Comments on: ‘Cat food: Bobcats 113, Bulls 108

By: A foul loss: Bucks 96, Bulls 93 » By The Horns

A foul loss: Bucks 96, Bulls 93 » By The Horns — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:13:43 +0000

[...] loss to the Bucks in Milwaukee, the Bulls have lost two very winnable games. In their five-point loss to the Bobcats in Charlotte, the Bulls missed seven of their 22 attempts at the stripe (68 percent). I let that slide because [...]

By: felipe garcia

felipe garcia — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:33:18 +0000

I totally agree with you guys, the Refs gave that game to Charlotte. Their were some many questionable fouls that the bulls should have gotten to go to the free throw line against the Bobcats. Just like when the bulls lost that home game at the beginning of the season against Denver when Brad Miller made that close call shot at the buzzer.

By: Matt McHale

Matt McHale — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:42:45 +0000

“Can you shed any light on this? Does your association with TrueHoop bar you from commenting further than you did in your post? I’m a life-long Bulls fan and that was by far the most upset I’ve ever been at the officials.”

I’m not barred from commenting on officiating. I just don’t think it’s very constructive to analyze, since ultimately what the refs do is completely out of a team’s control.

That said, my personal feeling is that the Bulls were borderline jobbed by the officials last night. There were so many bad calls, but the three that stick out in my mind (which other commenters also mentioned) were that bogus goaltend, the even more bogus offensive foul on Rose late in the game, and of course a few of the fouls on Taj. Gibson’s calls I sort of get, because refs always crack down on rookies (although that in and of itself is bogus…since foul calls should be consistent across the board). But the other two…oh, and I remember there was a really late foul called on a jumper by (I think) Gerald Wallace. Like, the ball had already been rebouded and guys were moving downcourt before the whistle blew.

Yeah. The officiating was bad. But, like I said, that’s out of the team’s control. To a point. If they start playing at a high level for a consistent stretch, they might force the refs to make calls.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:47:46 +0000

I agree with your outlook on this one – Matt
It just seems too often that the expectations for this team are the same that fans of the Lakers, Celtics, Cavs and Magic have. I thought they played well for a game on the road that was a back-to-back. Let’s keep our eyes on the players – the ones who are going to be here and the ones we can send packing. What this team is going to look like in a few years is more important to me right now than the one that’s on the court right now.

By: reef

reef — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:22:37 +0000

The charging call on Rose late in the fourth quarter when the bulls was making their run was crucial. Right after that Charlotte regained their 4pt lead when the Bulls could have taken the lead. It should have been a no call or an and-1.

By: Cavendish

Cavendish — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:05:09 +0000

I’m not normally a ref basher – you take what you get and try to win by playing better. That said, I was screaming “Donaghy” more than once last night. Those refs were so bad I was swaying back and forth between thinking they’re just idiots or that they had ulterior motives.

Can you shed any light on this? Does your association with TrueHoop bar you from commenting further than you did in your post? I’m a life-long Bulls fan and that was by far the most upset I’ve ever been at the officials.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:48:19 +0000

I meant to say extremely easy calls.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:47:36 +0000

I think the refs honestly wanted the Bobcats to win that game. At least 3 of Taj Gibson’s fouls were questionable, the goaltending call was one of the worst I’ve ever seen considering it was 4 feet below the rim, and the offensive foul on Derrick Rose was a travesty. No one is perfect, but how do you screw up extremely calls numerous times?

By: James

James — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:57:45 +0000

The Bulls played quite well in the third quarter despite some of the ‘strangest’ officiating I have seen in an NBA game for some time.

The officiating was a complete disgrace. There were numerous calls that were bewildering. It got to the point where I actually endorsed Neil and Stacey’s one sided commentary.

By: Detroit Murder Dog

Detroit Murder Dog — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:07:25 +0000

Refs were brutal. Is the NBA part of an exchange program with FIBA? Seriously, it was rec league officiating out there.

The Bulls just are not that good. Salmons’ box score looked OK, but he had a few Classic Fish moments where he got the ball and didn’t give it back when he should have. Tyrus looked mediocre and Kurt bricked some key shots. We’re just biding our time until we make a trade. It’s sort of an unfulfilling way to follow a basketball team, as you know that significant changes have to be made before this team will be anything more than (slightly below) average.