Playoffs GDT: Blazers @ Mavs, Game 2, 4/19/2011, 8:30pm central (TNT) - Page 3 - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

LonghornDub · 04-19-2011, 02:26 PM

I'm glad they're making a huge deal about it. This stuff needs more transparency. Even if you believe it's total statistical coincidence, I still think the information should be out there in abundance.

xrobx · 04-19-2011, 02:29 PM

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/bal...urn=nba-wp1690

Does NBA referee Danny Crawford have it in for the Dallas Mavericks? Should he be officiating their game Tuesday night, as the Mavs try to move up 2-0 on the Portland Trail Blazers? All indications seem to scream "yes" and then "no" because Dallas is working with a startling 2-16 record in playoff games that Crawford has officiated. This stands in stark contrast to the 48-41 record Dallas boasts as a playoff team under the Mark Cuban stewardship.

But with the NBA and its referees locked in the horns of a nasty back-and-forth as the two sides continue to hash out their own differences, what can you trust in an atmosphere like this? This point reached a fever pitch on Monday as the NBA fined coach Nate McMillan 35 large for his comments on the referees from Game 1 and admitted that the refs blew one during the first game of the Thunder/Nuggets series.

With the NBA going all out in an attempt to clean its hands of whatever nationally-televised screwups we get to watch over and over again, the climate begs for nuance, smarts and patience. Does Danny Crawford have it out for the Mavericks? It's quite possible, but let's lead with his calls, rather than his record.

That is to say, watch the game Tuesday night. If Portland is set for a series of makeup calls following McMillan's paid-for attempt at making things right (in his eyes, at least, because I didn't see much outside of two Tyson Chandler(notes) fouls that should have gone Portland's way on Saturday), and Crawford is the biased hack who is set to hand those calls to the Blazers, then it should be obvious to anyone watching. So watch, and tell me where Crawford went out of his way to tilt the favor toward Portland's side.

Remember, this isn't the NBA trying to tick off Mark Cuban. This isn't the NBA trying to appease a small-market but vociferous Portland fandom. This is the NBA trying to move you closer toward the idea that all refs are incompetent or biased or both. They would much rather give up a Tuesday's worth of negative media coverage on a "story" like this if it helps shift the narrative, which then allows them negotiating leverage down the line.

Bottom line: Is it a coincidence that Danny Crawford is working tonight's Dallas Mavericks game? Hell no. But not for the reason you'd think.

And Mark Cuban, ever the martyr, is doing everything he can to help by emailing a terse "not saying a word" reply to ESPN when asked to comment on the Crawford assignment. He could douse the flames or call it bunko or put the onus on his players and coaching staff to work through the Strum und Drang, but instead he adds to the back-and-forth between the league and its refs.

ESPN Dallas' Tim McMahon has more information on the history between Crawford and the Mavericks:

The Mavs won their first playoff game officiated by Crawford, a 94-91 victory over the Utah Jazz on April 28, 2001 to begin a comeback from an 0-2 hole to win that series. Their only win since then in a playoff game officiated by Crawford was in Game 5 of the 2006 Western Conference finals, when Dirk Nowitzki(notes) scored a franchise-playoff-record 50 points in a 117-101 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Crawford worked Game 3 of the Mavs' first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs last season. That 94-90 loss for Dallas featured two controversial plays that went against the Mavs in the fourth quarter: an offensive foul against Nowitzki with the score tied and nine minutes remaining and a clear pushoff that Spurs guard Tony Parker(notes) got away with against J.J. Barea(notes) before hitting a shot that put San Antonio up five points in the final minute.

A couple of things.

First, it appears as if Crawford officiated the most crucial playoff game in Dallas' history. The Mavericks may have gone on to better things in the years since 2001, but for those of us that were documenting things back then, it's important to remind people about just how shocking that first-round upset over the stately Utah Jazz was back in 2001. Especially with the Mavericks down 0-2 in a five-game series.

