Better late then never

Well, it hasnt actually happened yet so never is still a possibility.

Boti on Mills' flop:

But the dive he took against Cairns' Jamar Wilson on Sunday was an all-time low.

It was downright embarrassing and the fact he got the benefit of the call - and the subsequent technical foul against a justifiably upset Taipans outfit - was humiliating for a league in search of mainstream credibility.

It was Oscar-winning stuff and Mills' elated immediate reaction almost sad to behold.

Not sure if this footage has been posted before, but here it is for anyone who hasn't seen it yet...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAEXvzrnU34

Why is Patty the problem here, the ref who made the call is the problem.

I have to agree that the major problem with the call was the fact that the referee got it SOOOOOO wrong particularly given the fact that he was NOT in position to see any contact. The call was purely made on Mill's reaction/flo/antics. The sad thing is that the majority of referees in the NBL do not seem to understand the block/charge rule (like the commentators). I have to agree with Boti that Mill's actions and reaction to the call were sad. His reaction borders on unsportsmanlike - and this is from a player who is idolised by many younger players in Australia - and who plays in the highest level of competition in the world. If he tried that type of stunt in the NBA (and I doubt that he would) he would be the one getting the technical foul because NBA Officials wont' accept that type of crap and are encouraged by the NBA to stamp it out.

I think P Mills has to accept some responsibility for this, not just the ref - inventing contact to this extent is not straight-up basketball and in this case was just flat-out embarrassing. The baseline angle made it almost comical.

Has Mills responded about all this?

I agree. Mills is an NBA player, and a skilled shooter.
Does he really need to resort to this sort of thing?


And no...no response from Mills.

You're not going to get a response from Mills, hopefully because he's too embarrassed by his behaviour, but no doubt, with everyone blowing smoke up his butt, and like Boti mentioned, his elated look immediately after it happened, it will be most probably because he doesn't think that he was in the wrong...

I certainly will put a lot of blame on Mills.

He wanted the call that bad that he had to flop like that, and then he got up and celebrated like he had won the title.

Not just the refs fault; Mills was an idiot and he wanted to win the call just so he could get in Wilson's face.

I just think its an embarassment for Mills that he would do a flop like that, get the call and start to taunt and provoke Wilson.
Not very classy.

His reaction made it a million times worse.

What do you want Mills? A pat on the back for getting the call, seriously come on.

You can blame both the Ref and Mills.

I think the term 'flopping' has officially been replaced by 'doin a Patty'

Blaming the ref for Mills falling tree impersonation is like blaming the hoop when the ball doesnt go in..

Thanks Mrs Mills.

I agree with anonymous . The ref should have called mills for using his leg to bump the player . Tim Mills should be disaplined he makes two many bad calls to be an NBL ref.

Ohh man i wish I could unwatch that video. It is a disaster and until he gets called for techs he wont stop, my respect for pat has gone downhill so much since he has been in the NBL. I almost feel like pulling down my Mills 8 jerseys off my wall and giving them to goodwill.

Here's a positive comment: That was the most exaggerated flop (with the least contact), I've ever seen.

what's up with his knee in the offense's butt? that's borderline foul right? so basketball don't allow reaching and people just start knee dudes up their ass?

well if the dude's been worshiped like Michael Jordan then you kinda expects better than this kinda showing. when you consider some places call flopping a technical, it kinda gives you an indication how unsportsman-like this is

Referee made a mistake..an honest one unless you can prove otherwise. Mills cheated - lied - been dishonest. Do you now understand why people rightfully starting to hate Mills ?????? He'll never be a great player till he apologizes and never attempt that shit again.

The fact that he has NBA credentials and is helping to promote Australian basketball by playing in the NBL, doesn't mean he can come in and do what he wants.

There is still a level of class he should mantain, and I feel like that has been breached here.

And lets be honest here, at the end of the day, How much good is he actually doing for the NBL? The initial benefits have worn off..IMO they only lasted 2 rounds. He isn't exactly going out and killing it..Not to the point where people could/would say "Lets go see Patty light it up tonight!"..People probably saying "I wonder how much shots Patty is taking tonight"

These are some of his game logs in no order:

6/17 FG, 2/7 3PTFG, 5/8 FT

7/19 FG, 3/10 3PTFG

3/13 FG, 1/9 3PFT


I don't know about other people, but flopping crap like that really infuriates me.

