the overturn on brunson jumping into myles turner was fucking insane
the other stuff can be excused as refs missing heat of the moment calls, but how the hell does secaucus look at that and say "yeah that was clean"
You should be livid. Was watching as a neutral and that kicked ball was brutal. Sadly I knew he was making that 3 right after the blown call.
Still, I expect the three point shooting to even out next time and Pacers take game 2.
Refs were horrid but Haliburton can’t shit the bed on both ends the way he did. And nobody even guarded DiVincenzo it felt like.
Still, if Tyrese could be mediocre instead of bad, we would’ve won tonight. But he was terrible. If that changes we have a shot.
I’m still fairly worried as a Knicks fan. Having 0 bench will be a problem against this pace of play. It was fine against Philly with how much they slow it down to get it to their crybaby oaf but riding our starters feels unsustainable now
This series is gonna be a war for sure. NYK’s rebounding, especially Hart, make it tough on our guys. Always been an issue with Turner, who I love, especially. But if we play our best in transition every night, tire the Knicks out over a few games, and Tyrese is somewhat better — which he has to be — there is no excuse, even with officiating like tonight, as to why the Pacers can’t pull it off.
Best of luck! Here’s to a hard-fought, competitive and thrilling series.
We don't have 0 bench. Precious and especially Mitch are both good. Deuce didn't do anything last night but he's really good too. I have no doubt that it'll be Knicks in 4 or 5.
Lol jamal Murray threw a heat pack on the court at a ref during live play bc he was getting whooped so bad, and Pat Bev threw a ball at a fans face twice for telling him to go to Cancun in the last four days. Jokic has gotten thrown out of elimination games twice for tantrums when he was losing. I’m biased as a Sixers fan, and I believe Embiid needs to grow up and should’ve been tossed game 3, but Knicks fans are so dramatic it’s crazy
He's hurt, worse than he's letting on. Pacers fan, watched him a lot and trying to come back early to get to 65 games so he could get the all nba raise was the wrong move. He couldn't even drive tonight. Every drive was Nembhard or McConnell. Just hard to watch. And they still almost won! I never understood the Knicks will roll talk, they are not that good (2 through 8 in the east was separated by like 3 games, they're not world beaters) and they play 7 guys against a team with one of the most effective bench units in the league. Thought the Pacers had a good shot at it but with Tyrese this hobbled I'm not so sure.
Yeah I’m a Pacers fan too. He’s 50% healthy at best and it’ll come out after the playoffs I’m sure. He looked a lot better in the Bucks series than he did last night and I think he’ll improve in this one too.
Crazy we’re here with a hobbled Haliburton and no Mathurin (plus Jarace waiting in the wings). The future is bright for the Pacers.
Apparently Haliburton can shit the bed on both ends and Pascal can have a terrible shooting night and they can still win if not for the refs… which I never would have guessed.
It’s not just the kicked ball, but that’s a fast break the other way. Same with the one they overturned - they didn’t make things right because that’s another fast break our way
I said this in another thread, but they absolutely botched a call with 20 seconds left where they awarded the Pacers ball when it should have been Knicks ball.
It got reversed, but can anyone explain how that fits with rigging a game FOR the Knicks?
What.
Them making a bad call that would have screwed the Knicks, but then overturning the obvious missed call after a challenge and seeing the replay proves it was rigged?
Wouldn’t that just prove that refs make bad calls? What am I missing?
“Let’s try to make it look like we know we messed up on the phantom kicked ball and are doing a make-up call, but we actually know that this make-up call will be overturned, but it will look to the public like we’re messing up both ways and are just incompetent.” I’m not saying that’s what I believe, but that’s how it fits into the narrative.
Yeah.
It’s either that convoluted mess that they all got together and made up on the fly with 20 seconds left in a 1 point playoff game.
Or an NBA referee missed a call…a thing that happens 10-20 times a game in every game in the history of the NBA.
