulls. I did not bother to watch regulation.

First thing I did was to identify which company men were on the case. 

Right away, I spotted Joey Crawford's bald shiny head (He is Stern's number one man). Bennett Salvatore was on the case. He is another Stern favorite. The third referee was Ed Malloy. He seems to have a Tim Donaghy heir about him. Malloy was the company man that needlessly ejected Paul Pierce during the fourth quarter of the 2011 Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 2 Miami Heat win against the Celtics.

Stern was clearly serious about getting the Heat a crushing 3-1 lead against the Bulls. The line-up paid dividends. 

Late in overtime, Lebron James drove to the basket, barreled into the chest of Joakim Noah and made a lay-up. James wanted the 'and one.' These days, 'stars' not only expect to have their offensive fouls ignored, they whine when they are not rewarded with free throws in such instances. 

It's the Kobe Bryant Syndrome. How many times have we seen Bryant throw elbows, push defenders away and then drive to the basket get then get a ghost foul and one. I for one have seen it enough to know just how rigged the NBA is. But this is nothing new. Back in the 98 WWE Finals, Michael Jordan two hand pushed Bryon Russell away and then nailed a wide open shot to win the championship.

The no-calls are a huge weapon in the company men's arsenal. Never was this more true than in overtime of the Heat and Bulls. In overtime, the interficials (refs) swallowed their whistles when Lebron James traveled and when Dwyane Wade goal tended.

On the traveling no-call, James pump faked, and the defender lunged forward and closed out without fouling. With the shot clock winding down, James now had no space to take a good shot. That was no problem, he simply had to switch his pivot foot while literally taking two steps to free himself from the defender. It was an amazingly obvious travel, but the refs did not want to call the travel against their dog in the fight. James subsequently made the jump shot.

On the very next possession, Derrick Rose drove to the hoop, shot a scoop shot that was on its downward path when Dwyane Wade blocked the shot. Once again, the company men swallowed their whistle.

That four point swing sealed the win (and essentially the series) for the Heat. Stern gets what he wants; LBJ/Wade championship ratings. The company men will get rewarded with their per diem championship games and playoff bonuses.

It's ridiculous. It's not even a conspiracy theory any longer. We've seen this before. David Bowie said it best. 'The film is a saddening bore.'

Picture 1: 'This is my house!' Ed Malloy tells Paul Pierce. 'Get out of here! My Heat are going to win this thing! I don't care if Wade has to take out Rondo in Game 3! This is our series!'

Picture 2: No amount of pleading by Avery Johnson was going to stop Bennett Salvatore from fallaciously putting Dwyane Wade on the free throw line during the 2006 WWE Basketball Finals.

Picture 3: 'You'll get your chance smart guy!' Joey Crawford shows fans just how far he's willing to go to shut up the competition.

The worst three technical fouls you will ever see called: How could Joey Crawford referee one 2010 NBA Finals Game?

Technical Fouls

1st T - Kendrick Perkins was called for essentially a nudge against Gortat when he interferes with him helping out his own player. And if the NBA is going to have a seven technical fouls and you miss a game rule then that type of junk simply should not be called. 

2nd T - Kendrick Perkins does not commit a personal foul. At least you cannot call that if you're not willing to call the first foul on Dwight Howard. He walks away and Eddie Rush ejects him from the game.

3rd T - Rajon Rondo is calmly pleading his case to another official. Joey Crawford comes in and goes ballistic on him. HE WOULD NEVER TREAT KOBE BRYANT THAT WAY. Rondo says something while walking away, something like 'Call the foul (not profanity) and Joey Crawford gives him a technical. And this is not a preseason basketball game. This is Game 5 of the 2010 Conference Finals.

These guys clearly treated the Celtics with contempt. But that matters not. David Stern had no problem using Joey Crawford in the biggest NBA Finals games (1,5,7) and inserting Eddie F Rush into Game 4 of the Finals. And you can see here for yourself the follow up performance (below). Don't ask me what the F stands for. You don't want to know. Oh wait, you already do know.

And do you wonder what Crawford was doing when he was not screwing over the Celtics? He was busy being the Lakers sixth man just like he was in the Finals.

DESPICABLE! A real league would not even have permitted them to officiate in the biggest games of the year. But in the NBA, not only is that not punished. It is rewarded. I am quite close to renouncing my NBA fanship. As it is, I will not be giving those punks a dime in ticket sales any time soon.

Joey Crawford had no business officiating any of those NBA Finals games let alone the three biggest games. There is just absolutely no excuse for that. It is unfair and I'm calling it now. When the time comes that Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge write their memoirs, they will say nothing less than that.

A video tribute to David Stern and the media whores

Undoubtedly DS. You did your best to block the highlights of Game 7 of the 2010 Finals (at least for now). But this amateur video of the end of the game made it through your grimy filter. This video is also dedicated to the media whores who are supposed to be a watchdog against corruption. Yet they never once reported that a controversial official, Joey Crawford was the NBA's point man for Game 1, Game 5 and Game 7. Nor are the media whores bothering to report the shady officiating in the deciding quarter of the championship.

From this video, I do see Rajon Rondo get his face pushed by Pau Gasol who is able to then get the rebound instead of Rondo or Pierce. Unfortunately the replay is limited (as Tim Donaghy has pointed out in the past) and the commentators do not bother to even point it out.

Then we see Rasheed Wallace fouled out on a blocking call. Yes he was in the circle. But no he was not going for a charge. He was holding his ground to contest the shot. I thought the point of the circle was to prevent players from quick slides to take charges. Apparently it has the dual purpose of allowing superstars to recklessly slam into the lane and get a blocking call.

Actually, these complaints though are somewhat tame compared to the officiating in the first six games. It is just that there is added magnitude given the timing of these calls. David Stern and the media. You have relegated scrutiny to fringe blog sites like this. Follow the money though. We know what is going on. Fans need to demand more. Unfortunately, they likely will not. And until the next Tim Donaghy scandal breaks, this is what we can expect from the NBA. 

Note: This post is dedicated to Michael Wilbon, who used to have journalistic integrity. But all series long he was too busy kissing up to Magic Johnson (to put it politely) to care about fairness. Even in the post game show, he was quick to disregard a huge no-call (Gasol traveling) with 1:30 left in the game and the Celtics down four. We used to be able to count on you bud. Where's the outrage? You gone soft. You do not work for the people any more. You are just another enabler.

NBA: David Stern's preventitive maintenance - Blocking highlights of Game 7 on YouTube

It was obvious to anybody that is not a Los Angeles Lakers homer or bandwagoner that the fourth quarter of Game 7 was called completely different from the first three quarters. All of the calls and no-calls went the Lakers way (as SH has documented).  

In an effort to prevent any serious dialogue on this matter the league is hiding behind 'copyright infringement' claims and has blocked highlights of Game 7 for the time being. Undoubtedly, those highlights will get released at a time when the topic of the day is no longer the NBA Finals. But this is beyond suspicious. Highlights were immediately available after each of the first six games.

David Stern, who is the biggest weasel on this planet has overseen the blocking of the Game 7 highlights. You can see the trophy presentation. You can see a post game press conference of Ron Artest making a fool of himself. You can even see something posted by lakersmedia.com that has selected non controversial highlights of the Lakers baskets in Game 7. Of course the replay of Pau Gasol coming down on a shot and traveling is not shown. But the play is shown and interestingly enough Joey Crawford is looking out into space not doing his job. He was likely thinking about what he would do with all the moola that was surely coming his way after being chose to interficiate Game 1, Game 5 and Game 7 of the pretend championship series.

 

The check is in the mail Joey Crawford - David Stern gets his way

The refereeing in the 2010 NBA Finals was putrid. I almost felt silly having to come up with terms like 'points in the taint and 'interficials' to explain the officials' impact on games. But they were accurate terms and they were terms that reciprocated David Stern's lack of respect for serious basketball fans.

Joey Crawford had a history of bad calls (and in pivotal games). He has faced intense scrutiny from disgruntled fans and media members. But that was not going to stop David Stern from plugging him in as the lead referee for Game 1 (opening game), Game 5 (pivotal game) and Game 7 (the deciding game). Is he really that much better than the other referees?

The interficials took their warm-ups off and got into the game in the fourth quarter of Game 7. And that was the difference with all due respect to the crucial three that Ron Artest made late in the fourth quarter.

The first two quarters were about as fairly officiated as the Celtics were going to get this series. The Celtics had a few calls not go their way and perhaps that helped the Lakers to still be in the game at halftime, despite the Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant shooting a combined 6 for 26. But the officiating was not attrocious even through the first three quarters and I was willing to call it a fair (enough) game had the officiating continued to hold up. At least the interficials were not calling silly fouls and putting people in needless foul trouble in a deciding game. There was at least two bailouts where Kobe just missed and the refs gave him free throws. But again, I was just happy that the officiating was not as atrocious as the first six games.

But the interficials stepped up big for the Lakers in the fourth quarter. On the very first play of the quarter, Pau Gasol went across the lane and made a shot. There was no foul and the refs gave him the and one (which he missed).

Late in the game, up 74-70 with a minute and a half left, Gasol went up for a shot and the defense was great and forced him not to shoot until his foot came down. But there was no travel called despite the obvious nature of the call.