Secondly, how many of those dodgy calls in last season's Game 3 did Crawford blow the whistle on? This is the sort of ambiguity and catch-all analysis that often tricks us. I'm not saying McMahon is part of the problem; he has a fascinating and well-researched recap here and he's been covering the Mavericks expertly for years. I am saying that we have to take these things one call at a time. Assuming Crawford makes or doesn't make them.

This is why looking at something like free-throw disparity never works as we assess the referee's performance. This is also why the "NBA refereeing needs an overhaul" noise I heard on a sports talk radio show last night is asinine at best. OK, it needs an overhaul, but what do you suggest? Beyond just moaning and complaining about calls gone bad, what is the way out of this? What does an "overhaul" entail? To hire "new blood," as the radio show gasbag offered? From where? Did you see any of those NCAA tournament games? Those refs were awful.

Watch the game tonight, watch each of Crawford's calls and non-calls. Don't change the channel and then look at the box score for the winner later while counting up the free-throw attempts. I understand that if Crawford gets this one right that it's only one game among 19 that he's worked in an apparently spectacularly anti-Dallas manner, but adding things up in this collective way is never the way to go.

Just like the cliché goes, you have to take these things one play at a time. Then call 'em bums.

purplefrog · 04-19-2011, 02:31 PM

Stern scheduled Dan Crawford to make the point he is no longer inclined to fix Mavs games.

Mavs win 93-90. Seriously, the statistic is staggering and almost by chance alone its time for the Mavs to win one of these games.

Stevenson has to be ready to shut down Matthews/Roy from the very beginning. I believe Nate will try to get those guys on track early and often.

lancer · 04-19-2011, 02:43 PM

The press on this issue is very good for the Mavs. Crawford will be watched by everyone with a magnifying glass. This will make him call at least a fair game, he even might be biased towards the Mavs just to take the microscope off him.

xrobx · 04-19-2011, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lancer

The press on this issue is very good for the Mavs. Crawford will be watched by everyone with a magnifying glass. This will make him call at least a fair game, he even might be biased towards the Mavs just to take the microscope off him.

you would think so... then again, he's "proud" of his winning streak over the mavs

Axilla · 04-19-2011, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lancer

The press on this issue is very good for the Mavs. Crawford will be watched by everyone with a magnifying glass. This will make him call at least a fair game, he even might be biased towards the Mavs just to take the microscope off him.

anti-conspiracy conspirators!

now watch all the claims get dismissed after a fair game..

fine with me if he actually keeps it up w/Mavs

Kidd Karma · 04-19-2011, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murphy3

You mean they've got to play again? I thought the Mavs just won the NBA Championship?

Good one, couple good days of looking up our history on series where we won Game 1. Hopefully we can overcome this Crawford deal and win another "Championship" tonight.

j0Shi · 04-19-2011, 03:03 PM

Quote:

I have to admit that this piece came out of nowhere. As soon as I figured today that Dan Crawford would be part of the officiating crew in tonight's game and followed the reactions throughout the Mavericks community, I knew I had to write something about it. Unfortunately in this short time frame I was only able to prepare the data of this regular season properly. I would have loved to look into this case over multiple seasons and especially previous playoff games as the Mavericks are 2-16 in playoff games officiated by Dan Crawford. But this years data also offers interesting observations and surely I'll be able to come back with extended data at a certain point.

http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2011/4/...-crawford-case

LonghornDub · 04-19-2011, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j0Shi

http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2011/4/...-crawford-case

Great stuff as always. Out of curiousity, how in the world do you get this sort of ref-specific data? Does this take hours and hours? You must be incredibly efficient.

LSMF · 04-19-2011, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fluid.forty.one

By the way, LSMF, if you want to say Fuck.. say Fuck. For whatever reason (maybe it's the font) the combination of letters F x c k makes my eyes really uncomfortable. Maybe use an * or something, but honestly "fxck" hurts my eyes.

Point taken. Sorry bout that lol.

She_Growls · 04-19-2011, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSMF

Why is the NBA such a fxcking joke? Mavs fans all see we're getting Dan Crawford and everyone instantly gets depressed. That man shouldn't be allowed to ref Mavs games, period. It's no surprise Stern and his minions are using him for this crucial game. What a fxcking joke, I'm beyond pissed. Mavs have to find a way to get this win.

