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This is why the Pacer's aren't a legit Championship threat. Why in god's name are they shooting jumpshots from the baseline right now? WADE HAS TWO FREAKING FOULS RIGHT NOW! ATTACK HIM YOU IDIOTS! Honestly, this is why Miami will always cruise through the east. There are too many stupid teams in the east.

Ugh. It's semi-frustrating watching them. Like they go through these stretches where they're just crashing the boards, feeding the monster inside (Hibbert's looked angrily confident- I tuned in about mid 3rd), and being savvy. Those Pacers make me think they can steal the series.

Then there's the rapid fire fouls, sketchy officiating (shot clock violation was hilarious), and the stagnation.

And Wade can't stay at 25% from the floor.

One fun fact. Lebron has never shot higher than 80% from the foul line for a season of his career.

Joey Crawford needs to seriously consider hanging it up. He's just old and missing obvious things. It's just getting worse and worse the last few years.

That guy has needed to hang it up since the 90s, his personal vendetta with players was as old then as it is now.

They just got it tied back up, but if Indy wants to do the Iso-Chuck game,

Now they have the lead ONLY because Hibbert's size has no answer.

Lebron James fouled out?!?!?



Lebron.

James.

Fouled.

Out.

Imagine that

Pacers even the series at 2 wins each.

Really looking forward to the finals.

I go hope that the Pacers are somehow able to knock off the Heat. I would love to see 2 actual teams, rather than a superstar driven vehicle, play in the finals.

I am admittedly a conspiracy theorist when it comes to professional sports, but it seemed to me like the refs were blatantly giving Indiana calls down the stretch. With the WCF already over, the NBA needs something to be happening until June 6. Why not make it a series but have the Heat still win.

http://www.slamonline.com/online/media/s...s-pacers-video/

Watch Lebron's left foot... that is a foul.

I saw a lot of bad calls last night. The shot clock violation against Indy after the ball clearly hit the rim was the worst, but they got some good calls themselves down the stretch.

j/c

Flopping players can't have it both ways when referees make mistakes

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/ken-be...s-make-mistakes

INDIANAPOLIS -- Lo and behold, everyone wants the referees to be perfect now. In playoff games that are so close, so poised to turn on one play, everyone demands perfection when it matters most.

GAME 4 RECAP
Pacers 99, Heat 92
The Pacers wanted Joe Crawford to get the call right on a 24-second violation in the fourth quarter when Roy Hibbert's shot clearly hit the rim. Crawford got it wrong; everyone saw it.

LeBron James wanted the benefit of the doubt on his sixth personal foul when he was called for an illegal screen against Lance Stephenson with 56 seconds left in a four-point game. He wanted it when he was called for a reach-in on Roy Hibbert earlier in the fourth quarter. He wanted the officials to appreciate that he had gone straight up to contest Paul George's driving layup with 5:38 left -- his fourth foul.

Guess what, everybody on both sides? If you're so concerned about the officials getting it right when it matters, why are you spending so much time trying to trick them into getting it wrong?

Why are you doing this?

In this otherwise compelling and wonderful Eastern Conference finals between the Heat and Pacers -- which goes back to Miami tied at 2 after the Pacers' 99-92 victory in Game 4 on Tuesday night -- we've got ourselves a theme.

Several, actually, but they're all related.

Other than Miami's dominance in Game 3, the games have been nail-bitingly close. The outcome can swing on a single possession, a single free throw or a missed boxout.

GAME 4 GRADES
Pacers B-minus, Heat D-plus, officials big fat F-minus
It can swing on a whistle, too. So before anyone on either side wants to complain about calls not going their way, about the referees not giving them the benefit of the doubt, do yourselves a favor.

Stop trying to trick them.

You can't have it both ways.

"I don't believe it was an offensive foul," James said of his moving screen against Stephenson, on which he was trying to free Dwyane Wade for a clean look with Indiana leading 96-92. "I was going to set a screen and I felt like I was stationary. And D-Wade rejected the pick-and-roll. Lance actually ran into me."

