Random Thoughts

This will be a little disjointed, but try to stick with me. With 8.7 seconds left in the 3rd quarter of game 5 of the Clipper v. Suns series, a foul was called on Tim Thomas. Why? Sam Cassell pump faked, Tim Thomas went for it and jumped up in the air. Then, Cassell launched himself into Thomas and flailed his arms like he was shooting. It was as much an offensive foul as a defensive foul. Tim Thomas wasn't going to land on Cassell. Cassell moved into the location where Thomas was going to land. Cassell wasn't making an honest attempt to shoot the ball. An eight year-old doesn't jump that far in when preparing to shoot a long jumper, so I'm sure Cassell wasn't attempting to make the shot. I understand referees make that call routinely. However, that doesn't mean they should. As a defender, you don't have to be stationary to get an offensive foul called on an offensive player who initiates contact. Personally, I think Cassell should have received an offensive foul or no call should have been made. If you get a guy in the air and he lands on you, that's one thing. There are enough fouls in basketball games without players making cheap plays like that which are, essentially, attempts to cheat the system and get free trips to the foul line.

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Also, what is with the love affair with offensive fouls. I'm all for good defense, but Sam Cassell stepped in to take a charge just as Raja Bell was leaving the floor on a runner. They collided ... Cassell hit the deck ... Bell missed the ugly runner and got an offensive foul. I think the only reason Bell was called for an offensive foul was the distance he travelled in the air before making contact with Cassell (I don't mean to pick on Cassell, he just happens to be a main figure in these examples). However, once Bell leaves the floor, Cassell can't slide in, and usually the tie goes to the offensive player. It seems like that has changed in the playoffs this year, and I'm not sure why. It seems like the more you can do, within reason, to help the offense and the flow of the game, the better the product will be (or at least seem).

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Moving over to the diamond, why wasn't Bernie Williams suspended for throwing his helmet at (or in the direction of) an umpire? Delmon Young, a Tampa Bay Devil Rays AAA prospect, was handed a 50-game suspension after a bat he tossed hit an umpire in the chest. In the NBA playoffs, Udonis Haslem (Miami Heat PF) received a one game suspension for tossing his mouthpiece in the vicinity of the feet of an official. Haslem claims he wasn't throwing it at the ref. Young doesn't claim to have had any malicious intentions in his incident. It looked to me like Williams looked back before flipping his helmet, so I would suspect that he knew it would be headed for the umpire. A mouthpiece gets you one game in the NBA, a bat making contact gets you 50 in AAA, I'd think a helmet in MLB would be worth 5-10 games. Think about it, what was Bernie Williams doing tossing his helmet back toward the plate/infield. He was walking back to the dugout and should have taken the bat (which he left in the batter's box) and helmet back with him. If you want to toss your equipment to the dugout and have someone bring your hat and glove out to you, that's fine. It's a generally accepted practice. The bat boy will grab your stuff. But, what Bernie Williams did was an obvious attempt to show up the umpire and he should be punished.

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Back to the hardwood (kind of), the Knicks and Larry Brown should cut their losses and part ways mutually. The Knicks don't seem to want Brown. I don't think Brown really wants to coach Stephon Marbury and Co. anymore. Why should the Knicks give Brown $25 million to get out of his contract? That's stupid. It seems like the only thing that can keep Brown at the helm of the Knicks is the 4 years and $40 million left on his contract. The Knicks shouldn't have given Brown $50 million, but Brown shouldn't have taken it either. He didn't appear able to give it his all and now he wants out (at least that's what I'm hearing) to take a different job (Golden State and Sacremento are rumored). Doesn't Brown make enough money coaching that he doesn't need to collect money from the teams he's no longer coaching?

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The Clippers just tied the game on a 3 by Cassell and Brand set a block (not a screen) on the defender (Barbosa, I think). It was obviously a foul on Brand. Come on, I'd think professional basketball players would understand how to set a legal screen! I guess maybe I'm asking too much. And, I have no idea why Brand didn't get a flagrant foul. Marion took off from the circle and Brand hit him hard from behind (didn't come close to the ball). Sometimes, you just have to let guys dunk the ball. There have been some cheap flagrant fouls called ... and this one wasn't called. Ridiculous. I guess the eight-second violation on the Clippers is justice.

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Doug Flutie was recently on PTI and he talked about micro-management of football by coaches, specifically coaches being able to talk to QB's because there are communication devices in the helmets. Well, I see the same thing in NBA games. Why are teams given so many time outs? Teams hoard them like a fat kid with a box of Snickers bars and then use them every possession at the end of the game. Practice some plays in practice and then call them. Every once in a while, call a time out and design a play in a crucial situation. It's excruciating to watch these games that are drawn out because you spend more time watching commercials during breaks than watching basketball. The league should look into limits on the number of time outs they can take to the final couple minutes of a half. But, they should have competent refs doing playoff games too ... and that, obviously, isn't happening, despite all the crap coming out of David Stern's mouth about the refs only missing 5% of the calls.

Speaking of time outs, why do you get to advance the ball? I guess it gives you a better chance to score quickly, thus making late-game heroics more likely. It seems like a hokie, contrived rule to me, and it should be removed from the books. If the Suns had a time out left at the end of OT, they could have advanced the ball after the Clippers turned it over after they advanced it. Beam me down the court, ref!

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Why was Steve Nash the MVP? I know the argument, they finished near the top of the West without Amare Stoudemire. That is true. The Suns also had a bunch of players who had career years. Ok. But, you have to look at the players who had career years and understand why they had career years. Maybe it was Nash, maybe it was more minutes, more shots, maturation, etc. The Suns have a lot of young players around Nash: Boris Diaw, Leandro Barbosa, James Jones. Raja Bell (who just hit a three to tie the game ... I thought the Clippers had this one won) has a bigger role. Shawn Marion is a good player. Eddie House can fill it up as a backup PG. Nash deserves a lot of credit for the success the Suns have enjoyed the last couple years. However, I don't think his play merits back-to-back MVP awards. I think I would have voted for LeBron James, if I had a vote. Larry Hughes missed a lot of time, and I think the Suns are set up better to compliment Nash than the Cavs are to compliment James.

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Stop the game! Dwayne Wade was on the court for two possessions a couple games back after catching an elbow in the face courtesy of Vince Carter. Shawn Marion just went to the floor with an ankle injury suffered when he came down on Shaun Livingston's foot after a dunk. Marion made the basket. There wasn't an obvious advantage for the Clippers, other than the 5 on 4 with Marion injured. The refs should stop the games. If it's a fast break, let it go until the next basket. Otherwise, stop it, get it fixed, then resume. If someone fakes it, give them a T and nip it in the butt.

Thanks for reading, I'm going to enjoy the last couple minutes of double OT ... or cringe every time D'Antoni or Dunleavy call time out.