Denver Nugget says Lakers paid 50k for game 5

[westkoast]

LOL!

Reported in the Denver Post today a PLAYER on the Nuggets told a reporter that the Lakers paid 50,000 dollars to win that game.

Now before the typical person(s) get excited to run with it...there is no proof.  There is also statistical information to back up that the Nuggets didn't play well but let's discuss.  Do you think this does even more damage than all the complaining from Brown, Van Gundy, Jackson, and Karl?  Or will this be ignored as an obviously upset and loud mouth player ( JR Smith anyone?) just talking?  Thoughts?

[WayOutWest]

LOL!

Reported in the Denver Post today a PLAYER on the Nuggets told a reporter that the Lakers paid 50,000 dollars to win that game.

Now before the typical person(s) get excited to run with it...there is no proof.  There is also statistical information to back up that the Nuggets didn't play well but let's discuss.  Do you think this does even more damage than all the complaining from Brown, Van Gundy, Jackson, and Karl?  Or will this be ignored as an obviously upset and loud mouth player ( JR Smith anyone?) just talking?  Thoughts?

wk,

The reason behind that story is that the league fined PJ 25K plus they fined the Lakers 25K for complaining about the refs after game 4.  That is where the 50K bought officials for game 5 comes from.  I'm sure the league will be handing out fines for Karl's comments after game 5 as well so the story will be that the Nuggets/Karl bought the refs for game 6.

[westkoast]

LOL!

Reported in the Denver Post today a PLAYER on the Nuggets told a reporter that the Lakers paid 50,000 dollars to win that game.

Now before the typical person(s) get excited to run with it...there is no proof.  There is also statistical information to back up that the Nuggets didn't play well but let's discuss.  Do you think this does even more damage than all the complaining from Brown, Van Gundy, Jackson, and Karl?  Or will this be ignored as an obviously upset and loud mouth player ( JR Smith anyone?) just talking?  Thoughts?

wk,

The reason behind that story is that the league fined PJ 25K plus they fined the Lakers 25K for complaining about the refs after game 4.  That is where the 50K bought officials for game 5 comes from.  I'm sure the league will be handing out fines for Karl's comments after game 5 as well so the story will be that the Nuggets/Karl bought the refs for game 6.

Boy did SI.com sensationalize the story then.  Thank you for clearing that up.  The way it read on the site was refs had their pockets lined like in a movie where Jeanie Buss comes out with a briefcase filled with unmarked bills lol

[Reality]

Boy did SI.com sensationalize the story then.  Thank you for clearing that up.  The way it read on the site was refs had their pockets lined like in a movie where Jeanie Buss comes out with a briefcase filled with unmarked bills lol

A b movie for sure.  As if 50K would buy the 16 fouls against the Denver big men while Gasol (1) and Over the Back Odom (2) got 3 total.
    

[WayOutWest]

Boy did SI.com sensationalize the story then.  Thank you for clearing that up.  The way it read on the site was refs had their pockets lined like in a movie where Jeanie Buss comes out with a briefcase filled with unmarked bills lol

With all the crying Karl did I don't expect Bynum to play more than 7 minutes the entire 1st half and I expect MORE of the Birdman over the back non-call for some spectacular put backs.  I also expect more hacking on Kobe to go un-called and about 2 flagrant foul NON-calls as well.  JR Smith is such and arse-clown!

I hope Odom and Gasol "sack up" for this game. 

[Lurker]

Sounds like you are crying more than Phil & Karl combined, WOW.   

Here are a couple passages (bolding mine) from an ESPN article by Hollinger:

Let me tell you what I saw.

I saw a game that was officiated very tightly by one man (Tom Washington) and extremely loosely by the other two (Monty McCutchen and Ron Garretson). Washington in particular made two calls that sent the Nuggets ballistic -- the fifth foul on Nene for a hand-slap on Pau Gasol and a foul on Billups defending the post when it appeared the Lakers had thrown the ball out of bounds.

But the other part of the equation was how much contact the other zebras allowed around the basket. It wasn't one-sided, in my estimation. In the first half, Gasol hacked Martin so hard that I heard the slap from my seat six rows up in the opposite corner. Later, Nene had a chance at a dunk thwarted by a fairly obvious arm chop that went uncalled, sending the Denver bench into hysterics.

However, when the Lakers went at my basket in the second half, I saw much of the same. Kobe Bryant had several drives to the rim with lots of contact and no whistle. And Martin got his payback for the Gasol call in the first half, absolutely creaming him on a late-game post-up without any foul.

Nonetheless, Game 5 does underscore a big problem for the league; it's just a different problem than a lot of people think...

No, the problem is a more basic one: consistency. If players don't know what a foul is from night to night or quarter to quarter, it's inevitable that they're going to be upset, and equally inevitable that fans are going to start flinging conspiracy theories at the wall to explain what they're seeing. In a perfect world, the words "adjusting to the officiating" would never have to be mentioned.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=PERDiem-090528

One final quote....

For his part, Jackson wasn't exactly sheepish about the idea that he'd affected the officiating with his comments.

"I'm a gardener," he said before the game. "I like planting seeds, constantly."

[WayOutWest]

One final quote....
For his part, Jackson wasn't exactly sheepish about the idea that he'd affected the officiating with his comments.

"I'm a gardener," he said before the game. "I like planting seeds, constantly."

This comment from PJ really bothers me, he's daring the officials to screw the Lakers.  You try to show up the refs and you're going to get screwed.

[Lurker]

One final quote....
For his part, Jackson wasn't exactly sheepish about the idea that he'd affected the officiating with his comments.

"I'm a gardener," he said before the game. "I like planting seeds, constantly."

This comment from PJ really bothers me, he's daring the officials to screw the Lakers.  You try to show up the refs and you're going to get screwed.

He is just admitting what everyone has accused him of over the years...using the press to manipulate the players/league/refs/opponents.

[Reality]

He is just admitting what everyone has accused him of over the years...using the press to manipulate the players/league/refs/opponents.

Exactly.  As if Phildos gardening has ever caused him to be "screwed" by the refs previously.  Ever.