Typical NBA

[Rosco917]

The solution is to boycott the NBA.

As long as a lot of fans pay to watch the NBA, they will never change their ways.

I contact them regularly through email and they routinely respond back. If enough of us make a habit of this, they'll be forced to deal with it.

NBA coaching staffs need more challenges. One per quarter would greatly help. The "overturns" need to be kept track of and then the worst of the offenders need to be suspended and retrained. (Or perhaps a different career choice.)

The NBA has by far the worst officiating of any organized professional sport.

[johnnygreen]

The referees were horrible yesterday, and definitely in favor of the Lakers.

Why wasn’t the time addressed towards the end of the game, when Caldwell-Pope was fouled with 8.1 seconds remaining? Another referee gave the Lakers a timeout before the foul, but time was never added or even discussed. Maybe Tatum would have had enough time to better gather himself for that final shot.

I feel like the coaches challenges on fouls needs to be addressed in the off-season. On a challenge, the referee that calls the foul, needs to describe the foul he/she saw. The problem I have and noticed, is if the offensive player gets inadvertently grazed or touched in any way, the foul will stand. For instance, if the referee calls a foul on the arm, but replay doesn’t show the arm being touched, then the foul can’t stand if the defender just happens to have touched another part of the body. The worst offense I remember for this was the “push” by Jaylen Brown against Kawhi back in LA.

I only bring up the coaches challenge because I knew Stevens was going to lose, when he challenged the call against Lebron. The replay would have defended that call no matter what. I still don’t know why he didn’t challenge on the out of bounds play against Jaylen. How could the referee, who was falling away from the play, make the call?

[johnnygreen]

The only call that still has me ticked is the out of bounds on JB call.

Yes the goaltend was a blown call but we won the jump ball and then sank a 3pointer.  So we ended up +1 out of the whole thing

....not to mention we got away with a goaltend on them as well.

At the end of the day Hayward missed an off balance layup and LeBron made a clutch shot.  That’s what lost the game

C’s didn’t win that jump. The Lakers didn’t score and then they cam down to shoot a 3. I get there are going to be bad calls in games but some of these calls were ridiculous. Did Marc Davis have money on the game? He was that bad. That T on Brad was a complete joke in that situation. Too many questionable calls by Marc Davis, either he just sucks as a ref or he is shady.

Fair enough.  There was still a missed goaltending call on us as well.  There was plenty of call that benefitted us as well.

Like I said, this game wasn’t decided by the refs.  The missed layup by Hayward and the fade-away by LeBron decided the game.

There’s a big difference between missing a goaltend compared to calling one but then changing it to an inadvertent whistle that never existed. All changed after cry baby Lebron jumps up and down and complains. Also what’s the point of replay if you get a clear shot of the ball going off Davis but you call it Lakers ball. There was only proof it touched Davis last and yet that evidence wasn’t good enough?

If you want to play conspiracy theory that’s fine, that’s your own business.  Theis clearly fouled Davis on that loose ball that they reviewed, it should have been Lakers shooting two free throws bc they were in the penalty.  Yes it’s not reviewable so they couldn’t change it but LORD knows if the situation was reversed we would all be screaming bloody murder about it.

How about when Gordon pushed Dwight Howard out of the way on that loose ball that led to two points for us?

We can do this all day.  But when it comes down to it, if Gordon makes that layup, we most likely win the game

I thought Davis fouled Brown first, and an over the back foul should have been called. If that was called correctly, there was no foul by Theis and no need to review who touched the ball last.

[slamtheking]

The only call that still has me ticked is the out of bounds on JB call.

Yes the goaltend was a blown call but we won the jump ball and then sank a 3pointer.  So we ended up +1 out of the whole thing

....not to mention we got away with a goaltend on them as well.

At the end of the day Hayward missed an off balance layup and LeBron made a clutch shot.  That’s what lost the game

C’s didn’t win that jump. The Lakers didn’t score and then they cam down to shoot a 3. I get there are going to be bad calls in games but some of these calls were ridiculous. Did Marc Davis have money on the game? He was that bad. That T on Brad was a complete joke in that situation. Too many questionable calls by Marc Davis, either he just sucks as a ref or he is shady.

Fair enough.  There was still a missed goaltending call on us as well.  There was plenty of call that benefitted us as well.

Like I said, this game wasn’t decided by the refs.  The missed layup by Hayward and the fade-away by LeBron decided the game.

There’s a big difference between missing a goaltend compared to calling one but then changing it to an inadvertent whistle that never existed. All changed after cry baby Lebron jumps up and down and complains. Also what’s the point of replay if you get a clear shot of the ball going off Davis but you call it Lakers ball. There was only proof it touched Davis last and yet that evidence wasn’t good enough?

If you want to play conspiracy theory that’s fine, that’s your own business.  Theis clearly fouled Davis on that loose ball that they reviewed, it should have been Lakers shooting two free throws bc they were in the penalty.  Yes it’s not reviewable so they couldn’t change it but LORD knows if the situation was reversed we would all be screaming bloody murder about it.

