NBA 2008-2009 Season

[Stee]

BULLS: Sam Smith: LeBron gets star treatment

Still, we've never seen anything like this. Especially at a time when it is generally agreed with rules changes it is the most difficult time to defend on the perimeter without committing fouls.

James is averaging 1.72 fouls per game in an average of 37.9 minutes per game. James hasn't even been in foul trouble one game this season. He never has had more than four fouls called on him in a game, and since March 1 is being called for fewer than 1.3 fouls per game.

In 12 of the 20 games since then, James has been called for one or zero fouls in a game. James had a stretch of five straight games to conclude March averaging 36.8 minutes per game without being called for one foul. Not one in five games! In the last nine games, James has been called for three personal fouls. It's really amazing given the involvement James has in the action of the game.

"It's impossible," said one team executive.

James is now averaging 2.02 fouls per game in his career and has fouled out just three times in six seasons. Jordan averaged 2.6 fouls per game in his career and had fouled out eight times in his first six seasons.

Jordan averaged fewer than two fouls per game only in his last two seasons when he was not as active as a defender, and never as few as James' current 1.72. Among some of the great perimeter players in history, at a time when substantially more perimeter contact was allowed, Larry Bird averaged about 2.5 fouls, Magic Johnson 2.26 and Jerry West and Oscar Robertson well above two per game.

In the game now, Kobe Bryant has a career average of about 2.7 fouls per game and is about 2.3 this season. Dwyane Wade has a career average of 2.67 and is about 2.2 this season.

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See this is what I'm afraid of in a Lakers vs Cavs finals matchup. There's no denying that Lebron James is a great player but it's been pretty obvious the NBA has an agenda when it comes to refereeing Lebron. Just a few weeks ago I posted a article a few pages up that the NBA said they were considering allowing the crab dribble, can you make it less fucking obvious?

Whats even sadder is that Lebron actually thinks the NBA front office doesn't want him to succeed. During the all star break I remember him saying something like how if it was up to the NBA front office he wouldn't even be a all star.

[Kajii]

What's this crab dribble I hear about so much? I'm sure I've seen it, but maybe just didn't notice anything odd.

Mavs owned Jazz last night. After seeing that I'm not even worried as a Lakers fan if they play the Jazz first round.

[Deejay]

Whats even sadder is that Lebron actually thinks the NBA front office doesn't want him to succeed. During the all star break I remember him saying something like how if it was up to the NBA front office he wouldn't even be a all star.

Source plz. I highly doubt he said that.

And Lebron barely plays defense. He's one of those players that will let a guy go by him for an easy layup just so he can set himself up for a fast break.

[GRT]

What's this crab dribble I hear about so much? I'm sure I've seen it, but maybe just didn't notice anything odd.

youtube is your friend

YouTube - LeBron James Crab Dribble - Jalen Rose Explains on ESPN

[Stee]

Source plz. I highly doubt he said that.

And Lebron barely plays defense. He's one of those players that will let a guy go by him for an easy layup just so he can set himself up for a fast break.

Not gonna look for it but I may be wrong on this, it was several months ago so it mightve been someone else.

As for Lebron not playing defense.....I don't watch a lot of cav games but wasn't the whole reason Lebron was getting praise this season was because Wade and Kobe from the Olympics inspired him to play defense.

[recuperi]

Whats even sadder is that Lebron actually thinks the NBA front office doesn't want him to succeed. During the all star break I remember him saying something like how if it was up to the NBA front office he wouldn't even be a all star.

You could really take that two ways if he did say it. Either A.) He's thinking along the same lines you are, or B.) The NBA front office knows playing in the All Star game doesn't improve the chances of them raking in money off of him during the playoffs. Either way, I don't really watch the NBA enough to know if he's fouling people or not.

[Byrd]

Blazers beat the Lakers for the 8th time in a row in Portland tonight.

There's now a very real chance you'll have 4 teams tied at 54-28 in the west for second place. Tiebreakers could make the difference between having home court in the playoffs for the first two rounds, and not having home court at all.

[Stee]

Ugh that was an ugly game, so this might be a homerism view but there was a shitload of ref calls. Ticky tack fouls that some were called in favor of the Lakers but the majority was against.

Doesn't matter though, this was a winnable game but the Lakers didn't come through and Kobe's Kobe shot didn't fall through today, the only player that did well was Odom. This whole Rose Garden crap is just in their minds, they don't play like they usually do when they go there.

I kind of hope the Lakers will meet the Blazers in a playoff series so they can just get past this crap.

[Yangsing]

Blazers got the home court treatment. Then again, there were some obvious fouls that Lakers were making (Mostly by Luke Walton). That's not to say Blazers got away with some calls (No calls on Kobe getting hacked going to the rim). Even then, Kobe got what...12 free throw attempts?

