Ref lockout coming to an end

[twinbree]

Pity. I was definitely rooting for the replacement refs. Calling everything by the book even when it was slowing the game down to me was better than the hatchet job most of the regular refs were doing. Now back to the same old same old.

[Birdbrain]

This is a good thing if you caught the end of the Wizards Sixers game last night.

[slamtheking]

What a wasted opportunity!
A golden opportunity to wipe the slate clean of the current set of poor quality refs and begin with a fresh set of refs that so far have appeared superior to their predecessors just tossed aside 

Gone will be the recent days of watching the game without screaming at my TV over a ridiculously bad call and spotting the usual incompetent refs behind my aggravation. It’s been a pleasure not noticing the refs on the court—-not remembering any of their names due to bad officiating.

Curse you Bennett Salvatore, Dick Bavetta, Kenny Mauer and Violet Palmer for being so incompetent that I would know who you are. Curse you all!!!   

[GKC]

What a wasted opportunity!
A golden opportunity to wipe the slate clean of the current set of poor quality refs and begin with a fresh set of refs that so far have appeared superior to their predecessors just tossed aside 

Gone will be the recent days of watching the game without screaming at my TV over a ridiculously bad call and spotting the usual incompetent refs behind my aggravation. It’s been a pleasure not noticing the refs on the court—-not remembering any of their names due to bad officiating.

Curse you Bennett Salvatore, Dick Bavetta, Kenny Mauer and Violet Palmer for being so incompetent that I would know who you are. Curse you all!!!   

You didn't notice the refs? There have been numerous 50 foul games, and games with over 80 free throws in the preseason...

I know you guys don't like the old refs, but I saw these new refs. I'd like the old ones back imo.

[crownsy]

I don't know...I've seen some of these refs call some ridiculous plays. We've had a huge spike in FT's and fouls, and the couple of gaffs they had at Detroit, where Tayshaun Prince had to tell the refs what to do.

And the best refs hopefully will be regulated up anyway. Again, hopefully.

As a PR move it's great though. Because mess up's by the new refs would be way more scrutinized than if the old refs did it.

The reason we've had so many FT's is because they are calling the game by the rule book. They don't give any discretion. It's kind of like football. NFL officials could call holding almost every play by the rulebook if they wanted to, but that would make the game slow and boring.

Remember that when we whine later this year about no calls from the "Real" refs. 

Isn't ticky tacky fouls worse though? Look at Dwight Howards FT attempts. And seriously, reversing a 2pt foul to a 3pt foul call much later, and still forgetting to add the points to a score board...not a good reffing job.

As opposed to not realizing one team has 6 players on the court and then counting the basket when the uncovered guy everyone i spointing to dunks it?

I wouldn't exactly say the "real" NBA crews are 100% current on the rule book either.

[jdub1660]

I'm surprised to see so many CBs leaning towards the new refs. I was about to start a new thread complaining about the mental retardation squad that reffed the NY/Bos game Tuesday. Horrible calls. Rondo gets closelined, no call. Eddie runs into someone and holds them on the way down to weaken the fall, and gets a flagrant. What what? Then you get the travel call when Rondo's infamous fake cradle pass layup? Even the announcers called that one a bad call right away. Notice how he did that move the EXACT same way tonight(got thrown away by LBJ, but forget bout that) and they didn't call a travel.

I COMPLETELY agree that some of the refs have built up some sort of striped ego and man love for big names(Kobe&LeBron) but I'd rather see vets making dumb calls and changing the call afterward rather than the new refs that look at eachother lost and confused. Anyways, those rookie refs need to go back home or ask for a severance package for job half done. "A" for effort right?

[Spilling Green Dye]

There's going to be bad calls, I just HATE when a ref tries to "manage" a game.  That word should never be used.  A ref doesn't manage a game... they stay within their role and call each play separately.

Count me among the group of people who would rather watch a slightly less skilled ref than watch a veteran ref who gives preferential treatment and "manages" a game. 

[Rondo_is_better]

Once fans learned the names of the replacement refs and their teams lost some games, they would hate the replacement refs as much as the union refs.

shhhhhhhhhhhhhh quiet Debbie....

[slamtheking]

I don't know...I've seen some of these refs call some ridiculous plays. We've had a huge spike in FT's and fouls, and the couple of gaffs they had at Detroit, where Tayshaun Prince had to tell the refs what to do.

And the best refs hopefully will be regulated up anyway. Again, hopefully.

As a PR move it's great though. Because mess up's by the new refs would be way more scrutinized than if the old refs did it.

The reason we've had so many FT's is because they are calling the game by the rule book. They don't give any discretion. It's kind of like football. NFL officials could call holding almost every play by the rulebook if they wanted to, but that would make the game slow and boring.

Remember that when we whine later this year about no calls from the "Real" refs. 

Isn't ticky tacky fouls worse though? Look at Dwight Howards FT attempts. And seriously, reversing a 2pt foul to a 3pt foul call much later, and still forgetting to add the points to a score board...not a good reffing job.

As opposed to not realizing one team has 6 players on the court and then counting the basket when the uncovered guy everyone i spointing to dunks it?

I wouldn't exactly say the "real" NBA crews are 100% current on the rule book either.

Agreed Crownsy. 

GKC, I didn't care that the new refs make 50 foul calls since the calls were consistant throughout the game AND applied to both teams fairly.  I didn't mind the foul calls that were applied to the superstars the same way they were applied to the end-of-bench players.
To me, the goal is fairness, consistancy and going by the rulebook.  The goal isn't to avoid calling fouls to expedite the game or to favor one team/player over another.

[Brickowski]

Once again, I saw no material difference between the locked out refs and the replacement refs. The replacements made some bad calls, but also some good calls, and the stars got less preferential treatment, maybe because, in the D league, no one has a big Nike contract.  As for the 50 foul games, this is preseason, remember?  The refs always call stuff in the preseason that would not be called in the regular season, starting with the obligatory palming call on some unsuspecting rookie trying to showcase his crossover.

However, if the lockout were to continue, I imagine the league would have difficulty finding replacements for the replacements, and the officiating in the WNBA and the D league would likely suffer.

[nickagneta]

Does anybody get the feeling that after watching such things as superstars not getting the calls and getting into too much early foul trouble and certain teams not getting the calls that David Stern realized it would be an abject disaster to his marketing scheme to have properly called, objective games and instantly settled with the refs before the games started to count?

Yeah, I got that feeling too!!!

[Brickowski]

Does anybody get the feeling that after watching such things as superstars not getting the calls and getting into too much early foul trouble and certain teams not getting the calls that David Stern realized it would be an abject disaster to his marketing scheme to have properly called, objective games and instantly settled with the refs before the games started to count?

Yeah, I got that feeling too!!!

I'm sure that went through Stern's mind, but he's wrong.  Good officiating would bring many fans back who want to see basketball, not a perpetual mix tape tour.