You have to overcome bad officiating if you want to win a championship. The Spurs had their chances and why Pop left Manu in for so many minutes when it was clear he was a turnover waiting to happen was mind boggling.
Still, the officiating absolutely affected the flow of the game. Of course they shot more FT's than the Heat, they were pounding the ball inside far more. Once the Heat saw they could get away with just about any hack at the ball they were slapping away all night. That affects both sides, Splitter was clearly frustrated when he continually got hit while being stripped for instance. Wade did have the one foul that was questionable but could have been called on at least 4 of his steals for a foul. He was slapping like crazy all night.
I just get annoyed with football style basketball though a lot of folks seem to like it. It annoys me to hear the commentators seeming to rejoice as Bron or Wade just lower their shoulder and knock people down on the way to the rim and force contact. I understand that's the game in the NBA but it's just not real basketball to me. I like seeing passing, moves, and shotmaking. Not just someone taking 5 steps as they tackle someone in the lane to get a foul call so they can get some points from the line.
It is annoying when the NBA has guys reffing Finals games that have an entire chapter devoted to them from the cheating scandal or when Joey Crawford refs a Duncan game when Duncan nearly got him kicked out of the league. Why do they have so much trouble putting a few refs on the court that don't have so much baggage? Why don't they feel any concern when you see officials with records for certain teams or home teams that are WAY outside the norm? It makes it really hard to be an NBA fan in general. The big joke now is to see how they have Javie on the sideline defending every refs call no matter how bad it is. Sometimes it feels like the WWE.
You still have to overcome and win, period. That's what champions do. The Spurs have also been on the benefit side of officiating for their share of times too. I just wish the officiating didn't dominate the game so much.
