1. Celtics Take Control: One of the fun things about writing about sports is that we can chew the scenery a little bit and really delve into some points that aren’t mentioned on the television or in the newspapers. After something like Game 4 of the Finals, there really isn’t too much to say. The Celtics played great defensively and did just enough offensively, thanks to James Posey and Eddie House, to comeback and put the Lakers in a huge whole. While it is easy to bash the Lakers for not being able to score, this win was more a product of the Celts tough defense than Laker ineptitude. The Lakers had more points in the first quarter (35) than they had in the entire second half (33). There were something to pick on the Lakers. Lamar Odom had problems taking advantage of James Posey in the low post in the second half. Every single attempt was met with Posey pulling the old Rick Mahorn “lean in and move out of the way” move that causes the post up offensive player to fall over or travel. Ultimately, however, the Lakers inability to score falls to Kobe Bryant. If he can score his usual 26-30 points and the game is a comfortable win. The Celts did an excellent job of forcing Kobe into fadeaway jumpers and the result was a huge win.Are the Lakers done? Probably. Coming back from 3-1 is harder than coming back from 2-0 and the Lakers have to both to win this series. We’ve already looked at Finals’ teams and their success after being down 2-0, let’s see how finalists have done in a 3-1 hole since 1954-55:
–2003-04, Lakers down 3-1 to Detroit: Lakers lose in Game 5.
–2000-01, Sixers down 3-1 to Lakers: Sixers lose in Game 5.
–1999-00, Pacers down 3-1 to Lakers: Pacers won Game 5 and lose Game 6.
–1998-99, Knicks down 3-1 to Spurs: Knicks lose in Game 5.
–1997-98, Jazz down 3-1 to Bulls: Jazz win Game 5 to force the classic Game 6 that Jordan wins on the famous shot.
–1995-96, Sonics down 3-1 to Bulls: Sonics were actually down 3-0 and won two straight before losing in Game 6.
–1992-93, Suns down 3-1 to Bulls: Suns win Game 5 to lose Game 6 at the buzzer on a John Paxson three.
–1990-91, Lakers down 3-1 to Bulls: Lakers lose Game 5.
–1989-90, Blazers down 3-1 to Pistons: Blazers lose Game 5.
–1986-87, Celtics down 3-1 to Lakers: Celts won Game 5 before losing in Game 6.
–1985-86, Rockets down 3-1 to Celtics: Rockets win Game 5 (the Sampson-Sichting brawl game) before falling in Boston in Game 6.
–1981-82, Sixers down 3-1 to Lakers: Sixers won Game 5 before losing in Game 6.
–1978-79, Bullets down 3-1 to Sonics: Bullets lose Game 5.
–1972-73, Knicks down 3-1 to Lakers: Knicks lose Game 5.
–1971-72, Lakers down 3-1 to Knicks: Lakers lose Game 5.
–1966-67, Warriors down 3-1 to Sixers: Warriors won Game 5 before losing in Game 6.
–1965-66, Lakers down 3-1 to Celtics: Lakers won Games 5 and 6 before losing Game 7.
–1964-65, Lakers down 3-1 to Celtics: Lakers lose Game 5.
–1963-64, Warriors down 3-1 to Celtics: Warriors lose Game 5.
–1962-63, Lakers down 3-1 to Celtics: Lakers win Game 5 before losing in Game 6.
–1960-61, Hawks down 3-1 to Celtics: Hawks lose Game 5.
–1955-56, Pistons down 3-1 to Warriors: Pistons lose Game 5.
Doesn’t look good for Phil Jackson and his team. We have 22 teams that fell down to 3-1 in NBA Finals history and those teams all lost. Of the 22 teams, 12 lost in Game 5, nine forced a Game 6, and only one (the 1965-66 Lakers) forced a Game 7. I think the Lakers should force a Game 6, they are too good at home to lose twice but winning even once in Boston is a tough task.
