NBA Today- 5/10/2009

by Migs

Bad to worse, say I.

In Houston, the Rockets have lost all-star center Yao Ming to a hairline fracture in his right foot. For those who did not get to catch the tail end of the 3rd game of the Lakers and Rockets series, Yao persisted in playing through obvious pain in his foot in an effort to try and get to cut into the Lakers' lead. The big man grimaced each time down the court as Kobe and co. dismantled the home team towards taking a 2-1 series lead.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Texas, the Dallas Mavericks suffered a heartbreaking loss at the hands of Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets, 106-105. Denver now leads the series, 3-0.

The catch here? The Mavericks felt that they were cheated, but then, had they managed to pull away, Carmelo Anthony's final 3 wouldn't have meant as much, but that's another story.

With a couple of seconds left, 'Melo drove to right cornercourt, while being bumped around by Dallas swingman Antoine Wright, and consequently, swished in a go-ahead trey. The Mavs had a foul to give at that juncture, a foul which the referees refused to call despite Wright's physical defense. With a second left, Dirk and the Mavericks got the ball back, with one final chance to take the lead. Desperation heave. Airball. Nuggets win.

That's when chaos ensued.

Mark Cuban runs over to the scorers table and shares some expletives with NBA officials. Mavericks cagers exchange words with Nuggets players, and Lord knows fellows like Kenyon Martin won't back down once the chips are down in this case. Point is, Dallas lost a heartbreaker, and while Cuban will probably be fined and reviews will probably be done, the Nuggets will still be up, 3-0, with 4 to play.

One school of thought in this case would suggest that:

-Wright should have sold his foul better without it looking flagrant. He should have not stopped on the move until he heard a whistle blown.

-The Playoffs are the Playoffs. No ticky tack fouls here. As with baskets, fouls, too, must be earned- especially during the endgame.

Another perspective on the matter, meanwhile, would say:

-A foul is a foul. The referees could have given Carmelo Anthony the "superstar treatment" in this case.

-Rick Carlisle and Mark Cuban said it best: "Foul shooting should be a science, not an art."

"What could have been" is something which, in this case, can only be left to speculation, even if Joel Litvin, President of League and Basketball Operations, stated two hours after the Denver-Dallas tiff that, “At the end of the Dallas-Denver game this evening, the officials missed an intentional foul committed by Antoine Wright on Carmelo Anthony, just prior to Anthony’s three-point basket."

What good will that do anyone now? Maybe they could do a Miami-Atlanta and replay the last few seconds of regulation a few days from now.

Or not.

Speaking of the woebegone Hawks, Lebron James and the Cavaliers joined the Nuggets as members of the 3-0 series league club when the beat the said Hawks, 97-82 earlier today. Number 23 scored 47 points, grabbed 12 caroms, and dished out 8 dimes- giving out a performance worthy of legend. Atlanta kept it reasonably close early, but then, the Hawks' offensive anemia cost them. Tempers flared in the 3rd period, too, which led to the ejection of Zaza Pachulia. From that point forward, it was downhill for the Georgians who barely got into the 2nd round to begin with.

And oh, Josh Smith missed another dunk.

I suppose that based on what we've witnessed in the NBA world today, we can safely say that indeed, some things never do change.

**God bless Chuck Daly, the former Pistons and Team USA coach who passed away today due to pancreatic cancer. Yours truly has lost a relative to pancreatic cancer, and knows how traumatic an experience having such an ailment can be, an yours truly also knows how to appreciate basketball genius, ergo, it is only fitting that Mr. Daly be given ample tributes by his peers and fans alike. Thanks for being a good influence on the game, Chuck- even if you did give the NBA the "Bad Boys". Rest in peace.

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