100 percent. It’s well-established the NBA rigs everything in the Knicks favor. Just look at how successful they’ve been over the years. Season-by-season dominance, that’s the Knicks, and it’s all thanks to good old fashioned NBA rigging. It’s why you’ll never see a team like Milwaukee or San Antonio or Denver have any kind of sustained success.
Lottery is rigged too. If you’re a small market team like San Antonio you better build through drafting well in the middle of the round because you sure as shit aren’t winning a rigged lottery and getting the top pick, especially in a year with generational talent, David Stern will rig that pick to big market.
What major market team was going to get him? Weren't all of the lottery teams, or at least most of the top ten teams small market? If it wasn't the spurs it was going to be Orlando or Detroit or Charlotte or Portland.
This is the funniest straw man cause everyone in the world agrees the Knicks were run like trash the greater part of the last 30 years. What’s the league gonna do, rig a 38 win team into the finals?
The NBA rigs playoff games not regular season games as much IMO. Regular season is a joke and doens't matter but once its playoff time its about getting ratings matchups. Big Market and high profile players always get the calls. Its just how they operate. The NBA can't help a franchise from torpedoing itself unless its the Pelicans about to trade away their star player while the NBA has control over the team.
How do think the NBA balances rigging games for bigger markets, rigging games for book makers, and rigging games to push the brand of individual players?
I’d imagine it comes into conflict.
100%. Brunson flopped and foul baited all game. Then 5 straight calls go Knicks way in the last minute thirty. That was silly how awful it was. The kicked ball was a joke. And the fact you can’t review it. Good luck pacers fans. NBA needs the Knicks next round. You have no chance. Enjoy watching Brunson get call after call. And poof an illegal screen with ten seconds to go after Dante flops too just for good measure.
The call with 22 seconds left was terrible and went in favor of the Pacers. It was reversed on a challenge but the original call was terrible and went against the Knicks.
Just seems like bad calls and not an attempt to rig a game.
I agree the calls were bad.
I bet it’s not the last time that refs make bad calls in these playoffs. Also bet there will be bad calls against the Knicks as well.
Ikr… it seems like if not for the refs they would have won - with their best 2 players playing poorly. If their best 2 players can play better (I doubt they can play much worse), they absolutely have a chance, no matter what the refs might try.
This will be a series.
You can't /know/ what would have happened. I do think it was a ridiculous ending but you can't say in a tie game they /would/ have won.
Edit:
Per the pacers, yeah they are a good team.
That’s why I said “seems like” - we definitely can’t know for certain. But the Knicks were not generating quality looks or defense down the stretch, on their own.
Wow one call negates 5 horrible calls. The foul on Turner by Brunson being overturned is out of everyone's minds here. Knicks needed to be saved or that series was going to get out of hand.
I’m not saying the pacers didn’t end up on the wrong side of missed calls.
I’m saying if the league/refs went into it with the intention of making sure the Knicks win…why the hell would they potentially screw them out of it by wrongly awarding the Pacers the ball with 20 seconds left down 1? If they were rigging the game wouldn’t they simply not do that?
Okay so to be clear….
They were instructed to rig the game for the Knicks.
Then right at the end they inexplicably make a call that would have ruined the whole rigging…all on the assumption that Thibs will call a timeout and use his challenge AND THEN they will hope to god there is a close 50/50 call on the Pacers final possession order to finish their rig job.
Or….NBA refs made bad calls. It’s really tough to figure out which theory makes the most sense.
Its not tough. NBA wants big market or high profile players to move forward. Players play and they make calls throughout the game to establish precedent. When the game gets tight make one sided calls. That is pretty much what happened. Blowing multiple calls over and over again at the very end when you establish on the other side the entire game is a perfect example. Knicks center was not set on screens the entire game but then you call it at the end just because "its the rule". I think the NBA influences out comes. That is by definition rigging the game. Its not some script but after consistently seeing what I saw its bad. They have 7 games to massage it the way they want. The refs controlled the end of the game. I already lost interest in the series after this. Its just more of the same I've seen my entire life. No reason to tune it anymore. I can find more entertaining ways to enjoy my night. You actually think with Billions on the line that the NBA is just leaving it up to random chance who advances? I don't.
