IF LEBRON MAKES IT THROUGH GAME 3 WITHOUT SOMETHING BROKEN

[NJHAWK]

Im going to be one pizzed off fan. He has hurt Smoove, he has hurt Joe. He gets away with anything he wants to do out there. He is commiting fouls that could be flagrant and he isnt even getting called for a foul. IM NOT MAKING EXCUSES, I REALIZE WE DIDNT BRING HEART AND PLAYED TERRIBLE. Still if I was a Hawk and I saw Lebron doing that shyyt to me or my teamates and the refs NOT CALLING SHYYT ON him I would say in the post game that if the refs are going to let him do that to us than we got something for him in the ATL. Maybe Im going Ghetto here but I dont care, its time to man up. Its not even about winning the series anymore because we seem to injured to do that, its about letting an eastern conferance heavy weight know we are not WOMEN.

[buckeye242424]

Im going to be one pizzed off fan. He has hurt Smoove, he has hurt Joe. He gets away with anything he wants to do out there. He is commiting fouls that could be flagrant and he isnt even getting called for a foul. IM NOT MAKING EXCUSES, I REALIZE WE DIDNT BRING HEART AND PLAYED TERRIBLE. Still if I was a Hawk and I saw Lebron doing that shyyt to me or my teamates and the refs NOT CALLING SHYYT ON him I would say in the post game that if the refs are going to let him do that to us than we got something for him in the ATL. Maybe Im going Ghetto here but I dont care, its time to man up. Its not even about winning the series anymore because we seem to injured to do that, its about letting an eastern conferance heavy weight know we are not WOMEN.

Though I fell your frustrations....prepare to be pizzed.

[drzachary]

Im going to be one pizzed off fan. He has hurt Smoove, he has hurt Joe. He gets away with anything he wants to do out there. He is commiting fouls that could be flagrant and he isnt even getting called for a foul. IM NOT MAKING EXCUSES, I REALIZE WE DIDNT BRING HEART AND PLAYED TERRIBLE. Still if I was a Hawk and I saw Lebron doing that shyyt to me or my teamates and the refs NOT CALLING SHYYT ON him I would say in the post game that if the refs are going to let him do that to us than we got something for him in the ATL. Maybe Im going Ghetto here but I dont care, its time to man up. Its not even about winning the series anymore because we seem to injured to do that, its about letting an eastern conferance heavy weight know we are not WOMEN.

On that same token, if the Hawks are already going to get whistled for brushing jerseys against him while jumping backward to avoid one of his drives, might as well get your money's worth and pound him into the floor, right?

[NJHAWK]

Though I fell your frustrations....prepare to be pizzed.

Im worse off than you guys because I had to work late last night and taped the game so I just got done watching it now. It pains me to see Lebron knocking our guys out of the game and fouling like crazy while the refs call nothing and our players dont respond. Ive never seen anything like what Lebron gets away with. Jordon used to get to go to the line like Lebron does and Jordon got away with some reach ins but he never hit people like a linebacker and not get a call. I think Brandon and Woolvey said Lebron averages something like 2 fouls a game less than Jordon or Kobe and those guys werent out there trucking people. Lebron should have been sitting with the fouls not Smoove.

Edited May 8, 2009 by NJHAWK

[coachx]

Lebron should have been sitting with the fouls not Smoove.

That is what turned the game around. Even Hubie Brown was saying Lebron was getting away with OBVIOUS fouls.

[aznsensation]

Maybe the Hawks should start playing BAD BOYS style. Zaza will have to morph into Bill Lambeer, Horford morph into Mahorn, and Smoove morph into Dennis Rodman. Might as well Bibby morph into Isaiah Thomas, JJ morph into Dumars and Flip morph into the microwave. Playing rough basketball like the Bad Boys is the only chance we will have against the Cavs.

[DieHardHAWK]

I feel the same way and wish someone would send a message to him, the Cavs, and the League. But to be honest, I think it may be deeper than what's on the court. Its all about money and making sure Lebron is entertaining the world. Maybe the Hawks front office got a memo from Stern stating firm repercussions for any type of malice towards Lebron or double/triple teaming that may force him to not be as entertaining. But if I'm already in the league and I already got millions in the bank, then fine me, because i'm puttin Lebron on his *ss.

[HAWKSFAN89]

We all feel your pain buddy. Unfortunately for us, we are the only ones hurting. The whole NBA nation is jocking LeBrons nut sack.

[DieHardHAWK]

Its a good thing men cant get pregnant, because Stewart Scott and the TNT crew would all be filing for child support from Lebron

[Gray Mule]

Even the announcers on the national coverage, being VERY bias toward the Cavs,

said that we got the dirty end of the stick when King James charged into J S and

sent him to the floor. That's a charge - -NO - - They called it a block - - No way.

That was a charge. Replays show that it was indeed a charge.

