nba has a real opportunity...

[dark_lord]

i think the nba has a real opportunity to improve its officiating right now.  with the officials being locked out and using replacements refs, i have noticed, not only with the celtics' games, but all the other preseason games i have watched.....the officiating has been much better.  the game is being called fairly, correctly, players are complaining less, and other fans that i have spoken to seem pleased as well.  it is a vast improvement to the political, make up call, corrupt, officiating we have been forced to deal with.

i hope stern uses this opportunity effectively.

[Kwhit10]

Personally, I feel like calls are being made every other possession and the game seems really slower from all the stoppage.

[dark_lord]

Personally, I feel like calls are being made every other possession and the game seems really slower from all the stoppage.

while that might be true, i attribute that to players having bad habits due to the way nba games are normally butchered....i mean, officiated .  i think the more the games are called the way they are supposed to, players' bad habits will cease.  i think its an improvement for the game as a whole.

[makaveli]

I noticed a that traveling is being called a bit more often and It REALLY should be that way.
Every other day I watch NBA Top 10 Daily and 2-3 of highlights are made by traveling.

[jackson_34]

Danny Granger got tossed for arguing with the refs over a few calls last night. Is it safe to say that's pretty surprising for a preseason game?

[gift]

Personally, I feel like calls are being made every other possession and the game seems really slower from all the stoppage.

while that might be true, i attribute that to players having bad habits due to the way nba games are normally butchered....i mean, officiated .  i think the more the games are called the way they are supposed to, players' bad habits will cease.  i think its an improvement for the game as a whole.

that's the way i look at it too.  as long as the refs aren't making up calls out of thin air, then it's up to the players to adjust to how the game SHOULD be called, not how it has been called in the past.

i'd certainly label it an opportunity and we'll see what comes of it.

[wdleehi]

Never going to happen.





The NBA office likes how NBA games are called.  It makes their star players (the advertising push) look better.

[Eja117]

Let's hope the refs ask for way too much money for a long time then

[RAcker]

Although the players are having to adjust, I do believe that fairness is more on display with these replacements.  No grudges seem to exist and that must really upset Stern.   

[xmuscularghandix]

i think travelling calls should stay up, but i think its a little ticky tack with the shooting fouls, and screens.

[RAcker]

i think travelling calls should stay up, but i think its a little ticky tack with the shooting fouls, and the screens.

I think that the screens should be watched, but they have definitely not been called consistently in the past.  The shooting fouls are definitely ticky tack sometimes and seem to favor the stars.  Did anyone see Najera get mauled by Sheed on the way to basket today with no call? I could hear the slap echoing through my man room.

[Schupac]

I have to say I have been very upset at the officiating.  How is Lebron supposed to dunk off of just two steps?  These replacement officials are ruining the purity of the game of NBA basketball.  I mean honestly would you rather watch a bunch of players running around and having the best teams win, or see Lebron James dunk a few times?

Neo, don't take the truth pill.

[slamtheking]

Personally I think the replacements are doing a better job than the union.  Calls are more accurate to the playbook and no favoritism.  They also stick to consistently calling the same violations throughout the game which the union refs did not.

[Spilling Green Dye]

TP to the original poster.

The officiating during these preseason games has been VERY refreshing.  Like the posters above have already stated, there is no favoritism, they are calling things by the book, and they aren't taking back-talk. 

Would you rather see Bennett Salvatore out there?  No.. no.. the thought of it just disgusts me.

I really hope they keep these refs for the whole season!

[teddykgb]

I'm watching yesterday's preseason game on the replay right now and I was coming to CB to make essentially the same thread....

The officiating thus far has seemed remarkably consistent.  I'm not saying it's been perfect, but I feel like they're doing a better job not calling what I would call "simulation" fouls, where it looks awkward and/or like a foul so there's an automatic whistle in favor of calling more of the definite contact that I feel like was not as enforced.  It just looks cleaner out there, and the moving screen has been called for the last few years once or twice a game, and if you remember we were more or less killed by Orlando's being allowed to set screens on roller skates last playoffs, so I think it'd be great if they really forced that to be called better.

One thing I haven't yet gotten a good read on yet is how they're calling the offensive foul/defensive foul on charges.  It's probably one of the biggest problems/inconsistencies in the game today, but understandably there aren't a lot of charges being taken in the preseason.  If these refs stick around, and I hope they do, their ability to correctly make that call could be a major fulcrum for their success.  The NBA lately has gotten a lot of bad habits around guys (like our beloved Posey) flopping and doing last second step ins outside of the circle and it's really not in line with the spirit of the rule.  I was very pleased the other night when Paul got a charge against one of the other team's players when the other guy just threw his shoulder down and knocked him over....by definition, because Pierce was moving, it probably could have gone either way, but they definitely called it in the spirit of the rule and it was the right call.