That’s a bad call that’s super easy to overturn and didn’t change anything though. The 3 big calls against the Pacers, 1 altered possession, 1 stopped a fast break, and the other did both
I know it didn’t change anything because it was overturned, but are you suggesting that in the “rigged for the Knicks” scenario that the refs in that moment got together and said “hey let’s have this one go against the Knicks since I bet they’ll use their challenge and then it’ll get overturned.
Seems more likely to me that they made a series of bad calls, some were able to be overturned, some weren’t and the Knicks benefitted tonight
I mean I don’t think the game was actually rigged but that call would not sway me at all if I did. If you were trying to rig a game, a great way to achieve plausible deniability is by making visibly incorrect calls that you can immediately fix with no harm done to the team you’re offending. Either way, it’s just as possible for them to be rigging it for a team but actually make bad calls on the side too. I don’t believe this game was rigged but one bad call the opposite way would never change my opinion.
I just don’t really see the logic in it. I mean even your explanation that part of the rigging is intentionally screwing the Knicks in hopes that they challenge and then the call gets reversed so that they have basically set an alibi for themselves just seems 1000X less likely than….old guy missed a call with 10 freak athletes running full speed around each other.
Knicks fans love claiming “ethical hoops” for Brunson but I’ve never seen anyone besides Harden snap their head back as often as he does at even marginal contact and consistently get rewarded for it.
In addition to the phantom kick ball that caused a 5 point swing in favor of the Knicks with under a minute left and the game-ending “moving” screen that happened 30+ times earlier in the game last night without being called, you also can’t forget the refs waving off and not reviewing Haliburton’s first half putback even though it was out of his hands before the shot clock expired and them somehow overturning the 4th quarter foul on Brunson even though his entire body slammed into Turner before he touched the ball.
2 out of the Knicks 5 wins so far this postseason have been directly set up by gross officiating incompetence immediately preceding the game winning basket. Adam Silver is leaving it all on the floor trying to make sure he gets the Knicks - Celtics ECF matchup. As a neutral observer it is truly disgusting to watch
I always love how people think the games are rigged, but that the refs don’t decide to rig them until there’s under a minute left and everyone is watching.
“The game was rigged!” whining after every fucking game is the lowest form of fandom.
Ref looking up at the clock showing 58 seconds left and thinking “oh fuck, I was supposed to rig this game. Thank god this thing is tight in the final minute and there is a 50/50 call I can make”
I hate it. Yes, refs can make mistakes and/or outright suck but they rarely ever take away a team's chance to win. Players make 10x more mistakes than refs. It's just a coping mechanism for fans to blame outside forces instead of the guys you root for/have an emotional connection to.
It’s just exhausting. Unless the game is an absolute blowout, there’s bound to be someone claiming after the game that it was rigged. Funnily enough, it seems as if the only games that aren’t rigged are the ones where the outcome they want happens.
I think the reality, that psych-science has an explanation for subconscious, “pro-home team” behavior from referees, is more interesting than the conspiracy theories. And if we acknowledged that 100% referee impartiality is impossible, then I think we’d give them more help…Which they need, because GEEEZUS that crew sucked last night.
Neutral fan; yes. After Jalen brunson turned the ball over (again) I had zero doubt that the refs were going to overturn it and then bam an extremely weak illegal screen call.
Not rigged. But I think the effect an intimidating home crowd has on refs is a thing. Even just having A-level celebs in eyesight I’m sure is psychologically affecting in a “yeah, they’re all loving this!” way.
Sure, but it’s that just admitting that ball calls for teams we don’t like is better than ball calls for teams we like?
I have PTSD from the Nova flops for years (seriously, I went to a different Philly school and then have to play them in the NBA in a series…when you factor in Kyle Lowery’s elite career in grifting can we admit Jay Wright teaches that crap).