Hawk player, again Josh, I believe, got hit - - hard - - in the face and mouth by

the King. No call. Again, the replay proved the foul.

I believe he had -0- foul calls in the first game and maybe 1, which he went to the

official and straightened him out as the Hawk was taking his free throws, and that

was it. Replays showed at least four that should have been called.

The King is great. No doubt about that. Very talented. Probably the greatest

player in the NBA today. That being said, there is no excuse for the officials and

the NBA for letting him get by with the things that they do. If the rules don't

apply to everyone the same way, then call in the dogs, pee on the fire and let's

go home. Go ahead and crown the Cavs champions of the NBA and forget it.

[DrReality]

It really is becoming his league and I think he is in the process of standing up proclaiming that. If they win the championship, there is no one that will stop him . . . . . short of getting hurt. And that could be dangerous for whoever does it.

[NJHAWK]

Its really gets to me and it shouldnt. I should just not give a rats ayss BUT.... Seeing espn has become the Lebron network and seeing all these shoe promotions going on during the dam game and seeing him get away with hard foul after hard foul. I just cant take it man. This really look like the Lebron coronation year, like it has already ben scripted. The nba was on its way down and this is the way they want to get it back up. I can actually deal with the fact that the Cavs are better than us, I cannot deal with the fact that this guy can get get treated like God on the court and get handed an nba championship this year. Its gotten so bad for me that if they face the C's in the ECF I wont watch but I will hope the Celtics win and I cant believe I just wrote that.

[Patrick]

That is what turned the game around. Even Hubie Brown was saying Lebron was getting away with OBVIOUS fouls.

Ummm... Huh? This is what turned the game around? The game turned around about 3 minutes in... when the Cavs were making shots every time down the court and the Hawks... weren't.

Hubie mentioned one time that one drive by Lebron should have been a charge. I don't recall him stating the Lebron was getting away with obvious fouls... This thread is full of you guys making excuses for an obviously inferior team. All I see is one post after another complaining that the refs are giving the games away to the Cavs. Get REAL! Are you guys actually watching the games? Perhaps the Hawks could try playing a bit of interior D once in a while. Oh yeah... Then Lebron would just start raining threeeees from 40 feet (I'm guessing the refs should have called Lebron for... I don't know... shooting from too far away?... on that one.

If the Hawks want to get the benefit of superstar calls, perhaps they should aquire a superstart to play for them... But since that will likely not happen anytime soon, at least you guys should try to watch the final 2 games of the Hawks' season with a bit less bias! Fine, root for your team, but PLEASE stop making excuses about how the NBA "wants" the cavs in the finals. Yeah, like any league has ever pushed for a team from Cleveland (hardly the media or financial capital of the USA) to make it to the Championship game/series.

Just remember... Jordan got calls. Bird got calls. Magic got calls. Dominique got calls. Kobe gets calls. Dwane gets calls. And yes, Lebron is now getting calls. These guys earned their way into superstar status. Nothing was handed to them on a silver platter.

[Patrick]

Im going to be one pizzed off fan. He has hurt Smoove, he has hurt Joe. He gets away with anything he wants to do out there. He is commiting fouls that could be flagrant and he isnt even getting called for a foul. IM NOT MAKING EXCUSES, I REALIZE WE DIDNT BRING HEART AND PLAYED TERRIBLE. Still if I was a Hawk and I saw Lebron doing that shyyt to me or my teamates and the refs NOT CALLING SHYYT ON him I would say in the post game that if the refs are going to let him do that to us than we got something for him in the ATL. Maybe Im going Ghetto here but I dont care, its time to man up. Its not even about winning the series anymore because we seem to injured to do that, its about letting an eastern conferance heavy weight know we are not WOMEN.

You state that you are not making excuses, and then go on to do nothing but make excuses. First, that the Hawks are too injured, and 2nd that Lebron gets all the calls because obviously the refs WANT the cavs to win. Perhaps the Hawks would be more healthy if they had cleaned up in the first round with a 4-game sweep like the Cavs did. A week+ of rest does wonders to the health of your players!

Be prepared to be pizzed (whatever that means)

[HawkItus]

I want to Wit- MVP Get'n his *ss dropped -ness!

[AHF]

Patrick:

(1) You yourself admit that Lebron gets unfair superstar calls like Jordan, Wade, etc. What you fail to realize or are deliberately ignoring is that these are per se unfair and there is no way to "earn" them. Biased refereeing is just that - biased. Anyone who complains about the calls given to Jordan, Wade, Lebron, etc. has a totally legitimate gripe. The refs need to call the game based on what players do - not who they are.

(2) The refereeing is just piling onto an outmatched Hawks' team on the road. Cleveland doesn't need those calls to win Game 1 or 2. The calls in my mind are not an excuse at all for those losses. Without the team's starting center and small forward healthy, the Hawks have zero chance on the road. Even with those guys healthy, the Hawks are not very good on the road and could get blown out. They likely are down 0-2 with a healthy team. Given the regular season, however, they are also likely a lot more competitive.