The NBL can be hard to watch as it is. If I see Mills do something like it again, Ill just stop watching the NBL and watch college hoops instead.

Mills has to realise that he has actually probably generated very little interest in the NBL..
And any interest that he has generated is just been negated by his flopping antics.

Flopping like that would be enough to push any new basketball fans away to AFL or Rugby.
Flopping is a big deal in any sport. For a league like the NBL trying to make it in a multi-sport country, a lot has to go right. Things like what Mills did may seem harmless, but little things like that push fans away and make the league look like it lacks professionalism and not very entertaining.

Patty has overall had an excellent season and been a real positive for the Tigers and the league. He has also rightly received some attention for his flopping prior to this incident, but this one really is noteworthy. The flop by Greer in the first quarter was bad enough, but I can't think of one I have ever seen that is in the same league as Patty's. Even Italian soccer players would have felt insulted watching that one, and he has rightly copped a lot of negative attention for it.
People who label that as "hating" basically have no clue. It was a completely indefensible act, pun very much intended. If he ends up being more remembered for his flop than his great play then he has no one to blame but himself.
Fortunately for Patty the NBA is showing no sign of resuming so he has the opportunity to put this behind himself and grow from it. Personally I would have liked to see him man up and say something about it though. His head in the sand routine isn't doing much for his reputation IMO.

Why not milk it when you have a Ref like TIM MILLS doing your game he is an ABSOLUTE TOOL is one of the worst in the league. Nothing wrong with Patty Mills just did not like the way he got to tigers was a joke.

Agree with Macdub and Dunkin Dans posts.

Should rename this the HATE forum. So he flopped, so what. See it happen every game. Never seen a player so villified as Mills is here. You don't have to like the guy, but this is over the top. Did you guys hate Danny Morseu too?

Dunkin' Dan, great post.

Are you seriously playing the race card, Phil?

Get a grip, Phil. How about you link us to a flop on Youtube that was even in the ballpark of this one and then we can compare the reactions. Good luck with that search.

Yes, flopping happens in every game. You know what flopping is? It is exaggerating the severity of the contact to make sure the ref sees it and therefore increase your chances of having a call go your way.

This one was something else entirely.
There was not even any contact to exaggerate! There probably could have been another player standing in between them and Patty still wouldn't have actually touched anyone.
I clearly can't speak for you, Phil, but I don't want a basketball league where the winning team each night is the one that has the most audacious actors in it.
Your "arguments" reek of desperation to avoid the actual issue here.

another great post Dunkin'Dan.

Dan, no doubt it was a lame move, but the venom being unleashed here is extraordinary and over the top. Makes me wonder if there is something more sinister behind the Mills baiting that goes on here, some posters (NOT D.D.) are only heard from if it is an anti Mills thread.

The only reason any of you care is because it is Patty Mills. If Chris Warren had done the same thing NOBODY would care.

Mills' high profile is obviously influencing the reactions but you can't say that no one would care if it was a "nobody", just like you can't say people are only defending him because they are fanbois.....actually, you can say that because that is why people are defending the horrid action.

Part of the reason I'm responding probably is because of the fact that it is Patty Mills involved. I'm a big fan of the guy, and I want him to be a player that succeeds in the NBA, represents aussie basketball well, and leads us to some success at the olympics. I don't want him to turn into a laughing stock.

And to respond to an earlier point - yes, the refs are definitely partly to blame here. When they start to reward flopping then naturally players will try to take advantage of the fact, and the flops will become more frequent and more daring. It is the refs that set the standard for what is allowed on the court, just as they do with how much contact they are going to allow before they call someone for a reaching or holding foul for example.
That doesn't excuse Patty for attempting such ridiculously over the top dive in the first place though. If he knees someone in the groin and gets away with it that doesn't make it right. Same principle. It is one thing to push the boundaries of the rules, but it's another to just completely ignore them.

As a rule, the better the player who does something like this the bigger the reaction. Mills is one of our best, so more people here about it and more people comment.

But if any player flopped like this, and there was the same footage, they would absolutely cop it from fans.

I agree, I am a Breakers fan and if Jackson, Vukona or Abercrombie had taken a dive like that, I would be on here bagging them just as I did when Casey Frank acted like an idiot against the Boomers.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not the biggest Mills fan but back in the 90's I wasn't the biggest Jordan fan either and rooted for any team and player going up against him.