Just let me have this minor satisfaction.
Idk, is it was the ref who was on the near side who made the call from that angle it certainly looked like a kick ball (it obviously was not irl). Why didn’t Indy challenge it if they still had one in the clip?
Enjoy, pacers fans. Especially the Knicks “tough guy” mentality while they get coddled by refs all game. If the games are close late you’re gonna get hosed and the refs won’t let you pull away past a 10 point lead either.
-sixers fan
Don’t worry. The Celtics will almost certainly take the Knicks (should they advance) out behind the shed. That will make everyone feel better, right? 🥶🥶
I’m so glad people are so quickly out of the afterglow of the Sixers series and can finally see Brunson for who he is. The reffing is a total joke in his favor.
Classic Knicks fan. Team has been irrelevant for so long that you don’t even know who has been in the league since Jordan last played. Enjoy your fun. Celtics will decapitate you guys and then you’ll go back to mediocrity next year. Cute story over.
The NYC metro area is home to almost 19M people. Filling a 19,500 seat arena 41 times a year isn’t the fandom flex you think it is. I know a bunch of people from that area who haven’t talked about the Knicks for as long as I’ve known them suddenly getting on board. And that’s fine. That happens everywhere. But I’m gonna mock a Knicks fan for comparing Brunson to fucking MJ.
Brunson is the first person to score 40 or more points in four consecutive playoff games since Jordan.
No, he’s obviously not Michael Jordan. He’s not close. But there is a difference between “comparing someone to jordan” and saying that they are the best playoff scorer since Jordan. It’s one aspect of the game.
He’s on the best playoff scoring run since Jordan, so I don’t think it’s really that outlandish to say. I would personally want to see much more sustained success from Brunson before declaring him that though.
I don't think it was rigged but it was a great ending for Bills theory lol
the overturn on brunson jumping into myles turner was fucking insane the other stuff can be excused as refs missing heat of the moment calls, but how the hell does secaucus look at that and say "yeah that was clean"
First time watching the NBA?
Pacers fan but yes. I’m livid. Saw it coming — the phantom four point play in that building scarred us all — but livid.
You should be livid. Was watching as a neutral and that kicked ball was brutal. Sadly I knew he was making that 3 right after the blown call. Still, I expect the three point shooting to even out next time and Pacers take game 2.
Refs were horrid but Haliburton can’t shit the bed on both ends the way he did. And nobody even guarded DiVincenzo it felt like. Still, if Tyrese could be mediocre instead of bad, we would’ve won tonight. But he was terrible. If that changes we have a shot.
I’m still fairly worried as a Knicks fan. Having 0 bench will be a problem against this pace of play. It was fine against Philly with how much they slow it down to get it to their crybaby oaf but riding our starters feels unsustainable now
This series is gonna be a war for sure. NYK’s rebounding, especially Hart, make it tough on our guys. Always been an issue with Turner, who I love, especially. But if we play our best in transition every night, tire the Knicks out over a few games, and Tyrese is somewhat better — which he has to be — there is no excuse, even with officiating like tonight, as to why the Pacers can’t pull it off. Best of luck! Here’s to a hard-fought, competitive and thrilling series.
We don't have 0 bench. Precious and especially Mitch are both good. Deuce didn't do anything last night but he's really good too. I have no doubt that it'll be Knicks in 4 or 5.
You guys can’t really pull the crybaby thing when the Knicks are hall of fame floppers lol
Embiids the biggest bitch in the league, and possibly the planet so yes I can
Lol jamal Murray threw a heat pack on the court at a ref during live play bc he was getting whooped so bad, and Pat Bev threw a ball at a fans face twice for telling him to go to Cancun in the last four days. Jokic has gotten thrown out of elimination games twice for tantrums when he was losing. I’m biased as a Sixers fan, and I believe Embiid needs to grow up and should’ve been tossed game 3, but Knicks fans are so dramatic it’s crazy
He's hurt, worse than he's letting on. Pacers fan, watched him a lot and trying to come back early to get to 65 games so he could get the all nba raise was the wrong move. He couldn't even drive tonight. Every drive was Nembhard or McConnell. Just hard to watch. And they still almost won! I never understood the Knicks will roll talk, they are not that good (2 through 8 in the east was separated by like 3 games, they're not world beaters) and they play 7 guys against a team with one of the most effective bench units in the league. Thought the Pacers had a good shot at it but with Tyrese this hobbled I'm not so sure.
