NBA officiating credibility

[LakerPete]

At what point did EVERYBODY start whining about the officials? I get into it with other Laker fans all the time, because if we lost the game...it's ALWAYS the ref's fault, according to them. It's true of every fan base. Is this just something that came about with the advent of message boards? I don't remember it always being this bad before they existed. Is it the product of an "everybody gets a trophy in tee-ball, so they don't learn how to lose with dignity" society? It's every game, with every team, nowadays.

The officiating has been too ticky-tack, IMO, but I definitely didn't blame them for the Game 2 loss.

[bobdelt]

I still think everyone is underestimating the impact of HDTV.

Rewind 10 years, we would watch replays,and still not know what the right call was. Now we do, every time. If we can't do it in regular TV, how can the refs do it.

That being said, there's always ways to improve the process. I like the right of refusal, and I'm suprised the players union isnt more involved.

[reggie35]

At what point did EVERYBODY start whining about the officials? I get into it with other Laker fans all the time, because if we lost the game...it's ALWAYS the ref's fault, according to them. It's true of every fan base. Is this just something that came about with the advent of message boards? I don't remember it always being this bad before they existed. Is it the product of an "everybody gets a trophy in tee-ball, so they don't learn how to lose with dignity" society? It's every game, with every team, nowadays.

The officiating has been too ticky-tack, IMO, but I definitely didn't blame them for the Game 2 loss.

Around the time Jordan pushed off on Byron Russel...

[celticsclay]

I don't like when people complain refs in general. However, I don't know how anyone can state that the refs have not affected the flow of these games and been called inconsistently. For it being the championship round, this is not acceptable.

[bmxgitch]

 If officials have calls over turned like technicals they should be held accountable in some way. I would love to see officials at a press confrence after each playoff game just like the players do. Maybe when the press blast them they might start making better calls ! You never know ?

[FallGuy]

A suggestion to those who think officiating in the NBA is a joke:

Send the NBA a message about it:
http://www.nba.com/email_us/contact_us.html
(I just did  )

The drop down menu for subject line includes "officiating" .

Will this help much?  Probably not.  But I'm sure there is some zen saying out there how drops of water become a flood or something like that...

Emails are almost pointless. Write a real letter. They carry a lot more weight.

Sent an email last series and got a reply couple of days later. Is easier to track email input and am sure the NBA keeps track of the stats on all correspondence - email makes it easier all around.

Oh, it's easier. But an email is simply not taken as seriously by an organization as a hard copy letter.

[hpantazo]

If officials have calls over turned like technicals they should be held accountable in some way. I would love to see officials at a press confrence after each playoff game just like the players do. Maybe when the press blast them they might start making better calls ! You never know ?

I think having the refs answer questions at the press table after each game is a great, great idea. TP.

[Meadowlark_Scal]

The NBA is really blowing it...Treating everyone like they don't know any better. Bad calls, crippling teams to control the game and tempo....the refs have way too much influence. The NBA also blew it with these start times. 9pm on the East coast makes no sense.....Cut out working people, all the kids-otherwise known as the future of the NBA, ruin the East coast bars chance at having a good crowd...It is structured for the West coast, and only them......I'd say 4pm and 7pm...fair split, that way EVERYONE on both coasts can watch the whole thing till the end....

[LakerPete]

The NBA is really blowing it...Treating everyone like they don't know any better. Bad calls, crippling teams to control the game and tempo....the refs have way too much influence. The NBA also blew it with these start times. 9pm on the East coast makes no sense.....Cut out working people, all the kids-otherwise known as the future of the NBA, ruin the East coast bars chance at having a good crowd...It is structured for the West coast, and only them......I'd say 4pm and 7pm...fair split, that way EVERYONE on both coasts can watch the whole thing till the end....

How do you propose that the working crowd watches a game that starts at 4pm?

The reason the games start when they do is because that's when the most people can and will watch. They spend a lot of money studying these sorts of things.