Edit- If Crawford screws us tonight I hope there's a riot. Fxck it. How can one man consistently screw a team for years and years like that?! I mean, yes I know you hate Mark Cuban but don't take it out on our veteran players. This really sucks.

IMO Dan Crawford is not the problem; he's just performing his job as instructed by his boss, David Stern. The NBA is controlled and manipulated by the same people who controls the news media and hollywood/entertainment..... After witnessing the fraudulent 2006 playoffs series between the Mavs/Heat, I knew something had changed in the NBA. MJ changed everything; instead of putting a quality product on the floor, it was all about marketing players and teams for the biggest profits......The Dallas Mavericks Organization are above that, starting with Dirk and ending with Mark Cuban......David Stern can't stand the fact that there are some people in this world who still have integrity.....yeehaw!

Mavs win tonight, regardless of Crawford!!!!!!

j0Shi · 04-19-2011, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

Great stuff as always. Out of curiousity, how in the world do you get this sort of ref-specific data? Does this take hours and hours? You must be incredibly efficient.

Got a database with evey play from the last 5 seasons and postseasons. Didn't had the ref assignments though. So I updated it for this season with a script that runs through the ESPN boxscores and collects the Refs for all games. I needed two hours or so to write that script and update the database. Will continue for previous seasons the next days.

For today ... it took hours and hours, but once the database is set it only takes seconds to get to the specific data. Players, teams and now ... referees

CadBane · 04-19-2011, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j0Shi

http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2011/4/...-crawford-case

I think it's 1-17, not 2-16.

Such a joke. My brother, who is not even a Mav fan or big NBA fan, texted me this afternoon to tell me Dan Crawford was reffing tonight...he knew exactly what that meant.

Kidd Karma · 04-19-2011, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by purplefrog

Stern scheduled Dan Crawford to make the point he is no longer inclined to fix Mavs games.

Mavs win 93-90. Seriously, the statistic is staggering and almost by chance alone its time for the Mavs to win one of these games.

Stevenson has to be ready to shut down Matthews/Roy from the very beginning. I believe Nate will try to get those guys on track early and often.

He tried to outsize us, but didn't take advantage of it by posting us up. I think they just got away from their game. Plus LA was hot, so he just tried to take us to the well with LA often.

LonghornDub · 04-19-2011, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j0Shi

Got a database with evey play from the last 5 seasons and postseasons. Didn't had the ref assignments though. So I updated it for this season with a script that runs through the ESPN boxscores and collects the Refs for all games. I needed two hours or so to write that script and update the database. Will continue for previous seasons the next days.

For today ... it took hours and hours, but once the database is set it only takes seconds to get to the specific data. Players, teams and now ... referees

Well done. Well done.

j0Shi · 04-19-2011, 03:24 PM

I certainly hope Brewer is up for the task tonight. Looks like he could get some minutes with Crawford officiating

Oh well ... and it wouldn't hurt to have Roddy back in uniform, too. But doesn't sound too likely.

CadBane · 04-19-2011, 03:25 PM

With all the controversy and scrutiny, they really should not let Dan Crawford officiate Mavs games. It's that simple.

fluid.forty.one · 04-19-2011, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CadBane

I think it's 1-17, not 2-16.

Such a joke. My brother, who is not even a Mav fan or big NBA fan, texted me this afternoon to tell me Dan Crawford was reffing tonight...he knew exactly what that meant.

I think it's 2-16 all time, but we've won 1 out of the last 17 games (1-16). We won our very first playoff game that he reffed and then the phx when Dirk scored 50 was the only win in the last 17.

Eamjr10 · 04-19-2011, 03:32 PM

Go Mavs! You got this, let's go up on these clowns 2 games before we travel to Portland.

j0Shi · 04-19-2011, 03:44 PM

Another take from the fellas at bbref.com on Dan Crawford:

They calculated the chance for the Mavericks to go 2-16 under Crawford due to chance alone at 0.05% (5 out of 10.000)

http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=9295

deamon · 04-19-2011, 04:01 PM

Chandler has to step up in defense, stop those alley-oops.
Marion has to step up in offense, I want to see him playing like in last RS games.
Even Dirk has to step up, 35 FG% it's not enough.
Go Mavs!

rabbitproof · 04-19-2011, 04:19 PM

Hurray for the press.

