I don’t think that you can blame officiating for losses in the NBA. There are missed calls and wrong calls that happen all the time, every game. Sometimes a player gets called for a foul when he didn’t even touch the other player, and other times a player will knock someone to the ground and won’t draw a whistle. Usually the fouls balance out, and the referees don’t dictate the outcome of a game.

If the Spurs end up winning the series against the Mavericks, I won’t blame Stu Jackson for suspending Jason Terry. It looked like Terry made a punching motion toward Michael Finley, so the suspension could be deemed as deserved.

However, I think that the NBA has proven, once again, that favortism exists. There are certain players who get away with almost everything (Tim Duncan’s traveling) and other players who have to make sure they don’t breate on another player wrong (Ron Artest). Jason Terry was another victim in this preferential, star treatment, biased league. He’s not well known by the fans throughout the league, so the league decided to use him to make a statement.

If Tony Parker, who is the Spurs starting point guard, had done the exact same thing there is NO WAY that he would have been suspended for ANY game, let alone game 6 in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. There would have been weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth in the streets of San Antonio if he were in Terry’s position. The tears from the fans would have made the riverwalk overflow all the way up to Austin. The league would have fined him, but they would conclude that he was making a shoving motion while trying to stand up or something along those lines.

What Terry did wasn’t smart, but I don’t think he was trying to punch Finley. He was frustrated that there were two Spurs players laying on top of him without a foul being called. He didn’t deserve a suspension.

That said, I return to my first thought. The Mavericks fate does not rest in the office of Stu Jackson. It rests on the court at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. If the rest of the team can’t get it done on the court without Terry, the only people to blame are the players and coaching staff. No one else really matters.

One more thing. I wish Duncan and Ginnobli would stop acting like they’ve never commited a foul in their lives. Every time a call goes against them, their eyes shoot wide open and they stick their hands in front of their bodies. Play the game and stop whining.