Refereeing has been [terrible] this playoffs

[QuinielaBox]

I'll beat Sexy Scottish to the punch that I am absolutely disgusted with the refereeing. I just don't know what they are going to call out there and who they let play and who they whistle to the side lines. You want to know why we are seeing so many altercations out there? It is a lack of institutiional control by the refs.

Yesterday, the referees in an obvious intentional fouling situation let the play go and Melo Anthony hit the game winning three to steal a win for Denver and putting Dallas in an 0-3 hole.

Tonight, it seemed that the refs started giving Orlando all the breaks in the 4th qtr as the Celtics were about to get control of the game. Pierce got hammered on a drive no call. Turkoglu drives, foul. Plus they went over the back on BBD a few times. And they whistled Pierce to the sidelines twice in the 2nd half with silly marginal calls. I'm just disgusted with the way the NBA game is called these days.

[nickagneta]

Tonight's game had some strange, strange calls go both ways. Rondo's goal tend that wasn't called. Pierce's fifth foul??(Apparently D Howard is unable to be called for moving screens.) The ball that obviously went off a Magic player and hit the shot clock but was called Magic ball. Rondo's obvious walk that was instead called a foul on Howard. I could go on and on.

And that's just tonight's game. League wide and has been horrendous with most teams lucky to be getting one well called game in a seven game series. I just can't see how the league can't see how big a problem this is as they have had to issue apologies and fix a ton of flagrant calls this short post season already.

What are they going to do when the refs obvious ineptitude finally ends up deciding the seventh game of a playoff series and it costs the league from having a team like Cleveland or LA in the Finals? Will they finally do something then when it loses the league tons of cash because one of their more marketable teams is sitting home when they should rightly still be playing? Wouldn't it be hilarious if incompetent officiating was responsible for creating an Orlando-Denver Finals instead of a Cleveland-LA Finals? I bet they would address the officiating problem then!!!

[DanMan08]

It does seem like they are missing an abnormal amount of obvious calls, or letting one team play hard with contact then calling touch fouls on the other end.  The lack of consistency is just odd to me. 

And dont even get me started on how they are just carrying Lebron, Melo, and Chauncey.  Ive never seen 3 players go to the line more on the little bumps and flops. 

[jdpapa3]

I have a problem with the referee assignments.

Crawford doing San Antonio games after the Duncan incident.

Kennedy doing boston games after the Doc incident. This one gets me the most because there are no close calls that he gives the Celtics and I have a little bit of an emotional investment.

I think it's Danny Crawford doing Dallas games. They have won like 1 out of the last 15 playoff games he has done. Simmons posted a link to a crazy, eye-opening article on his twitter.

Dick Bavetta or Salvatore doing any game when the home team needs the game, and they have a serious rep in the gambling world as being serious homer refs.

[GeoDim]

Sure, there were some missed calls here and there, but I thought that it was pretty balanced.  I just checked the box score to back up my argument and the free throws were 28 to 27 in favor of the Magic...so, almost dead even.  At the very end of the game, they let them play and didn't call any weak fouls, which I liked.  I like for the players to determine the outcome of the game and whistles to only be blown for obvious fouls.

Also, I'm surprised that the NBA owned up to the Dallas/Denver game.  I didn't think that they were really at fault.  There was definitely enough contact to justify a foul, but nothing overly obvious.  Dallas is acting like the refs cost them the game, when they stopped playing defense on Melo, expecting a whistle.  That is there own fault... you can't expect the refs to bail you out.  If he wanted the whistle, he should have either communicated this with the ref prior to the play or wrapped him up, so that they had no choice but to blow the whistle.

[nickagneta]

Sure, there were some missed calls here and there, but I thought that it was pretty balanced.  I just checked the box score to back up my argument and the free throws were 28 to 27 in favor of the Magic...so, almost dead even.  At the very end of the game, they let them play and didn't call any weak fouls, which I liked.  I like for the players to determine the outcome of the game and whistles to only be blown for obvious fouls.