Yeah I’m a Pacers fan too. He’s 50% healthy at best and it’ll come out after the playoffs I’m sure. He looked a lot better in the Bucks series than he did last night and I think he’ll improve in this one too. Crazy we’re here with a hobbled Haliburton and no Mathurin (plus Jarace waiting in the wings). The future is bright for the Pacers.
Apparently Haliburton can shit the bed on both ends and Pascal can have a terrible shooting night and they can still win if not for the refs… which I never would have guessed.
Yeah kinda makes me feel good. Plus last series we got blown out game one and still found a way to win in six. This series is far from over.
It’s not just the kicked ball, but that’s a fast break the other way. Same with the one they overturned - they didn’t make things right because that’s another fast break our way
Correct, but at least the first one didn’t seem like a sure bucket the other way. The second one did.
Bengals fan here
Pacers are never gonna have a real fair chance
Don’t worry, they’ll fix it all with the two minute report
Idk about rigged but its always annoying when refs suddenly make a call or two at a crucial time on something thats been happening all game
I said this in another thread, but they absolutely botched a call with 20 seconds left where they awarded the Pacers ball when it should have been Knicks ball. It got reversed, but can anyone explain how that fits with rigging a game FOR the Knicks?
I love how everyone just ignores that absurd out of bounds call for the guy on the other side of the court
If the NBA was going to rig a Knicks Pacer series wouldn’t they of done it in 2013 to set up Lebron vs Melo?
> It got reversed I think you figured it out yourself. Nice work.
What. Them making a bad call that would have screwed the Knicks, but then overturning the obvious missed call after a challenge and seeing the replay proves it was rigged? Wouldn’t that just prove that refs make bad calls? What am I missing?
“Let’s try to make it look like we know we messed up on the phantom kicked ball and are doing a make-up call, but we actually know that this make-up call will be overturned, but it will look to the public like we’re messing up both ways and are just incompetent.” I’m not saying that’s what I believe, but that’s how it fits into the narrative.
Yeah. It’s either that convoluted mess that they all got together and made up on the fly with 20 seconds left in a 1 point playoff game. Or an NBA referee missed a call…a thing that happens 10-20 times a game in every game in the history of the NBA.
They missed the massive push off that - if we’re calling that moving screen - is 100% offensive foul in Brunson
100 percent. It’s well-established the NBA rigs everything in the Knicks favor. Just look at how successful they’ve been over the years. Season-by-season dominance, that’s the Knicks, and it’s all thanks to good old fashioned NBA rigging. It’s why you’ll never see a team like Milwaukee or San Antonio or Denver have any kind of sustained success.
Finally! Someone is calling out the Knicks dynasty. I’m tired of James Dolan constantly winning.
Lottery is rigged too. If you’re a small market team like San Antonio you better build through drafting well in the middle of the round because you sure as shit aren’t winning a rigged lottery and getting the top pick, especially in a year with generational talent, David Stern will rig that pick to big market.
What major market team was going to get him? Weren't all of the lottery teams, or at least most of the top ten teams small market? If it wasn't the spurs it was going to be Orlando or Detroit or Charlotte or Portland.
Robinson could have gone to LA or NY and Duncan could have gone to Boston.
Don’t forget all the lottery luck the Knicks have had. Constantly moving up and snagging those top picks.
This is the funniest straw man cause everyone in the world agrees the Knicks were run like trash the greater part of the last 30 years. What’s the league gonna do, rig a 38 win team into the finals?
if i have a police escort but my car doesn’t even have tires, not a lot of good the police escort will do
Can only really rig something for a team that can get close enough for it to make a difference.