[celticsclay]

If officials have calls over turned like technicals they should be held accountable in some way. I would love to see officials at a press confrence after each playoff game just like the players do. Maybe when the press blast them they might start making better calls ! You never know ?

I think having the refs answer questions at the press table after each game is a great, great idea. TP.

Well then stern would have to start fining reporters. Did you ever notice how 9 times out of ten the announcers on national tv keep their mouth shot on clearly bad calls. They also will never say a referee seems to have taken control of a game.

[luckthefakers]

They should just pick three refs to start the series (or have the coaches pick them, jury style) and keep those same three for the whole series.  The problem is that the way games are reffed changes on a daily basis so the players and coaches don't know what to expect.  It also lends itself to the conspiracy theory because, since there's no transparency in the current ref selection process, it's very plausible that the refs are chosen game-by-game to promote the desired outcome. Will anybody really be shocked, now that the Celtics are down, to see Eddie Rush at the next game?  (Sure, Celtics fans hate him for the BS in the last series, but he's also the only ref the Lakers have a losing playoff record against)  And will you be shocked if the next game is suddenly called more loosely, to favor the Celtics' more physical style?

Pick a crew and stick with it.  If a team can't adjust, they don't win, simple as that.  I'm sick of this merry go round of refs who all suck in different ways.

[Meadowlark_Scal]

The NBA is really blowing it...Treating everyone like they don't know any better. Bad calls, crippling teams to control the game and tempo....the refs have way too much influence. The NBA also blew it with these start times. 9pm on the East coast makes no sense.....Cut out working people, all the kids-otherwise known as the future of the NBA, ruin the East coast bars chance at having a good crowd...It is structured for the West coast, and only them......I'd say 4pm and 7pm...fair split, that way EVERYONE on both coasts can watch the whole thing till the end....

How do you propose that the working crowd watches a game that starts at 4pm?

The reason the games start when they do is because that's when the most people can and will watch. They spend a lot of money studying these sorts of things.

"They" do a lot of surveys that make absolutly no sense...!  The deal is, you have to sacrifice something on each side. Besides, if you want to get there for 4...you can and will, it will be also more conducive to the working people, that the game get over early also. 4-7,8 in LA, 7-10:30 here, works for mostly everyone..If you were in LA and had tickets, you would be there..and then 8 Sunday night, come on......I knew someone would microscope this one. Ever hear of the greater good? Gets most people there, miss the first quarter, big deal..and since when do you let others do your thinking for you..."They" said it is good for us.....sure......look where "They" got us now..!

[guava_wrench]

If officials have calls over turned like technicals they should be held accountable in some way. I would love to see officials at a press confrence after each playoff game just like the players do. Maybe when the press blast them they might start making better calls ! You never know ?

I think having the refs answer questions at the press table after each game is a great, great idea. TP.

Well then stern would have to start fining reporters. Did you ever notice how 9 times out of ten the announcers on national tv keep their mouth shot on clearly bad calls. They also will never say a referee seems to have taken control of a game.

I completely disagree. The JVG/Jackson combo mentions most of the bad calls.

It is the fans and announcers like Tommy who see many calls that they think are bad that aren't actually bad.

[guava_wrench]

I'd like to see a petition circulated amongst season ticket holders of all teams asking the NBA to replace it's entire officiating staff. 

That seems like a cause that fans of all teams can rally around.  There is no reason why NBA officiating should be so much worse than D1 college.

The officiating is not worse than D1. There are just more cameras and the game is way faster and more physical. The college game is incredibly slow.

[guava_wrench]

If officials have calls over turned like technicals they should be held accountable in some way. I would love to see officials at a press confrence after each playoff game just like the players do. Maybe when the press blast them they might start making better calls ! You never know ?

I think having the refs answer questions at the press table after each game is a great, great idea. TP.

What would be the point? The reply to every question would be essentially "that's how I saw it at that moment". Just let them do their jobs. The best we can do is have them review their own performances with feedback from the league. In the end though, it is hard to critique a ref when you weren't standing on the same spot on the floor watching in real time.