Also, I'm surprised that the NBA owned up to the Dallas/Denver game.  I didn't think that they were really at fault.  There was definitely enough contact to justify a foul, but nothing overly obvious.  Dallas is acting like the refs cost them the game, when they stopped playing defense on Melo, expecting a whistle.  That is there own fault... you can't expect the refs to bail you out.  If he wanted the whistle, he should have either communicated this with the ref prior to the play or wrapped him up, so that they had no choice but to blow the whistle.

I think you are off on that Denver-Dallas play, Geo. As a player, you are told to go for the ball. Wrapping him up without that attempt at the ball could be seen as a Flagrant. Second, there was more than enough contact to justify the call it was just that the ref that was a whole two feet away was too busy watching Melo's feet to see if he stayed in bounds and behind the three point line to see the foul. His first responsibility is to watch the play for contact and he blew it. Three pointers can be reviewed in that instance. This is why the league apologized to Dallas. It was a negligent missed call.

[Roy Hobbs]

Sure, there were some missed calls here and there, but I thought that it was pretty balanced.  I just checked the box score to back up my argument and the free throws were 28 to 27 in favor of the Magic...so, almost dead even.  At the very end of the game, they let them play and didn't call any weak fouls, which I liked.  I like for the players to determine the outcome of the game and whistles to only be blown for obvious fouls.

Also, I'm surprised that the NBA owned up to the Dallas/Denver game.  I didn't think that they were really at fault.  There was definitely enough contact to justify a foul, but nothing overly obvious.  Dallas is acting like the refs cost them the game, when they stopped playing defense on Melo, expecting a whistle.  That is there own fault... you can't expect the refs to bail you out.  If he wanted the whistle, he should have either communicated this with the ref prior to the play or wrapped him up, so that they had no choice but to blow the whistle.

I think you are off on that Denver-Dallas play, Geo. As a player, you are told to go for the ball. Wrapping him up without that attempt at the ball could be seen as a Flagrant. Second, there was more than enough contact to justify the call it was just that the ref that was a whole two feet away was too busy watching Melo's feet to see if he stayed in bounds and behind the three point line to see the foul. His first responsibility is to watch the play for contact and he blew it. Three pointers can be reviewed in that instance. This is why the league apologized to Dallas. It was a negligent missed call.

I disagree about the Denver-Dallas call, nick.  It was a blown call, but a wrap-up is the right thing to do.  I have *never* seen a wrap up called a flagrant, and according to Doc Rivers, it's the play that should have been made:

The controversial ending to Saturday night's Nuggets-Mavericks game was one of the primary topics of discussion at the Celtics' morning shootaround Sunday, with the teaching emphasis on having players use both arms to wrap up an opposing player on the perimeter to ensure the referee whistles the foul.

"The wrap-up also takes longer than raking a guy across the arms, and it reduces the chance that he can get off an attempt and get three foul shots," Rivers said. . . .

Among the Celtics' players, the lingering impression was that Wright was as much at fault as anyone because he did not commit the foul in the proper manner -- especially when he had the perfect opportunity at the moment when Anthony bobbled the ball before regaining control and sinking the game-winning shot.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4156063

[CoachCowens]

Sure, there were some missed calls here and there, but I thought that it was pretty balanced.  I just checked the box score to back up my argument and the free throws were 28 to 27 in favor of the Magic...so, almost dead even.  At the very end of the game, they let them play and didn't call any weak fouls, which I liked.  I like for the players to determine the outcome of the game and whistles to only be blown for obvious fouls.

Also, I'm surprised that the NBA owned up to the Dallas/Denver game.  I didn't think that they were really at fault.  There was definitely enough contact to justify a foul, but nothing overly obvious.  Dallas is acting like the refs cost them the game, when they stopped playing defense on Melo, expecting a whistle.  That is there own fault... you can't expect the refs to bail you out.  If he wanted the whistle, he should have either communicated this with the ref prior to the play or wrapped him up, so that they had no choice but to blow the whistle.