I have mixed feelings about the call, because on one hand, James clearly stuck his left leg out to make sure he picked off Stephenson. That's an illegal screen, plain as day. On the other hand, Wade chose to go the other direction -- away from the screen -- so no advantage was gained. In that regard, it's a play-on situation.

But these are the same officials who've spent six weeks in this postseason trying to avoid getting duped by all manner of fake and exaggerated contact -- especially in this series, and especially in this game. You're expecting them to look the other way on an illegal screen because no advantage was gained? That's a lot to ask.

It's especially a lot to ask when coming from the league's best player, the transcendent basketball force of our time, when only 30 hours earlier he had said that flopping was "not even a bad thing," and added, "Any way you can get the advantage over an opponent to help your team win, then so be it."

What comes around goes around, is the way I look at it.

"I believe I was straight up-and-down on Paul George's drive -- the and-one," James said. "Hibbert, they reversed a call on Hibbert, called a foul on me on that one. And at the end of the third, they called a push off [against] David West.

"It was a couple of calls that I didn't feel like were fouls, personal fouls on me," James said. "That's how the game goes sometimes."

Indeed.

Let me make myself clear: This isn't just about James. His greatness is unquestioned, his talent otherworldly. It's also about West, who at one point coordinated with James in a game of synchronized flopping when both players ran into each other and flailed to the floor.

It's also about Stephenson, one of the heroes of the game for Indiana with that glorious 3-pointer from the corner at the third-quarter buzzer on a cross-court inbound pass from George Hill, not to mention some gritty defense on James. But in the first quarter, when Stephenson got tangled up with Ray Allen, he cocked his head back violently while pretending that Allen had elbowed him in the face -- which, of course, he had not.

So please, if you're devoting so much time and effort to duping the officials into getting calls wrong, don't whine when you've suddenly decided to play fair and they make a mistake.

"Last time LeBron fouled out of a playoff game was last year in Boston," Erik Spoelstra said. "So it doesn't happen very often."

That's true, by the way. It's only the second time James has fouled out a playoff game, and he managed to do it this time with four fouls in the fourth quarter.

"Dwyane was in foul trouble the whole game," Spoelstra said. "[Chris Bosh] was in foul trouble. You have to overcome a lot in the playoffs."

I know everybody hates the referees, and to be honest, this game was not a career highlight for Crawford, Rodney Mott and Derrick Stafford. But in these flop-tastic NBA playoff games, the officials have a lot to overcome, too. They have to overcome 47 minutes of players trying to trick them into getting calls wrong and then are expected to be perfect when it matters.

"We've just got to play ball," Stephenson said. "Don't worry about calls. Don't worry about fouls. Just attack and make buckets."

Can everyone involved listen to this unexpected wisdom from Lance Stephenson -- including Lance Stephenson -- and apply it for the rest of this series? Can all the floppers give us our game back?

We've had three games decided by a combined 12 points and two tactical masterpieces -- one by Miami in moving James into the post to dominate Game 3, and the response from Indiana in closing off his success down low in Game 4. On Tuesday night, we had two supporting players, Stephenson and Mario Chalmers -- each with 20 points -- playing crucial roles.

We had Hibbert putting up another brilliant performance with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting with 12 rebounds -- and showing up in the interview room, God bless him, wearing a yellow T-shirt instead of some fashion experiment.

We had Allen and Stephenson hitting clock-beating 3-pointers, and James dueling with his understudy, George.

But we had something else that's detracting from the enjoyment of it all -- players trying to trick the referees and thousands of people chanting about flopping. Indiana fans not only know their basketball, but apparently they know how to use the Internet, too.

"He's a flop-per," the crowd chanted to James and Wade throughout the game.

Is this what we want? Doesn't the game deserve better?

It does. It's a best-of-3 series now between two teams that are very good at basketball and shouldn't need the fake stuff. Bad calls happen. Bad calls caused by players tricking the refs into making bad calls shouldn't happen.

And neither should whining when it all backfires. And that goes for everybody.

