Hooks14 wrote:

detmer4prez wrote:

The home team is always going to get a few more calls. That is just the way it is. The Jazz get just as many calls at home and the Laker fans will complain about that.

Lets please not bring up the free throw disparity again to try to prove how uneven officiating is. These two teams are totally different. The Lakers are a finesse team and the Jazz are known as the most physical team in the league. The Jazz lead the league in fouls this year and it wasn't because they always get screwed, it is because they are very physical.

I was intrigued by your comment about the foul advantage going both ways, depending on who is the home team. It is something that I had always assumed, but I decided to check it out just to make sure. What I found surprised me (but only a little, I was sort of expecting it):

The Lakers shot 37 or more FTs in every game except Game 4 (25). In contrast, the Jazz never shot more than 30 FTs except Game 4 (45).

When the Lakers had home court, they averaged 19 more FTs per game than the Jazz.
When the Jazz had home court, they averaged only 5.5 more FTs per game than the Lakers (Game 3 they actually shot 9 less FTs than the Lakers, but in Game 4 they shot 20 more).

Do you really think that the Lakers' play merits 19 more FTs per home game, when the Jazz can only muster 5.5 out of the refs?

Your analysis was ok but it missed an important factor.

To accurately assess whether there is a true FTs differential you must use the appropriate multiplier (# of FTs minus {# of FTs times the square root of the inverse of the sum of the number of Hollywood stars sitting at courtside }). Once you factor in that multiplier you'll find that the Jazz actually are averaging more FTs per game than LA.

I knew I was missing something ...Thanks for the help.

Really though, I can understand them taking a lot of FTs (we already established that the Jazz are physical), but what I don't understand is why the Jazz aren't shooting a lot of FTs as well. Being physical goes both ways, and I know that we don't have too many offensive fouls, so our physical play should be sending us to the line.

Hooks14 wrote:

detmer4prez wrote:

The home team is always going to get a few more calls. That is just the way it is. The Jazz get just as many calls at home and the Laker fans will complain about that.

Lets please not bring up the free throw disparity again to try to prove how uneven officiating is. These two teams are totally different. The Lakers are a finesse team and the Jazz are known as the most physical team in the league. The Jazz lead the league in fouls this year and it wasn't because they always get screwed, it is because they are very physical.

I was intrigued by your comment about the foul advantage going both ways, depending on who is the home team. It is something that I had always assumed, but I decided to check it out just to make sure. What I found surprised me (but only a little, I was sort of expecting it):

The Lakers shot 37 or more FTs in every game except Game 4 (25). In contrast, the Jazz never shot more than 30 FTs except Game 4 (45).

When the Lakers had home court, they averaged 19 more FTs per game than the Jazz.
When the Jazz had home court, they averaged only 5.5 more FTs per game than the Lakers (Game 3 they actually shot 9 less FTs than the Lakers, but in Game 4 they shot 20 more).

Do you really think that the Lakers' play merits 19 more FTs per home game, when the Jazz can only muster 5.5 out of the refs?

Probably not. But, I am not one that thinks that just because a team shoots less free throws they are getting screwed. If a team fouls more they will usually get called for more fouls (especially on the road.) You could tell me that a team shot 100 free throws and the other team didn't shoot any. That wouldn't lead me to assume that one team was favored by the refs. I would think, wow, that team that fouled a lot must commit a ton of fouls.

Do I think it is fair that the home teams get the majority of the close calls?... No.

p.s. I don't really know why I even got involved in a Jazz-Lakers discussion when all I root for in the series are team plane crashes. (TIC, JK, knock on wood, Is that clear enough that I was just joking.)

Just to clarify some things with the non-jazz fans on the site. DID anyof you watch ESPN today... Pardon the interuption, both commentaters talked about the obvious home cooking the refs gave L.A. Rome is buring, SAME THING. NBA today, SAME THING. It was very obvious that the refs lost control of the game last night in the 4th quarter. I thought 3 quarters were reffed great. In the 4th the Jazz were in the penalty at 6:00. Most of the fouls coming on bad calls and ticky tack calls that were let go all game long. The Lakers were never in the penalty dispite Utah going to the basket amny times and getting contact.
A quote from PTI "The Jazz would go to the hole and get hit, no call then a laker goes to the hole and some wind hits him and their's a fould called"

No better point then Lamar Odoms Dunk late in the game when he went to the hole slammed it and got the and 1. Instant replat\y shows the Jazz players backing off, NO CONTACT. but the whitle is called. It's almost like a pre-meditated call. Kobe goes for the dunk misses it, 1 second later a foul is called. If the dunk is made is there a foul called??????
Kobe gets the MJ treatment, hands down, everyone in the NBA knows it.
Bottom Line: NBA is out for $$$$$ 7 games = more $$$$, why do you think they went to a 7 game first round? Also Big market teams = MORE $$$$$
David Stern wants a LA vs boston finals so bad it causes him to lose sleep at night. Do you think a Utah vs Detroit series would generate as much $$$ as a LA vs Boston....What about big names- Jazz=D-will and Booz
Detroit = Billups, Wallace
Boston vs LA is a matchup of the top exec's of the year. Boston gets a dream team, L.a get Gasol for nothing, plus Kobe..... Might as well be called "Dancing with the NBA super stars"

BTW... When wasthe last time a small market team won the nba title???

Where's Airwolf to back up my conspiricy here???

stgeorgefan wrote:

David Stern wants a LA vs boston finals so bad it causes him to lose sleep at night.

I have never trusted that guy.

stgeorgefan wrote:

BTW... When wasthe last time a small market team won the nba title???

Where's Airwolf to back up my conspiricy here???

If you consider Wikipedia a source, then San Antonio is a smaller market than Salt Lake City...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_stations_in_North_America_by_media_market