How about when Gordon pushed Dwight Howard out of the way on that loose ball that led to two points for us?

We can do this all day.  But when it comes down to it, if Gordon makes that layup, we most likely win the game

I thought Davis fouled Brown first, and an over the back foul should have been called. If that was called correctly, there was no foul by Theis and no need to review who touched the ball last.

yeah, if we're going to get into a "who did what to who first" discussion, AD had a lot of over-the-back fouls that went uncalled.  just can't push the guy in front of you or lean over them so they can't jump for the ball.

[gift]

I thought they explained on the broadcast briefly (and then neglected to clarify on the replay) that contact with the ref puts you out of bounds. So when Brown made contact with the ref and touched the ball, he was considered out of bounds. Is this accurate?

[RockinRyA]

I thought they explained on the broadcast briefly (and then neglected to clarify on the replay) that contact with the ref puts you out of bounds. So when Brown made contact with the ref and touched the ball, he was considered out of bounds. Is this accurate?

Nah they said you can touch the ref.

[timpiker]

I've long thought NBA refs were just a little better than the WWF or WWE or whatever those are called.  I remember watching Big Time Wrestling when I was a kid and when 1 guy would hit the other guy with a fold up metal chair, the ref had his back turned and never saw it.  That is the NBA refs.

[johnnygreen]

I still maintain the worst part of the Tim Donahue scandal, was not that he bet on the games, but rather he blended in so well.

[wiley]

The solution is to boycott the NBA.

As long as a lot of fans pay to watch the NBA, they will never change their ways.

I contact them regularly through email and they routinely respond back. If enough of us make a habit of this, they'll be forced to deal with it.

NBA coaching staffs need more challenges. One per quarter would greatly help. The "overturns" need to be kept track of and then the worst of the offenders need to be suspended and retrained. (Or perhaps a different career choice.)

The NBA has by far the worst officiating of any organized professional sport.

Agree, part of it may be short attention span of modern life due to tech (something like a cousin of laziness when it comes to keen observational power, affecting a fast game like basketball more than other sports), but more than that probably poor training and guidelines handed down from above.

There is no over-arching philosophy behind current NBA refereeing.  There is only minutiae.  There is only ticky tack.  Ticky tack is winning over and over against game flow. 

Refs are running around in fearing being criticized for no calls.  What they should be taught instead by the NBA is to fear being guilty of making phantom calls.  They should be graded as follows:
1. Minus one point for missing a foul that happened
2. Minus two points for making something up (calling a foul that didn't occur.)


Loose ball scrums are one of the pleasures of a basketball game.  Modern day refs end the scrums with a whistle and then make something up. This is an egregious example of interfering in a contact sport in completely the wrong manner.  In many scrums it is humanly impossible to tell who fouled who, and often there is just incidental contact, two players meeting ball at same time, etc...  Eat your freaking whistle and let the play play out....let the players play out the action in the contact sport that basketball is.

Somehow I see the over control of basketball games, which is a fear-based approach to managing a game, as mirroring what's happening in modern society.  Fear of this, fear of that.  Fear everywhere...no wonder demagogues are so appealing these days.  They are filling the void that fear has created.

[nickagneta]

What they should be taught instead by the NBA is to fear being guilty of making phantom calls.

This...many TPs!!!

Brian Scalabrini is saying it all the time on the NBCSB broadcasts, refs are guessing and assuming(specifically about fouls on Smart, but also in general). They see an outcome and assume the foul without actually seeing one. As Scal says "You have to be sure!"

And he is right. They do guess way to often. That Marc Davis call on the JB out of bounds was another great example. Davis saw the ball and Jaylen coming at him, closed his eyes, turned his head and just assumed there was no way Brown could stay in bounds and so assumed he was and called it that way. He guessed.

These phantom calls, guesses, assumptions based on outcomes need to stop. It might not be a total fix, but it will help.

[wiley]

What they should be taught instead by the NBA is to fear being guilty of making phantom calls.

This...many TPs!!!

Brian Scalabrini is saying it all the time on the NBCSB broadcasts, refs are guessing and assuming(specifically about fouls on Smart, but also in general). They see an outcome and assume the foul without actually seeing one. As Scal says "You have to be sure!"

And he is right. They do guess way to often. That Marc Davis call on the JB out of bounds was another great example. Davis saw the ball and Jaylen coming at him, closed his eyes, turned his head and just assumed there was no way Brown could stay in bounds and so assumed he was and called it that way. He guessed.

These phantom calls, guesses, assumptions based on outcomes need to stop. It might not be a total fix, but it will help.

Yes! I always appreciate Scal keying in on that...so few announcers do.  Too many announcers are just eating the product as is without realizing they need to be part of the push for change...everyone's like, well, times are tough so to heck with game flow I guess...or, boy what a hard job these refs have...

[greg683x]

What they should be taught instead by the NBA is to fear being guilty of making phantom calls.

This...many TPs!!!

Brian Scalabrini is saying it all the time on the NBCSB broadcasts, refs are guessing and assuming(specifically about fouls on Smart, but also in general). They see an outcome and assume the foul without actually seeing one. As Scal says "You have to be sure!"