(3) The reason that Horford, Marvin and JJ are hurt have nothing to do with "taking care of business" in the first round. Give me a break. Marvin was injured for weeks before the playoffs and he had more than a month's worth of rest. Horford has been injured for nearly all the playoffs. Had the Hawks won against the Heat more quickly guess how much more rest time that would have gotten him? NONE. The series would just have started earlier against the Cavs. JJ will likely be injured for the rest of the playoffs. This is what you call bad luck given their history of injuries (or lack thereof). If Lebron twists his ankle in Game 3 and Ilgauskas breaks his foot it won't be because the Cavs failed to play well. It will be because they were unlucky enough to get injured at the exact wrong time of year.

(4) Will it impact the Hawks to be missing their only All-Star and 3 of 5 starters on a team that lacks depth? Umm....yes. Can you blame Hawks management for not developing extra depth? Of course, but it is too late to do anything about it now. Have fun circulating around all the Hawks boards bashing their fans for wishing the team was healthy but that is a natural response to missing guys like Joe Johnson, Al Horford and Marvin Williams when playing a superior team.

(5) People here are venting. They are watching their team get embarrassed and it is natural to complain about things when that happens. It is natural to wish the team wasn't playing short-handed. It is natural to complain about refereeing so biased that the national commentators describe it and posters from a Cavs board come and admit it. This is not a Cavs board. Feel free to voice your opinion, but pouring salt into people's wounds seems to be all that you are adding to the discussion.

[Patrick]

Im going to be one pizzed off fan. He has hurt Smoove, he has hurt Joe. He gets away with anything he wants to do out there. He is commiting fouls that could be flagrant and he isnt even getting called for a foul.

Please refresh my memory... In games 1 or 2, where were these supposed "flagrant" fouls committed by Lebron. I guess you consider a flagrant foul when one of your players comes down awkwardly on his ankle and sprains it... Perhaps Lebron should have caught Joe before he hit the floor and set him down nice and gingerly...

You can call Lebron many things... Even over-rated if you so choose (although you may feel differently by the time this NBA season ends). But I have watched him for enough years to see that he is clearly not a dirty player. He is bigger, stronger, and faster than many of the players he faces, and can litterally out-muscle them to the rim. But that hardly makes him dirty. I can name a couple (yes only a couple) of fouls that should have gone against Lebron last night that were not called. Hardly enough to change the outcome of the game - especially when I can name just as many possible fouls that were not called on Atlanta. And NONE of those fouls could be called flagrant by any definition of the rule.

The fact is, the Cavs won the game by 20, and would have easily won by 40 if they had decided to play any startes in the 4th quarter. If you think the Hawks would have been competitive with the help of a few referee decisions, you are watching a different game than I...

[AHF]

You can call Lebron many things... Even over-rated if you so choose (although you may feel differently by the time this NBA season ends). But I have watched him for enough years to see that he is clearly not a dirty player. He is bigger, stronger, and faster than many of the players he faces, and can litterally out-muscle them to the rim. But that hardly makes him dirty. I can name a couple (yes only a couple) of fouls that should have gone against Lebron last night that were not called. Hardly enough to change the outcome of the game - especially when I can name just as many possible fouls that were not called on Atlanta. And NONE of those fouls could be called flagrant by any definition of the rule.

I agree. Lebron is not a dirty player and certainly has done nothing that would warrant a flagrant foul in this series. He is a physically imposing, gifted and aggressive player who gets the benefit of the whistle on both ends of the floor through superstar calls and no-calls but that doesn't make him dirty at all.

The blame resides with the refs for not calling the game the right way. Lebron is not doing anything wrong, IMO.

[NJHAWK]

I agree. Lebron is not a dirty player and certainly has done nothing that would warrant a flagrant foul in this series. He is a physically imposing, gifted and aggressive player who gets the benefit of the whistle on both ends of the floor through superstar calls and no-calls but that doesn't make him dirty at all.

The blame resides with the refs for not calling the game the right way. Lebron is not doing anything wrong, IMO.

The foul in game 1 where he and Wally z crashed into Smoove could have been a flagrant foul on either of them but of corse the call went on Wally. If we fouled Lebron like that somebody would have been ejected.

[NJHAWK]

I obviously didnt watch any Cav games this year except Hawks Cavs games. I want to know how Lebron is on the all nba defensive team when he doesnt even guard a man and just roams? I know he fouls alot and gets away with it creating steals and fast breaks for the Cavs but does he ever actually guard anybody? The only time I seen him stop a Hawk was him playing help d usually with a blatant hard foul that doesnt get called. He has gotten 1 foul clalled against him and he cried about it. He prolly said to the ref that he will call Stern if it happens again, lol.