2. Donaghy Mess: Despite the excellent Game 4 of the Finals, the Tim Donaghy case, which had heretofore been relatively quiet definitely flared up. Donaghy, who is scheduled to be sentenced soon in Federal Court, filed a letter, via his attorney, alleging that the NBA was exerting influence on the games to ensure winners. As detailed by ESPN.com, the letter stated:
“Referees A, F and G were officiating a playoff series between Teams 5 and 6 in May of 2002. It was the sixth game of a seven-game series, and a Team 5 victory that night would have ended the series. However, Tim learned from Referee A that Referees A and F wanted to extend the series to seven games. Tim knew referees A and F to be ‘company men,’ always acting in the interest of the NBA, and that night, it was in the NBA’s interest to add another game to the series. Referees A and F heavily favored Team 6. Personal fouls [resulting in obviously injured players] were ignored even when they occurred in full view of the referees. Conversely, the referees called made-up fouls on Team 5 in order to give additional free throw opportunities for Team 6. Their foul-calling also led to the ejection of two Team 5 players. The referees’ favoring of Team 6 led to that team’s victory that night, and Team 6 came back from behind to win that series.”
The letter also alleged that the NBA counseled referees to call fewer technical on star players and that the league allegedly told the refs to call a 2005 playoff differently after the complaints of an owner. Doing a little research, its clear that Donaghy was referring to Game 6 of the 2002 Lakers-Kings Western Conference Finals, which was marred with foul calls in the fourth quarter. The other series seems to be the Rockets-Mavs first rounder form 2004-05, where Jeff Van Gundy claimed that Yao Ming was unfairly targeted for his screens.
What brought all this invective on from Donaghy? Apparently, the NBA was afforded an opportunity to weigh in the impact that Donaghy’s crimes had on them for sentencing purposes. The NBA responded by alleging that investigating the Donaghy matter cost them $1,000,000 and that they wanted him to make restitution. Dongahy’s response was to make the allegations noted above. It’s a weird situation on a lot of levels.
First, the NBA really had nothing to gain by seeking restitution from someone who surely is judgment proof and the NBA’s only motivation could have been to make sure he got more time in jail and only invite a showdown with Donaghy, who had been relatively quiet. Donaghy now is firing back, though it isn’t clear how much credibility he has. First, the fact that the league might tell refs no to call technicals on star players is no secret, and was even a league directive this year. The fans want to see the stars play, and the league has dealt harshly with refs who to quickly threw out stars (Jake O’Donnell was fired for tossing Clyde Drexler in the 1994-95 playoffs and Danny Crawford was nearly canned in 2006-07 when he quick tossed Tim Duncan). So, that’s not a big deal and actually makes sense.
Nor am I particularly troubled by the fact that the league told the refs that Yao Ming’s screen was illegal, if they believed, upon a review of the tapes, that it was. A good league should scrutinize its refs and advise them how to properly call a game. I have no explanation for the 2002-03 Lakers-Kings series. It was very poorly officiated, though I have a hard time believing a fix was in the NBA earned the scorn it gets for that game.
At the end of the day, the NBA completely overreached by sending a heavy-handed letter to the court on the Dongahy case and Dongahy replied tit-for-tat. Now, there may some discovery on the issue because it is possible that one side is lying based upon the conflicting filings, at least as they address Lakers-Kings. While the NBA can afford to go through the process, even if vindicated, this does not help them one iota. I’m not sure Dongahy is in the position to make such accusations either and both parties are too unequivocal in his position to back down now.
The NBA would’ve been much better served sending a letter to the court reflecting its disappointment in Donaghy generally and letting the court infer the harm he may have caused. Sometimes too much doesn’t work. If they really wanted Donaghy to suffer, a more subtle letter probably would have been much more effective in adding more time to his sentence and avoiding the public relations hit, as Dongahy wouldn’t have had the same license to respond to a softly worded letter. In the end, there are no winners here. The NBA obviously will survive but the Lakers-Kings series, one of the great series of all-time, is somewhat tainted.