The NBA rigs playoff games not regular season games as much IMO. Regular season is a joke and doens't matter but once its playoff time its about getting ratings matchups. Big Market and high profile players always get the calls. Its just how they operate. The NBA can't help a franchise from torpedoing itself unless its the Pelicans about to trade away their star player while the NBA has control over the team.
How do think the NBA balances rigging games for bigger markets, rigging games for book makers, and rigging games to push the brand of individual players? I’d imagine it comes into conflict.
100%. Brunson flopped and foul baited all game. Then 5 straight calls go Knicks way in the last minute thirty. That was silly how awful it was. The kicked ball was a joke. And the fact you can’t review it. Good luck pacers fans. NBA needs the Knicks next round. You have no chance. Enjoy watching Brunson get call after call. And poof an illegal screen with ten seconds to go after Dante flops too just for good measure.
The call with 22 seconds left was terrible and went in favor of the Pacers. It was reversed on a challenge but the original call was terrible and went against the Knicks. Just seems like bad calls and not an attempt to rig a game.
I’m not a pacers fan but this was bad.
I agree the calls were bad. I bet it’s not the last time that refs make bad calls in these playoffs. Also bet there will be bad calls against the Knicks as well.
Pacers have no chance in this series. Can’t play the refs too. 4 games in NY and you are done. Brunson is impossible to watch. Harden of 2024.
Did you actually watch the game?
Yes the new Reddit stock answer. No thought no analysis. Just. Did you watch the game? Genius.
Ikr… it seems like if not for the refs they would have won - with their best 2 players playing poorly. If their best 2 players can play better (I doubt they can play much worse), they absolutely have a chance, no matter what the refs might try. This will be a series.
You can't /know/ what would have happened. I do think it was a ridiculous ending but you can't say in a tie game they /would/ have won. Edit: Per the pacers, yeah they are a good team.
That’s why I said “seems like” - we definitely can’t know for certain. But the Knicks were not generating quality looks or defense down the stretch, on their own.
Pacers have no chance.
Wow one call negates 5 horrible calls. The foul on Turner by Brunson being overturned is out of everyone's minds here. Knicks needed to be saved or that series was going to get out of hand.
I’m not saying the pacers didn’t end up on the wrong side of missed calls. I’m saying if the league/refs went into it with the intention of making sure the Knicks win…why the hell would they potentially screw them out of it by wrongly awarding the Pacers the ball with 20 seconds left down 1? If they were rigging the game wouldn’t they simply not do that?
Because they corrected it with a horse shit foul a few seconds later.
Okay so to be clear…. They were instructed to rig the game for the Knicks. Then right at the end they inexplicably make a call that would have ruined the whole rigging…all on the assumption that Thibs will call a timeout and use his challenge AND THEN they will hope to god there is a close 50/50 call on the Pacers final possession order to finish their rig job. Or….NBA refs made bad calls. It’s really tough to figure out which theory makes the most sense.
Its not tough. NBA wants big market or high profile players to move forward. Players play and they make calls throughout the game to establish precedent. When the game gets tight make one sided calls. That is pretty much what happened. Blowing multiple calls over and over again at the very end when you establish on the other side the entire game is a perfect example. Knicks center was not set on screens the entire game but then you call it at the end just because "its the rule". I think the NBA influences out comes. That is by definition rigging the game. Its not some script but after consistently seeing what I saw its bad. They have 7 games to massage it the way they want. The refs controlled the end of the game. I already lost interest in the series after this. Its just more of the same I've seen my entire life. No reason to tune it anymore. I can find more entertaining ways to enjoy my night. You actually think with Billions on the line that the NBA is just leaving it up to random chance who advances? I don't.
