Confirmation Bias

[Eja117]

Either you're telling me these are the best refs in the world that consistently make terrible terrible calls and I should just believe that these best refs are just making terrible mistakes consistently or you're telling me they're doing it on purpose. Since I've seen many many games called very well by many people at many different levels and have done it myself I am well aware that it really isn't hard to call a good game. It isn't an unusual event. It isn't an impossibility. It isn't some bizarre thing to just have good refs and good reffing. It really isn't.  It isn't a miraculous thing.  Good reffing is actually quite common as soon as you get out of the NBA.  Orrrrrrr....these best refs in the world are reffing very very badly for some other reason.

I've seen Ray Allen hit 9 3s in a game. In fact, I've seen Ray Allen have numerous games where he hits shot after shot after shot. Are you to tell me that when Ray Allen has a game where he misses wide open 3s that he is simply doing poorly? I'd choose to believe that the NBA is rigging the game and Ray is being paid off to perform so poorly.

There is zero comparison whatsoever to Ray missing a three and a ref missing a call repeatedly.  If Ray hit the three and the ref said "Nope. He missed it." Then I'd say something isn't right. And it's way more like that.

There is no comparison between Ray missing a shot and a tech on Doc for saying "cmon Eddie" or a tech on Ray for jumping up and frowning.  None at all.

[Eja117]

However, I should be clear. I have NO idea what the reason for the refs bias is. Obviously there are different possibilities, but I do not know them. As I said, it makes no sense to me that a league that can control games would limit the length of a series when there is more money to be made in a longer series. This does not mean there is not a reason, just that I don't see one.

I think it's readily obvious what is happening in the league. Certain players like LeBron and Wade attack the basket a lot. They get fouled a lot. Because they get fouled so much and are so aggressive, the refs likely go into each play expecting that they will get fouled. In many cases, they do actually get fouled. So even when they don't get fouled or it's a borderline call, the refs likely are constantly anticipating a foul.

Further, plays where a guy draws contact are likely to earn trips to the line. When so many plays draw contact, there are bound to be some bad calls.

It's just not that hard to call a good game. It's not. Especially when you do it for a living. It's very very common to go to any local high school game and between two refs (and the NBA gets three) there might be 5 bad calls and 3 questionable ones. The NBA has bad calls throughout the game every game.  And these are supposed to be the best refs alive.

Again, this stinks of confirmation bias. How many truly terrible calls are there in these games? At best, most of these calls are slightly questionable and could go either way. There were possibly 2 or 3 genuinely bad calls in game 2. That is compared with the 100 or so other calls in the game. By choosing to look at those few bad calls, you're ignoring all of the calls that go exactly as they should.

Right. Because it's not hard to make a good call. All you need is good vision and a basic understanding of the game.  Go ref a game. You'll see what I mean. It's not hard. It really isn't. Hands don't disappear or go through worm holes. All the bodies move according to the laws of physics ever single time. There's no flubber or go go gadget hands.  

Follow along with a game at home and call the game. Try to watch the whole screen. Do it for a quarter. You'll be doing it from a bad vantage point with no help. You'll do a better job that the nba refs. But you won't do a better job than the college ones. Give it a try

[mqtcelticsfan]

Either you're telling me these are the best refs in the world that consistently make terrible terrible calls and I should just believe that these best refs are just making terrible mistakes consistently or you're telling me they're doing it on purpose. Since I've seen many many games called very well by many people at many different levels and have done it myself I am well aware that it really isn't hard to call a good game. It isn't an unusual event. It isn't an impossibility. It isn't some bizarre thing to just have good refs and good reffing. It really isn't.  It isn't a miraculous thing.  Good reffing is actually quite common as soon as you get out of the NBA.  Orrrrrrr....these best refs in the world are reffing very very badly for some other reason.

I've seen Ray Allen hit 9 3s in a game. In fact, I've seen Ray Allen have numerous games where he hits shot after shot after shot. Are you to tell me that when Ray Allen has a game where he misses wide open 3s that he is simply doing poorly? I'd choose to believe that the NBA is rigging the game and Ray is being paid off to perform so poorly.