The foul called on big baby with 12 seconds left was kinda weak. they blew the whistle on the first body contact which the replayed showed was minimal.

[nickagneta]

Sure, there were some missed calls here and there, but I thought that it was pretty balanced.  I just checked the box score to back up my argument and the free throws were 28 to 27 in favor of the Magic...so, almost dead even.  At the very end of the game, they let them play and didn't call any weak fouls, which I liked.  I like for the players to determine the outcome of the game and whistles to only be blown for obvious fouls.

Also, I'm surprised that the NBA owned up to the Dallas/Denver game.  I didn't think that they were really at fault.  There was definitely enough contact to justify a foul, but nothing overly obvious.  Dallas is acting like the refs cost them the game, when they stopped playing defense on Melo, expecting a whistle.  That is there own fault... you can't expect the refs to bail you out.  If he wanted the whistle, he should have either communicated this with the ref prior to the play or wrapped him up, so that they had no choice but to blow the whistle.

I think you are off on that Denver-Dallas play, Geo. As a player, you are told to go for the ball. Wrapping him up without that attempt at the ball could be seen as a Flagrant. Second, there was more than enough contact to justify the call it was just that the ref that was a whole two feet away was too busy watching Melo's feet to see if he stayed in bounds and behind the three point line to see the foul. His first responsibility is to watch the play for contact and he blew it. Three pointers can be reviewed in that instance. This is why the league apologized to Dallas. It was a negligent missed call.

I disagree about the Denver-Dallas call, nick.  It was a blown call, but a wrap-up is the right thing to do.  I have *never* seen a wrap up called a flagrant, and according to Doc Rivers, it's the play that should have been made:

The controversial ending to Saturday night's Nuggets-Mavericks game was one of the primary topics of discussion at the Celtics' morning shootaround Sunday, with the teaching emphasis on having players use both arms to wrap up an opposing player on the perimeter to ensure the referee whistles the foul.

"The wrap-up also takes longer than raking a guy across the arms, and it reduces the chance that he can get off an attempt and get three foul shots," Rivers said. . . .

Among the Celtics' players, the lingering impression was that Wright was as much at fault as anyone because he did not commit the foul in the proper manner -- especially when he had the perfect opportunity at the moment when Anthony bobbled the ball before regaining control and sinking the game-winning shot.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4156063

Then I stand corrected but I still think that given the officiating in these playoffs, in the situation Wright was in that far from the basket, the attempt at wrapping him up could have caused as much problems as it stopped. I think the ref blew it, plain and simple.

Heck Wright hammered Melo compared to the foul that was called on Baby last night for fouling Lewis while he was going to the baseline in the final seconds of last night's game. Baby gets called for nudging Lewis but Wright hacks across both of Melo's arms and its a no call.

The subjectivity of what is and what is not a foul and what is and what is not a Flagrant Foul this post season is virtually off the charts. These poor players have no idea from one game to another as to what constitutes a foul, a hard foul, or a Flagrant Foul.

I think it's an embarrassing situation especially when less than 24 hours after a game has been decided in the playoffs that the league is constantly adjusting fouls called or apologizing for bad calls.

As I said, I stand corrected and making the wrap up in that situation might have been the smart play, but given what the players are seeing in the quality of officiating, how can one blame Wright for doing what he did? Anything, and I mean anything is possible to be called in these playoffs.

Well, the exception to that rule is, of course, a foul on LeBron James. That will never be called in these playoffs!!

[reggie35]

It is beyond inappropriate to have Kennedy reff'ing celtics games, especially playoff games.

The league NEEDS to do something. More use of review, more eyes, more effort...

I can remember ONE game in the Bulls series where I thought the officiating was great (Joey Crawford). This is ONE out of eleven games.

[guava_wrench]

Tonight's game had some strange, strange calls go both ways. Rondo's goal tend that wasn't called. Pierce's fifth foul??(Apparently D Howard is unable to be called for moving screens.) The ball that obviously went off a Magic player and hit the shot clock but was called Magic ball. Rondo's obvious walk that was instead called a foul on Howard. I could go on and on.

