NBA

Mailbag: Lakers fans fire back at Curran

Refs calls in the NBA playoffs getting everyone a little hot under the collar

THE CORDIALLY DISAGREEABLE

Tom,
I agree with your premise but you forgot to mention that the refs ruled incorrectly regarding Derek Fisher’s shot and not hitting the rim. If they get that right…game over, no Brent Barry shot. Also you forgot to mention the first half and the foul trouble the Laker’s were in. Sounds like more sour grapes than honesty to me.The door swings both ways.
Tim

Tom,
I'm not here to attack your opinion, first off. I can see where you would be able to argue the foul with 3 seconds obviously, but saying the officials gave the lakers all the calls in the last 30 seconds doesn't seem reasonalbe after watching that ending many times in slow motion High Def. I don't remember Odom fouling parker on that layup (something that could have happened), but i do know that it was not goaltending. Watch it again. Also, Fishers shot that missed and went off the spurs with 5 seconds left, hit the rim. Watch it slowly how it goes straight down (and analysts after the game pointed it out). So really, it should have been Lakers ball with 5 seconds, a fresh shot clock. Kobe should have been going to the line after a foul to put it away, not Barry going to the line to tie it. Personally, I thought the refs were bad all game, both sides.
Mike

Tom,
I've never written you in regards to an article but this one I can't pass up. All over the news today I am seeing crying about the "No Call" on Brent Barry. The game is fixed because "the league" wants a Lakers vs. Celtics finals...and that may be true. But you missed one bad call that just happen to favor the Spurs. On the possession before the Barry play a Lakers shot was put up and hit the rims while the 24 sec. buzzer was going off. The Lakers rebounded the ball but the refs blew the whistle and gave the ball the San Antonio. At this point there were 7 sec. left in the game. Now if I remember correctly, the
24 sec. clock should have reset and the Lakers should have kept the ball and ran the time off of the clock. So this Barry play should have not even happened in the first place. I don't mind you bashing the officials, but you should "Call it Both Ways" if you are going to put it out there.
Malcolm D. Young

Mr. Curran,
With all due respect your article about the “League Determined” bad call in San Antonio is quite frankly cherry picking. Sure he shoulda got two free throws for the bump. So what? It was a desperation play with 2.1 seconds. It wasn’t a hard bump, Barry even dribbled to the side to get the shot off. But you are right, by rule it was a foul on the floor. Pretty tough call to make in a situation like that. If the call is made, it would look like a bail out for San Antonio again. It was a no win situation for the refs. If you watch the play over and over normal speed, it was a foul, but no different than countless other
Non-call contact during this game.
Richard Nogawa

Tom,
I'm a pretty avid Lakers fan, but I can see why the Spurs fans are rather upset. I'm not dumb enough to say it wasn't a foul, it was; however, thats only half the story, if Kobe were to be called for traveling every time, Manu wouldn't be in the NBA today because he'd be a huge offensive liability. I'm not even going to bring up that Fishers shot hit the rim, which should of resulted in the shot clock resetting. Finally one last point, game 5 of the 2002 WCF in Sacramento, series tied 2-2..8 seconds left, Kobe gets the ball, is fouled no less than 3 times by Bobby Jackson in plain view of the ref, no call. Lakers lose the game. In game 6 of that series, the Lakers shot an ungodly amount of FT's, I suspect
the SA to shoot an ungodly amount of FT's tonight. Overall, great article though. A bit one sided, but a good read none-the-less.
Dan Krause

Kobe's shot lifts Lakers

Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto