No worries, DDD. I don't take your smack too seriously. And I hope nobody takes mine seriously.

I agree with Abbott. Okur flopped. The mere assertion that Gasol has the strength to move Okur like that is ridiculous.

Who in the NBA does not flop, using the definition that flopping is an exaggeration of a foul that occurs? Kobe does it all the time. So does Fisher, Gasol, Vujacic and Odom. And so does Boozer (you can hear the man screaming all game long), Williams, and Kirilenko. That is one definition of flopping.

There is also the Vlade Divacs/Manu Ginobili version of flopping where no contact occurs and you throw yourself around like you were smacked across the face. This is the one that REALLY irritates me.

Flopping is annoying. I wonder if some of these calls are subtle payback for players flopping.

To be perfectly honest as a basketball official I am prone to defend the refs and provide justification for calls made. However, last night they seemed to call the game like they had a vested interest in the outcome.

It was very frustrating to watch. It's not so much that the calls were bad but that a number of crucial calls were made by an official out of position who could not have clearly seen the play and should not have been blowing his whistle.

There was also the issue of consistency or rather a lack thereof. When making blocking or charging calls it's paramount that an official is absolutely consistent in all situations, at both ends of the floor. Good officials will not make many blocking and charging calls and should prefer to swallow their whistle in acknowledgement that basketball is a physical sport.

Last night the refs were erratic -one moment physical play was a blocking or offensive foul, the next it was just physical play. Such is the NBA.