And he is right. They do guess way to often. That Marc Davis call on the JB out of bounds was another great example. Davis saw the ball and Jaylen coming at him, closed his eyes, turned his head and just assumed there was no way Brown could stay in bounds and so assumed he was and called it that way. He guessed.

These phantom calls, guesses, assumptions based on outcomes need to stop. It might not be a total fix, but it will help.

If I can add one more...

The biggest thing that drives me absolutely insane whether we benefit from it or not, is the officials waiting to see if the ball goes in before they call a foul.  It’s either a foul or it isn’t.  It happened in yesterday’s game too, Lebons goes for a layup in the post and the ball rolls around on the rim for a second and then rolls out, as soon as the ball rolls out they blow the whistle for a foul on Jaylen.

After seeing the replay, Jaylen clearly fouled him but the fact that they do this drives me nuts.  It’s more proof to the point that they try to control the flow of the game as much as they can instead of just officiating it.

[wiley]

What they should be taught instead by the NBA is to fear being guilty of making phantom calls.

This...many TPs!!!

Brian Scalabrini is saying it all the time on the NBCSB broadcasts, refs are guessing and assuming(specifically about fouls on Smart, but also in general). They see an outcome and assume the foul without actually seeing one. As Scal says "You have to be sure!"

And he is right. They do guess way to often. That Marc Davis call on the JB out of bounds was another great example. Davis saw the ball and Jaylen coming at him, closed his eyes, turned his head and just assumed there was no way Brown could stay in bounds and so assumed he was and called it that way. He guessed.

These phantom calls, guesses, assumptions based on outcomes need to stop. It might not be a total fix, but it will help.

If I can add one more...

The biggest thing that drives me absolutely insane whether we benefit from it or not, is the officials waiting to see if the ball goes in before they call a foul.  It’s either a foul or it isn’t.  It happened in yesterday’s game too, Lebons goes for a layup in the post and the ball rolls around on the rim for a second and then rolls out, as soon as the ball rolls out they blow the whistle for a foul on Jaylen.

After seeing the replay, Jaylen clearly fouled him but the fact that they do this drives me nuts.  It’s more proof to the point that they try to control the flow of the game as much as they can instead of just officiating it.

Yes...good point.  If they don't blow the whistle in the moment...don't blow it at all.  Man up and live with the consequences...

[nickagneta]

What they should be taught instead by the NBA is to fear being guilty of making phantom calls.

This...many TPs!!!

Brian Scalabrini is saying it all the time on the NBCSB broadcasts, refs are guessing and assuming(specifically about fouls on Smart, but also in general). They see an outcome and assume the foul without actually seeing one. As Scal says "You have to be sure!"

And he is right. They do guess way to often. That Marc Davis call on the JB out of bounds was another great example. Davis saw the ball and Jaylen coming at him, closed his eyes, turned his head and just assumed there was no way Brown could stay in bounds and so assumed he was and called it that way. He guessed.

These phantom calls, guesses, assumptions based on outcomes need to stop. It might not be a total fix, but it will help.

If I can add one more...

The biggest thing that drives me absolutely insane whether we benefit from it or not, is the officials waiting to see if the ball goes in before they call a foul.  It’s either a foul or it isn’t.  It happened in yesterday’s game too, Lebons goes for a layup in the post and the ball rolls around on the rim for a second and then rolls out, as soon as the ball rolls out they blow the whistle for a foul on Jaylen.

After seeing the replay, Jaylen clearly fouled him but the fact that they do this drives me nuts.  It’s more proof to the point that they try to control the flow of the game as much as they can instead of just officiating it.

I wonder how much of the late whistle call is the ref trying to be dramatic and get eyes on him making the animated "and 1". So many ex-players say the refs have egos and want people to know who they are, that they are also part of "the show".

If that's true, it explains why refs might delay those calls, hoping the shot goes down and the ref can now be the focus on television with the whole, animated foul call and arm movement showing an "and 1" while the crowd roars approval.

Refs need to realize, they aren't "the show", they are simply props on the stage. If they are doing their jobs correctly, no one should know their names.

[mmmmm]

There’s a big difference between missing a goaltend compared to calling one but then changing it to an inadvertent whistle that never existed. All changed after cry baby Lebron jumps up and down and complains. Also what’s the point of replay if you get a clear shot of the ball going off Davis but you call it Lakers ball. There was only proof it touched Davis last and yet that evidence wasn’t good enough?

If you want to play conspiracy theory that’s fine, that’s your own business.  Theis clearly fouled Davis on that loose ball that they reviewed, it should have been Lakers shooting two free throws bc they were in the penalty.  Yes it’s not reviewable so they couldn’t change it but LORD knows if the situation was reversed we would all be screaming bloody murder about it.

I think you mean, "Davis clearly fouled Brown (over the back) on that loose ball that they reviewed, it should have been Jaylen shooting two free throws because they were in the penalty."

Yes, it was not reviewable -- because they didn't make the initial, obvious call.   Davis fouled Jaylen long before the ball went out of bounds and before Theis grabbed Davis' arm.