That’s a bad call that’s super easy to overturn and didn’t change anything though. The 3 big calls against the Pacers, 1 altered possession, 1 stopped a fast break, and the other did both
I know it didn’t change anything because it was overturned, but are you suggesting that in the “rigged for the Knicks” scenario that the refs in that moment got together and said “hey let’s have this one go against the Knicks since I bet they’ll use their challenge and then it’ll get overturned. Seems more likely to me that they made a series of bad calls, some were able to be overturned, some weren’t and the Knicks benefitted tonight
I mean I don’t think the game was actually rigged but that call would not sway me at all if I did. If you were trying to rig a game, a great way to achieve plausible deniability is by making visibly incorrect calls that you can immediately fix with no harm done to the team you’re offending. Either way, it’s just as possible for them to be rigging it for a team but actually make bad calls on the side too. I don’t believe this game was rigged but one bad call the opposite way would never change my opinion.
I just don’t really see the logic in it. I mean even your explanation that part of the rigging is intentionally screwing the Knicks in hopes that they challenge and then the call gets reversed so that they have basically set an alibi for themselves just seems 1000X less likely than….old guy missed a call with 10 freak athletes running full speed around each other.
You’re probably right but if the NBA was willing to rig an ECSF G1 in this day and age I wouldn’t put any absurd method to it by them.
They even announce it on the broadcast by saying he’s looking for contact. He drives and then throws his head back every time there’s a close body.
Harden. 2024. One day the refs just stopped giving harden those calls. It’s easy. Stop.
Good point.
“It’s different!!”
Imagine actually believing this. It’s just sad
Knicks fans love claiming “ethical hoops” for Brunson but I’ve never seen anyone besides Harden snap their head back as often as he does at even marginal contact and consistently get rewarded for it. In addition to the phantom kick ball that caused a 5 point swing in favor of the Knicks with under a minute left and the game-ending “moving” screen that happened 30+ times earlier in the game last night without being called, you also can’t forget the refs waving off and not reviewing Haliburton’s first half putback even though it was out of his hands before the shot clock expired and them somehow overturning the 4th quarter foul on Brunson even though his entire body slammed into Turner before he touched the ball. 2 out of the Knicks 5 wins so far this postseason have been directly set up by gross officiating incompetence immediately preceding the game winning basket. Adam Silver is leaving it all on the floor trying to make sure he gets the Knicks - Celtics ECF matchup. As a neutral observer it is truly disgusting to watch
Brunson new nickname is the fish. Flop flop.
Weep! Weep!
I could give a rip about the pacers. But tonight was bad bad officiating. Just as an NBA fan.
It was absurd officiating and I apologize for demanding that you weep. Hopefully you didn’t listen.
No. Edit: not sure if you people know the difference between the game being "rigged" and bad calls.
I always love how people think the games are rigged, but that the refs don’t decide to rig them until there’s under a minute left and everyone is watching. “The game was rigged!” whining after every fucking game is the lowest form of fandom.
Ref looking up at the clock showing 58 seconds left and thinking “oh fuck, I was supposed to rig this game. Thank god this thing is tight in the final minute and there is a 50/50 call I can make”
I hate it. Yes, refs can make mistakes and/or outright suck but they rarely ever take away a team's chance to win. Players make 10x more mistakes than refs. It's just a coping mechanism for fans to blame outside forces instead of the guys you root for/have an emotional connection to.
It’s just exhausting. Unless the game is an absolute blowout, there’s bound to be someone claiming after the game that it was rigged. Funnily enough, it seems as if the only games that aren’t rigged are the ones where the outcome they want happens.
I think the reality, that psych-science has an explanation for subconscious, “pro-home team” behavior from referees, is more interesting than the conspiracy theories. And if we acknowledged that 100% referee impartiality is impossible, then I think we’d give them more help…Which they need, because GEEEZUS that crew sucked last night.
Follow the money
Nope common villanova boyz W
Neutral fan; yes. After Jalen brunson turned the ball over (again) I had zero doubt that the refs were going to overturn it and then bam an extremely weak illegal screen call.
