RE: Game 4 (It's not over)

[bird <birdwl@earthlink.net>]

> From: "Wright, Cecil" <Cecil.Wright@JUSTICE.GC.CA>

> I agree with everything you say here Mark, except about the officiating.  
> It
> has been horrendous.  Last night for example, Toine did try to drive the
> baseline once in the 2nd half and got whacked by two players.  No call at 
> a
> key juncture of the game.  Same thing happened once with Eric Williams.  
> Hit
> hard and no call.  Iverson comes down, travels, and gets touched...foul is
> called.

I agree.  I'm not sick of people talking about refs, I'm sick of the 
League trying to convince us the refs are so damn good at their job 
because they look at tape.  Fine and dandy, but it doesn't seem to 
translate into consistency on the court.  Guy's travel, palm the ball, 
violate the lane, it's all good.  Breathe on Allen Iverson, why, it's a 
flagrant.  (For that matter, the criteria for a flagrant foul seems to be 
"any hard foul under the basket").  Oh, yes, officiating is a hard job -- 
I've done it, and it is -- but I wish the NBA would stop telling me it's 
raining while their officials are pissing on my leg, that's all.

> Anyway, I do agree about maybe giving Delk a looksee and I believe he may 
> be
> someone who would shut Snow down defensively, not that he is killing us
> other than in game 3.

Indeed.  If he's hot, he can help.  If not, you'll know early enough and 
can pull him.  In addition, I think it helps to have a number of defenders 
on AI during the game.  Vary it.  Make him start thinking about who's 
guarding him.  Kenny, Strick, Delk, and whoever else (McCarty?).  In one 
fo the first two games, Delk got faked out bad by AI on a top of the key 
jumper, but had the athleticism to get back into the play and bother the 
shot; AI missed.  Wouldn;t mind seeing more of that.

Bird