The Celtics defense was great all night long. Down 76-79 late, they forced Bryant into a long three. Gasol was allowed to push off of Rondo's face as they both went for the ball. The play was big. Kobe got the ball back, took it to the rim. I have not seen a replay but I suspect that a fake foul was called on Rasheed Wallace. In any event it beats the time tested philosophy of not allowing the officials to decide the outcome. But Joey Crawford was more than happy to decide it!

The play was huge. It gave LA two points and it took away a possession for the Celtics to tie the game and force overtime.

But the Celtics still came back. Rajon Rondo hit a three after hustling to get an offensive rebound on what would have been Ray Allen's second three in a row. And it looked like they would have a chance to tie or win Game 7 when Rondo hit the ball away from Kobe! But Kobe was allowed to push off on Rondo as he went for the ball! There were two interficials standing there looking at the play. Joey Crawford looked at the play from straight down the line and refused to call the foul! That is literally two plays in the final seconds that the interficials helped the Lakers! Like I said all series long, the Celtics were playing five on eight. The Celtics would have likely won it in five game with fair officiating!

Most pundits will call the game 'classic.' But trust me, that is the equivalent of calling a rusted out 55 Chevy that no longer runs, classic. Sure it was the Celtics and Lakers. Sure the players put forth great effort. And sure it was Game 7 (though the league had to rig that). But there is nothing classic about David Stern handpicking officials each game of the playoffs to make sure he gets the results he wants. That is not classic where I come from.

Mark my words. Some day there will be a big scandal involving David Stern and/or Joey Crawford. Until then I'll have to settle for being called a conspiracy theorist or what have you. But like I said before, I have two eyes and a brain. I see what is going on. I see the smoke. When will we see the fire? How many untold victims are there in the meantime?

Joey Crawford ran off the court as soon as the finals ended. Cowards always run. Besides, why would he risk cracking a smile for the camera? Stern got what he wanted. The league is richer when his Lakers win and even richer when they do it in seven games over the Celtics.

2010 NBA Finals Prediction / Message to the NBA

Despite the Los Angeles Lakers victory in Game 1 last night (due in large part to the company man, Joey Crawford), Shots Heard picks the Boston Celtics to win this series. Also I believe that I forgot to post the predictions for the conference finals. But the two teams I would have picked (Celtics, Lakers) did win.

Also I'd like to note that I have been seeing the company men officiate key games in the playoffs. Game 1's, close-out games, pivotal games, etc. The NBA is non-transparent organization when it comes to the regulating of officials. Monetary bonuses are not disclosed. Also, officials get paid per diem during the playoffs. So when David Stern (NBA commissioner) get the results he wants, the NBA plugs referees back into other key games to do more of the same (as John Kerry and President George W Bush are fond of saying). Because of this pathetic reality, I would not even bother watching these finals if my Celts were not in it.

I did not bother to watch one minute of the 2009 Finals in which I knew a good team (Orlando Magic) could beat the Lakers. I knew it simply would not be allowed. Last night's Game 1 was painful to watch. They called ghost fouls on the Celtics at one end and then allowed the Lakers to body the Celtics up at the other end. I even watched one play where the ball hit out of bounds off of the Lakers right in front of the referee. But instead of giving the Celtics the ball out of bounds, he allowed the Lakers to go on a successful fast break. I watched at one point as the Celtics were making a comeback, that Kobe was bailed out on two consecutive plays. So instead of the Celtics getting transition plays, they watched Kobe take four free throws and keep the game in check.

The NBA has ruined the integrity of the game and no propoganda campaign to put the corruption onus on Tim Donaghy is going to change that. So my suggestion to the NBA, when it comes to this serial use of company men, GET THE FLOCK OF HERE!

Picture 1: Two peas in a pod: Tim Donaghy may be the convicted felon, but David Stern is every bit the criminal that he is.

Picture 2: Kobe Bryant is constantly buddying up to Joey Crawford. At one point during Game 1 of the Finals (2010) he literally covered his mouth and whispered a secret to him.

Picture 3: Once, Crawford gave Tim Duncan two technical fouls while he sat on the bench and was not even talking to Crawford. Yes, that is not made up. The NBA pretended to punish him by suspending him. But he was back on the job in time to fix some playoff games.

Picture 4: It was Crawford who allowed Derrick Fisher to foul Brent Barry during Game 4 of the Conference Finals against the Lakers. Instead of awarding Barry the three free throws and consequently the series tie, the Lakers took the commanding 3-1 series lead. Even worse officiating allowed the Lakers to not be down 2-0 in that series. In Game 2 of the series, with the Lakers down 20 and the Spurs having a 1-0 lead and the following two games in San Antonio, the Lakers were allowed to foul at will.

Picture 5: Lakers always smile when they are around Joey Crawford. Just ask Derrick Fisher.

Picture 6: I put it to you Gregg (Poppovich). Would you have this problem if you were coaching the Lakers?