I think the Blazers are the only team in the west that can take the Lakers to a game 7. Even though Blazers won't win but they would still give LA the hardest time out in the west imo. Can't wait until next season, Blazers will only be better.

[ghostfaced]

i was at the blazer laker game and it was intense there were a lot of calls that lakers got and didnt get but it was the same way for the blazers id say it was reffed pretty equally, i mean i remember one play where oden just got the ball and didnt move his pivot foot one inch and got called for a travel it was rediculous im just glad Princess kobe didnt get his little princess calls.... mark my words batum is a kobe killer he was pissin him off so much in that game

[Stee]

Think your taking a regular season game here a little too seriously, especially in a back to back game for the Lakers.

Batum isn't even somewhat in the same caliber as Artest, Battier or Prince and your already trying to call him the Kobe killer.

Whatever though, with so many things working against the Lakers and the game still came down to one possession with less then a minute to go tells me everything is ok.

[ghostfaced]

right im calling batum a soon to be kobe killer considering kobe was getting pissed off at batum anytime he was near him, remember batums a 20 year old rookie artest battier and prince have been around for awhile and know whats up. and boo hoo they had a back to back so freaking what? and so many things against the lakers? what about the blazers who everyone hates on because of our youth and inexperience? our number one draft pick can hardly stay on the floor for more than 15 minutes because of foul trouble because it seems like the refs have a hard on for him, roy still isnt considered a "Star" even though hes one of the most revered players in the NBA and still doesnt get calls sometimes. and he still gets it done... they dont call him the natural for nothin

Im not saying that the lakers arent good they are but the way the laker fans jock their team sometimes its pretty rediculous sometimes that they bitch about no calls when there were about 3 calls that kobe got last night where there wasnt a blazer touching him it was just assumed he was touching him and you could see it in replays. Id say the same for lebron, wade and pierce too not just kobe, they seem to complain about every call even if it was a good no call

Edit: i said is shoulda been will be, but admit he was doing a pretty good job on kobe

[Stee]

And there it is....

Every team's fans seem to think they're team gets treated unfairly when 90% of the time in the course of a season the same bullcrap called on your team is being called on every other team.

There's no way in hell that Greg Oden is fouling out because his timing isn't right and still needs to adjust to how the NBA call fouls against big men instead its because the NBA sent a memo to its refs telling them to take out Oden as fast as possible.

This is Bynum's 4th season and he still gets in foul trouble every other game.

And I'm not going to argue with you about who deserved what call, because like I said to me it seemed like the Lakers got screwed and that's that. I've only complained on the refereeing of two games this entire season, the travel call on Ariza in the last seconds of a Spurs and this game.

[ghostfaced]

he gets called for hand checking fouls that most anyone does thats established in the league. Duncan,Howard,Bynum, any of them if you watch more than the just the blazers lakers games youd see it. yes his timing is off on some of them but a lot of the time its shit that other established players would get away with.

[Stee]

All centers go through this when they first enter the league and it's not like hes innocent either, like you said he handchecks. Veteran players just know how to hand check deceptively and avoid calls.

As for Kobe getting calls all the time....lol. I'm not saying he doesn't get calls more then the average player but theres no way in hell he gets the calls Wade and Lebron get. Ever since Kobe's Colorado crap there were many games where he was manhandled by the refs for the first few years. If you don't believe me on that go look on youtube. It's died down now since then and he seems to be treated normally now but there's no way in hell he gets the superstar calls Lebron and Wade receive.

Anyway I'm not making more of this game then it is, seeing as how the Blazer franchise apparently is eager for a rivalry. I mean wow at playing Ariza's foul from the previous game on the jumbotron at the beginning of yesterday's game to make the crowd angry. Not to mention the comments made by Blazer players after these games.

[Deejay]

Bitching about Wade and Lebron getting calls is like bitching to Katrina victims that your brothers got Bentley's for christmas and all you got was a Maybach.

[Dimmauk]

So the Fans, that call Spurs fans crybabies cause they complain about fouls, are complaining about fouls not getting called. Classic Retardation. And LOL @ the conspiracy that Kobe gets manhandled because of the Colorado thing.

[Akiyama]

Spurs suck. Cavs suck. Lakers suck. Celtics suck. Magic suck. Hawks suck. Rockets suck. Jazz suck. Hornets suck.

Did I cover the important ones?

[Dimmauk]

Spurs suck. Cavs suck. Lakers suck. Celtics suck. Magic suck. Hawks suck. Rockets suck. Jazz suck. Hornets suck.

Did I cover the important ones?

You forgot the Nuggets. Its ok, everyone forgets them.

[Akiyama]

You forgot the Nuggets. Its ok, everyone forgets them.

I should probably replace the Rockets with the Nuggets tbh. Not like Houston ever leaves the first round.