Go Team America!

Kante · 04-19-2011, 04:24 PM

Let´s get this!

Mavsfan4ever · 04-19-2011, 04:25 PM

I'm not worried about Crawford we have the power of Chuck on our side. (Trying to think positive.)

croco · 04-19-2011, 04:28 PM

I'm already sooo tired of the Blazers whining. Hopefully the Mavs make a statement tonight and keep their focus for the entire 48 minutes. They are the more talented and better team, they just need to prove it and not get into jumpshooting mode for long periods.

purplefrog · 04-19-2011, 04:41 PM

xrobx · 04-19-2011, 04:45 PM

I get the feeling if Rick does play brewer he'll instantly get in foul trouble. He won't be allowed to touch anyone...

jthig32 · 04-19-2011, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j0Shi

Got a database with evey play from the last 5 seasons and postseasons. Didn't had the ref assignments though. So I updated it for this season with a script that runs through the ESPN boxscores and collects the Refs for all games. I needed two hours or so to write that script and update the database. Will continue for previous seasons the next days.

For today ... it took hours and hours, but once the database is set it only takes seconds to get to the specific data. Players, teams and now ... referees

Does ESPN provide rss feeds of its box scores? Or are you downloading the HTML and looking for the specific markup?

Edit to add: Obviously not manually. I meant are you crawling the boxes, pulling the html into memory and scanning out the Officials based on the specific markup of the HTML.

fluid.forty.one · 04-19-2011, 04:50 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v4_rzwk52A&feature=fvst

Time to get pumped up.

Bayliss · 04-19-2011, 04:51 PM

Damn, I am psychic. I just knew Stern would do it. huge game in which the series is in the balance? So I knew he would choose Crawford.

Mavs just cannot settle tonight. The only way Crwaford will call anything is if the Mavs put their heads down and go. But alas, I doubt they will.

j0Shi · 04-19-2011, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jthig32

Does ESPN provide rss feeds of its box scores? Or are you downloading the HTML and looking for the specific markup?

I parse the data out of the boxscores html source code.

badfish22 · 04-19-2011, 05:06 PM

So is Roddy active??

fluid.forty.one · 04-19-2011, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badfish22

So is Roddy active??

I hope not. The more Stevenson (Brewer?) this series, the better.

rabbitproof · 04-19-2011, 05:18 PM

Wish they would give some insight into how the refs are chosen. It's all so mysterious and open to conspiracy theorists. Even if there is a randomizing factor, giving the public some visibility into the process would probably help their cause in the long-term.

fluid.forty.one · 04-19-2011, 05:19 PM

At least now we know the going rate for renting an NBA ref is 35k.

DirkFTW · 04-19-2011, 05:29 PM

At this point, it's already over. The NBA just doesn't realize it yet.

SMC0007 · 04-19-2011, 05:33 PM

Anyone else in the Metro have F-ing satellite? ;( Damn storms, n hail.

Mavsfan4ever · 04-19-2011, 05:35 PM

Tim Donaghy said on Galloway and Co that Crawford knew he would officiate this game as early as last week.

LonghornDub · 04-19-2011, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mavsfan4ever

Tim Donaghy said on Galloway and Co that Crawford knew he would officiate this game as early as last week.

If even 25% of the stuff that guy says is true, the NBA is the biggest racket in all sports. Even bigger than boxing.

fluid.forty.one · 04-19-2011, 05:50 PM

Mavericks In Playoffs Since 2001
Dan Crawford Games All Others
W-L 2-16 48-41
vs Spread 4-14 47-41-1
PPG diff -7.7 +0.9
Fouls PG 23.8 23.7
Opp fouls PG 21.5 23.7
FTA PG 21.9 27.0
Opp FTA PG 28.8 28.2
>>Historical point-spread information from Covers.com