And that's just tonight's game. League wide and has been horrendous with most teams lucky to be getting one well called game in a seven game series. I just can't see how the league can't see how big a problem this is as they have had to issue apologies and fix a ton of flagrant calls this short post season already.

What are they going to do when the refs obvious ineptitude finally ends up deciding the seventh game of a playoff series and it costs the league from having a team like Cleveland or LA in the Finals? Will they finally do something then when it loses the league tons of cash because one of their more marketable teams is sitting home when they should rightly still be playing? Wouldn't it be hilarious if incompetent officiating was responsible for creating an Orlando-Denver Finals instead of a Cleveland-LA Finals? I bet they would address the officiating problem then!!!

It is always funny when fans conveniently forget calls like the missed goal tend against Rondo.

Fans will always blame refs for their team's losses, regardless of what happens. There is no need to take these seriously. With more cameras covering games and replays available immediately and used misleadingly in areas, there is no hope of satisfying fans. Add to it homers like Tommy who claim bad calls even on clear good calls, and you have people complaining even when there is nothing to complain about.

If we ran replays on line play during all football games, fans would probably rant about all the missed holding calls (probably the only consistently difficult part of the game to call).

[indeedproceed]

refereeing has been less than even handed in my opinion. However, nobody loses a game because of the refs. You lose games because of coaching and players you don't lose because of the refs.

[kozlodoev]

refereeing has been less than even handed in my opinion. However, nobody loses a game because of the refs. You lose games because of coaching and players you don't lose because of the refs.

Well, Third Quarter Collapse regulars seem to think reffing is rigged to assure a Cleveland-Boston ECF, for what it's worth.

[indeedproceed]

Losers always blame the refs, because it was the one thing in the game beyond their control. Im not saying we're above it, but its the truth.

[pjbigshow]

Sure, there were some missed calls here and there, but I thought that it was pretty balanced.  I just checked the box score to back up my argument and the free throws were 28 to 27 in favor of the Magic...so, almost dead even.  At the very end of the game, they let them play and didn't call any weak fouls, which I liked.  I like for the players to determine the outcome of the game and whistles to only be blown for obvious fouls.

Also, I'm surprised that the NBA owned up to the Dallas/Denver game.  I didn't think that they were really at fault.  There was definitely enough contact to justify a foul, but nothing overly obvious.  Dallas is acting like the refs cost them the game, when they stopped playing defense on Melo, expecting a whistle.  That is there own fault... you can't expect the refs to bail you out.  If he wanted the whistle, he should have either communicated this with the ref prior to the play or wrapped him up, so that they had no choice but to blow the whistle.

You can look at the numbers all u want, sure 28-27 doesn't SEEM bad but there are a lot of other things to consider when judging the officials performance.
1) Who the fouls are being called on - Paul Pierce is absolutely on fire and the celts are pulling away, the refs hit him with a "phantom" call while covering Turk off a screen. Hmmm
2) Who the fouls AREN'T being called on - If Dwight Howard commits a foul and another Magic player is in the area the foul automatically goes on the other player. Not to mention the Lebron DWade rule in which no foul could possibly be committed on them and yet they get fouled on EVERY drive to the hoop. Especially if they miss the attempt youll always see a LATE WHISTLE HAHA
3) LACK OF CONSISTENCY - The end of games in the Bulls/Celts series guys were getting hammered, thrown to the ground and no calls occured, they let them play. However, we go to this series and the end of game 4 Rashard Lewis is barely bumped and he gets to go to the line in what could have been the game winning points. THANK YOU BABY!! I have no problem with them calling a tight game, or letting things go at the end of games, JUST MAKE IT CONSISTENT!!!!

Theres something going on with the refereeing but it will never be addressed. They call games to keep them close and I bet thats what they are TOLD to do. Anyways we got new life thanks to BABY GO CELTICS!!!!