Back to Cavs Draft pick talk ... I'm noticing that more than a few mock Drafts have us taking either Porter or McLemore now, rather than Noel. A McLemore pick raises eyebrows, because we already drafted a SG last year ... but some seem to think he's the most NBA ready guy in the draft, and Dion would be better suited to come off the bench, like he did in college. Taking Porter would at least suit a need though.

I'm waiting to see what John Hollinger's "formula" has to say. He's created some sort of formula that takes college stats and uses them to predict if the player will have NBA success. While it's obviously not perfect, it's pretty cool to see the results. His formula predicted both Thompson and Waiters as "undervalued" according to their predicted draft value, and lo-and-behold, those are guys we ended up taking.

Here's a pretty good read and watch on Noel:

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Nerlens-Noel-6455/

http://www.youtube.com/v/7E3ZFRmXo08&feature=player_embedded


Most of the analytics/draft projection stuff has Noel as the clear cut #1 and Porter as the clear cut #2. Since those also happen to be needs, I would be surprised if the Cavs pick anybody else. If his knee checks out I say the Cavs pick Noel #1 75%, Porter #1 15%, 10% every other scenario (trade or Cavs pick another player.)

Those are just my personal best guesses.

Back to the draft a little ...... I wonder if the Cavaliers would work out a trade with the Kings for Cousins?

Imagine this ...... The Cavaliers return the 1st round pick the Kings owe them. They then trade the Kings the #1 overall pick as well. (or maybe the 19, and the 2 seconds instead, if that would somehow work, which I doubt)

Anyway, the Cavaliers would add a legitimate starting, scoring Center ....... who, granted, needs to mature emotionally. However, he would be a true scoring option down low. It would also give the Kings a net gain of 2 first round picks, including the 1st overall in this draft.

That would give us a starting 5 of Irving, Waiters, Cousins, Thompson ...... and someone. Yeah, there is still that "someone" aspect at SF. However, we would still have the other 3 picks to address that spot. Maybe we could take that kid from Russia who look sot have a nice shot to play SF. (Sergey Karasev) Maybe we take a kid like Alan Crabbe, and play him in a smaller lineup. He is a nice scoring option, and we could keep Gee as a defensive specialist. Who knows? However, having a starting 4 out of 5 consisting of Irving, Waiters, Cousins and Thompson would be quite good.

OK, maybe a pipe dream ...... but who knows?

Chad Ford is reporting the Cavs are one of the teams interested in Cousins.

Of course, the Kings don't even have a GM and it's all conjecture at this point, but I would take a chance on him. Zach Randolph and Rasheed Wallace were bad seeds that needed some guidance to get on a good path too. Cousins is so talented that he is worth a chance.

I don't think Noel + their very protected 1st rounder is enough to get him though.

I cannot see the Cavs being serious about Cousins. The guy is a headcase and cancer in the locker room. You need a strong, veteran personality to keep him in the game and his head on straight. I cannot see the Cavs having that personality added, and then still adding Cousins to that. He's talented, but he's still a huge risk.

If I'm the Kings, I don't make that trade without getting at least 2 lottery picks and Tristan Thompson.

If I'm the Cavs, I don't make that deal.

I think Tristan and Andy would be enough to keep him in check. Don't we get him though

I wouldn't trade our #1 pick for Cousins straight up.

You have to consider his contract and the years he has left till free agency.

Coupled with legitimately crazy. He's one of those addition by subtraction locker room guys.

I think a sign-and-trade would be a given in almost any scenario, but, yeah, I wouldn't give up much for him.

it depends on how you use the numbers. the generic ones will have Noel at the top, but his usage rate and area where he took shots was extremely limited. Otto Porter will be next on those lists, but Grant has also stated that he scouts extremely close to see how explosive the players are (Waiters last year - he had scouts at practice watching) and Otto doesn't pass that test IMO.

it's an interesting decision and the 'advanced' stats we see are only 1st level stats. the real interesting ones are the ones where they add all the variables. it'll be an interesting leadup for sure.