finkle, just to be clear, are you complaining that they don't call travels by the book, or that they don't call them on Lebron?
Because, if you are saying they don't call them by the book, I absolutely agree. They give players a ton of leeway, both with extra steps to the basket, footwork in the paint, and shuffling their pivot feet.
However, I just don't think Lebron benefits from it more than most other guys. Whether it is Pierce and Garnett, who both travel a ton, or every PG in the league who carries the ball constantly.
Everyone, including Lebron get called every once in a while (and yes, I am frustrated by that inconsistency, but I don't feel it is biased), but for the most part, refs look the other way unless it is blatant, and although Lebron often looks like he is traveling (such as on his "crab dribble"), he really is not doing it very often based on the standards of the league on the whole.
Then lets bring the standards back to the pre-Jordan days.
My answer to your queston is.....Both. Pierce, Anthony, Bryant, Wade, Rose, Durant, and Howard consistently get an extra step or the pivot foot shuffle that would have always been called pre-Jordan. They occasionally get called and have that goofy exhasperated look because they did the exact same thing the majority of the time they touch the ball...So they're rightfully confused. Occasionally meaning every other game or so. I don't include Garnett....Who takes an extra step quite a bit gets called a lot more than other stars. Los Nash, Wade, (and to a lesser degree), the messiah, Rose, Rondo, Williams, Jennings, and Paul consistently carry the ball.....And virtually never get called.
The messiah can take pretty much as many steps as he wants and he also gets called occasionally....As in maybe every 10 games or so. He's simply too big to use the "speed of the game" excuse....Particularly when he moving his feet in one place. It's simple physics...Physically impossible for a 6'9" 250lb man, no matter how quick and athletic, to take two steps without a dribble from above the three point line and dunk....Whether you consider the crab dribble... It's also impossible for the best trained officials to miss the same thing every time.
With the exception of flopping...The officials are incredibly consistent and accurate calling the rest of the league. The reality is they're incredibly consistent with what they don't call on the above.
Chris, if they called traveling on these even guys 50% of the time we could make the case for the speed excuse and it would have some merit. But they're too consistent, IMHO, to make the case for anything other than they're doing what they're supposed to do. That the obvious is being ignored by both the national color guys and the officials make it obvious that the calling it they way they're supposed to.
Your post above makes my case more eloquently than I have as to why we're talking about Tim Donaghy in the first place. He survived because he could consistently "guess" the results or worst yet, manipulate them himself in plain sight....Not because of a lack of officiating skill. Much the contrary..Because I'll maintain that these officials are much better than the pre-Jordan officials...But it's much easier to predict a result of a game when the most talented and skilled players on the court get additional advantages outside of the rulebook. When the officiating gets to the point that the same exact scenario can be called 3-4 different ways based on the combatants, it's easy to hide in plain sight and influence the outcome.
Topic: Tim Donaghy accuses JVG of betting on the Heat based on inside info (Read 21927 times)