Game 33 | Cavaliers @ Wizards Jan 4th, 1:00PM (ET)

[Jon]

people are entitled to their opinion of the last play and I am by no means saying youre an idiot if you feel it wasnt a travel.....i too wish they hadnt called it a travel but in viewing the play as objectively as possible i saw lebron take 4 steps without dribbling and think it was a travel.....i guess the main point of the post was that the game wasnt lost on that call/non-call

Did you see the view from the baseline camera?

The only way he could come close to taking 4 steps is if he landed on both feet before taking his last step ... and the reverse angle shows that didn't happen.

 

[tgunner333]

Did you see the view from the baseline camera?

The only way he could come close to taking 4 steps is if he landed on both feet before taking his last step ... and the reverse angle shows that didn't happen.

ok......youre right it was a bad call

 

[King J]

If it makes anybody feel better the Magic lost and the Celtics are down 6 and struggling with the Knicks.

 

[Chris]

It's too bad Detroit couldnt lose. I was watching the box scores on Yahoo and it showed that LA Clips had a lead with 2 seconds to go and the ball- and yet Detroit still won. I was like WTF?

Orlando losing is nice- if Boston loses it is even nicer.

 

[Silky Smooth]

I saw the fire in Mike Brown while he was ripping the ref a new a$$ hole. My guess is he saw the whole team was just going through the motions so he needed to do that to get them started. It came down to execution at the end and we couldnt do that.

 

[Wes]

Teams like the Wizards frustrate me as an NBA fan. Why do they turn up their intensity and focus so much more when playing the Cavs? Why not play like this every game? I imagine they don't play nearly as well when they go against teams like Charlotte (although they did just beat Houston). I mean, they could have more than 7 wins if they played every game like they do against the Cavs.

On the flipside, the Cavs need to realize that just because you are a top 3 team in the league, it doesn't mean that a team is just going to roll over when you walk onto the court.

I guess it goes both ways, but it's still frustrating...

 

[wuck]

Here's Windhorst after the game on his 2nd take:

Windhorst Beat Blog: Traveling backward in D.C.
by bwindhor
Sunday January 04, 2009, 12:27 PM

Wizards 80, Cavs 77

• About 95-98 percent of the time, NBA referees calls do not decide the game. This game was not one of the rare ones where they did. The traveling call on LeBron James in the final seconds didn't determine the outcome, there was so much more that did. Frankly, I felt like Bill Spooner made the correct call and was rather impressed he had the guts blow the whistle though most of the time officials are going to let that one go. I think Spooner is one of the better officials in the NBA and has a history of being fair and not influenced by the crowd. In fact, in unofficial referee stats kept at NBAstuffer.com, Spooner ranks second in the road team winning percentage and has called the second fewest fouls against road teams this season.

• LeBron said it was a bad call after watching it numerous times. He told me after the game that Spooner was so confident in the call and and up the court quickly so he thought he'd traveled, too. He changed his mind after seeing the replays. LeBron, in my opinion, has gotten away with skipping on jump stops for years but is so fast and so strong with it, it rarely gets called. However, twice in the last few years including this year he's featured on the DVD the NBA sends out on points of emphasis for officials on jump stop violations.

 

[SoundBreaker]

LOL @ LeBron being featured in a traveling violation DVD

 

[cav jvl]

LBJ traveled....is that even a question? The refs did not lose this game. The Cavs simply did not shoot, rebound or play defense. It happens, time to move on. This could actually amp them up for the Boston game.

 

[wuck]

It's too bad Detroit couldnt lose. I was watching the box scores on Yahoo and it showed that LA Clips had a lead with 2 seconds to go and the ball- and yet Detroit still won. I was like WTF?

Allen Iverson scooped a shot that probably would have gone in, and the Clippers goaltended to make sure.

Pistons have won 7 in a row including 3 without injured rotation players.

Their next few games are tough on the road.

 

[tgunner333]

for what its worth........boston is down 9 to the knicks with a little over 2 minutes to play........

 

[Cavatt]

Here's Windhorst after the game on his 2nd take:

I think it was a travel, but they did call it because it looked like he planted 2 feet. It is really upsetting when you get away with something when it doesn't matter, and then you finally don't and it affects things. Refs have a hard time, but they have to be consistent.

 

["MVP"]

Sorry guys. This loss is on me... I jinxed us by wearing my Caron Butler sig (courtesy of DJG) the day we play the Wizards... My bad.

 

[Damien O'Connel]

it wan't a travel, lebron's first step in the alleged travel occured before the ball was in his hands during the final dribble, that step was the "hop" and then he planted 2 feet and went up for the shot.

 

[Da_James_Gang]

Sorry guys. This loss is on me... I jinxed us by wearing my Caron Butler sig (courtesy of DJG) the day we play the Wizards... My bad.

Why you gotta sell me out lol...........

And i don't know if this been mentioned but probably has been. But isn't this the first lost to a sub .500 team??