What a depressing conversation. But very, very credible I think. Basketball is certainly a sport where officiating has a huge impact. The basic concept where body contact is theoretically illegal...but occurs on almost every play makes "judgement" calls constant. There have been a number of series over the years where I was convinced that the officiating determined the outcome. One of the most blatant was when Miami beat Dallas the first time the Mavs were there. Dirk should have two championships. This was the origin of Mark Cuban's sometimes over the top ref baiting. Dwayne Wade was at the line constantly on marginal calls and it was nowhere close to being called the same way at the other end. A couple of the Suns series in Nash's prime featured him being beaten to a pulp with very few calls.
I'm already half dreading the Raptors opening series this spring and what it will bring. Demar and the rest need to go in with the mindset that NOTHING will be called and they need to power through, finish and not sulk if calls aren't happening. Hopefully superior talent and effort will overcome that 10 points the league will seed Boston, Cleveland or even I fear Washington (the Wall/Beal combo gets a lot of attention) or the Bucks ( the Freak is being groomed to replace Lebron).
I'm already half dreading the Raptors opening series this spring and what it will bring. Demar and the rest need to go in with the mindset that NOTHING will be called and they need to power through, finish and not sulk if calls aren't happening. Hopefully superior talent and effort will overcome that 10 points the league will seed Boston, Cleveland or even I fear Washington (the Wall/Beal combo gets a lot of attention) or the Bucks ( the Freak is being groomed to replace Lebron).
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