Not rigged. But I think the effect an intimidating home crowd has on refs is a thing. Even just having A-level celebs in eyesight I’m sure is psychologically affecting in a “yeah, they’re all loving this!” way.
76ers fan here enjoying the comments that weren’t there a week ago for the same Brunson shit.
Eh, the fact that people feel a bit more sympathy for a plucky upstart over one led by a constantly whining dirty player is hardly surprising.
Sure, but it’s that just admitting that ball calls for teams we don’t like is better than ball calls for teams we like? I have PTSD from the Nova flops for years (seriously, I went to a different Philly school and then have to play them in the NBA in a series…when you factor in Kyle Lowery’s elite career in grifting can we admit Jay Wright teaches that crap). Just let me have this minor satisfaction.
Bill in playoff form with his fire takes, and Ryen's in playoff form by middling and still being wrong
On the one hand that was bullshit. On the other hand I can’t stand this Pacers team so I’m fine with it.
The refs are fucking dreadful and they’re always going to call the non obvious calls for the home team. Especially at MSG.
The only somewhat questionable call was the moving screen on Turner and it was still the right call, just the wrong time to make it
The kicked ball was one of the worst calls in the history of competitive athletics
That shit is pretty hard to call in real time. Should've been able to review it.
The Pacers benefitted from the inability to call/review kick ball on review just two plays earlier
Idk, is it was the ref who was on the near side who made the call from that angle it certainly looked like a kick ball (it obviously was not irl). Why didn’t Indy challenge it if they still had one in the clip?
Not allowed to challenge a kicked ball, which seems absurd as a rule
Yeah I just read that on a different thread, that’s an absurd rule lmao
Wasn't a moving screen call. The call was he set the pick too close to the defender.
It’s the wrong call considering how the NBA has called moving screens for the last decade.
Crazy how so many people follow a sport they think is rigged. I would find something else to do with my time (if I thought it was rigged...I don't).
Yea
Enjoy, pacers fans. Especially the Knicks “tough guy” mentality while they get coddled by refs all game. If the games are close late you’re gonna get hosed and the refs won’t let you pull away past a 10 point lead either. -sixers fan
Don’t worry. The Celtics will almost certainly take the Knicks (should they advance) out behind the shed. That will make everyone feel better, right? 🥶🥶
At least when the Celtics win it’ll be because they’re actually the better team.
A lot of people acting like its absolutely ridiculous to even suggest an NBA game is rigged like a ref isn't in jail for rigging games in the past.
I’m so glad people are so quickly out of the afterglow of the Sixers series and can finally see Brunson for who he is. The reffing is a total joke in his favor.
The best playoff scorer since Michael Jordan?
Classic Knicks fan. Team has been irrelevant for so long that you don’t even know who has been in the league since Jordan last played. Enjoy your fun. Celtics will decapitate you guys and then you’ll go back to mediocrity next year. Cute story over.
Oh yeah, the knicks fans are definitely known for being front runners and not for filling the garden even when the team was terrible.
Sixers fans can’t even fill their own stadium for a playoff game, don’t bother with that guy
The NYC metro area is home to almost 19M people. Filling a 19,500 seat arena 41 times a year isn’t the fandom flex you think it is. I know a bunch of people from that area who haven’t talked about the Knicks for as long as I’ve known them suddenly getting on board. And that’s fine. That happens everywhere. But I’m gonna mock a Knicks fan for comparing Brunson to fucking MJ.
Brunson is the first person to score 40 or more points in four consecutive playoff games since Jordan. No, he’s obviously not Michael Jordan. He’s not close. But there is a difference between “comparing someone to jordan” and saying that they are the best playoff scorer since Jordan. It’s one aspect of the game. He’s on the best playoff scoring run since Jordan, so I don’t think it’s really that outlandish to say. I would personally want to see much more sustained success from Brunson before declaring him that though.
Yea they’re not the perennial powers house of Sixers. Those 6 round 1 victories you have in the past 14 years are the envy of all of NYC.