There is zero comparison whatsoever to Ray missing a three and a ref missing a call repeatedly.  If Ray hit the three and the ref said "Nope. He missed it." Then I'd say something isn't right. And it's way more like that.

There is no comparison between Ray missing a shot and a tech on Doc for saying "cmon Eddie" or a tech on Ray for jumping up and frowning.  None at all.

What about Ray, who hits FTs 90% of the time missing a whole bunch of them against Miami?

My point still stands that even the best in the world can screw up. If Tom Brady hits the open receiver on a slant route 9 times out of 10, and misses him on the 10th time, is that due to corruption? Even if Brady misses the easiest throw in the world, it doesn't mean that something fishy is going on. It just means that he messed up. I don't know how this isn't readily obvious. Humans make errors, especially in judgments.

[tgreanier]

You know, maybe the reffing issue is being looked at the wrong way. It is not that the refs are trying to win the game for a particular team, it is just a little help for the superstars. I realize suspecting that the refs favoring superstars is not in any sense a new concept. But, with Lebron and Wade getting such bias calls (and yes, I think they have and will consistently) it obviously helps the Heat in a huge way.

Take a different team, like the Lakers, with one clear superstar. Kobe gets a lot of calls too, but helping one guy is not sometimes enough to prevent a good team from winning.

The Celtics are facing a real problem here. If LeBron and Wade are going to get help from the refs, the Celtics are going to have to play absolutely lights out to win a game.

Man I dislike the NBA for ruining this sport.

[mqtcelticsfan]

I've seen Ray Allen hit 9 3s in a game. In fact, I've seen Ray Allen have numerous games where he hits shot after shot after shot. Are you to tell me that when Ray Allen has a game where he misses wide open 3s that he is simply doing poorly? I'd choose to believe that the NBA is rigging the game and Ray is being paid off to perform so poorly.

lol, I dearly hope this is a well-placed joke.

It most certainly was. 

[tgreanier]

Either you're telling me these are the best refs in the world that consistently make terrible terrible calls and I should just believe that these best refs are just making terrible mistakes consistently or you're telling me they're doing it on purpose. Since I've seen many many games called very well by many people at many different levels and have done it myself I am well aware that it really isn't hard to call a good game. It isn't an unusual event. It isn't an impossibility. It isn't some bizarre thing to just have good refs and good reffing. It really isn't.  It isn't a miraculous thing.  Good reffing is actually quite common as soon as you get out of the NBA.  Orrrrrrr....these best refs in the world are reffing very very badly for some other reason.

I've seen Ray Allen hit 9 3s in a game. In fact, I've seen Ray Allen have numerous games where he hits shot after shot after shot. Are you to tell me that when Ray Allen has a game where he misses wide open 3s that he is simply doing poorly? I'd choose to believe that the NBA is rigging the game and Ray is being paid off to perform so poorly.

There is zero comparison whatsoever to Ray missing a three and a ref missing a call repeatedly.  If Ray hit the three and the ref said "Nope. He missed it." Then I'd say something isn't right. And it's way more like that.

There is no comparison between Ray missing a shot and a tech on Doc for saying "cmon Eddie" or a tech on Ray for jumping up and frowning.  None at all.

What about Ray, who hits FTs 90% of the time missing a whole bunch of them against Miami?

My point still stands that even the best in the world can screw up. If Tom Brady hits the open receiver on a slant route 9 times out of 10, and misses him on the 10th time, is that due to corruption? Even if Brady misses the easiest throw in the world, it doesn't mean that something fishy is going on. It just means that he messed up. I don't know how this isn't readily obvious. Humans make errors, especially in judgments.

I think the problem with your point is there are obvious, valid reasons for Ray and Brady failing. Ray is hurt in the worst place possible for a balanced shooter. And Brady throwing a bad pass is not anywhere close to the same point as the refs CONSISTENTLY helping out the superstars on the Heat.

This is not a bunch of human-error, bad calls. I would like to believe that (as much as it would still be a bad problem) because it would mean the league's problem is not one of corruption as much as ineptitude. While Stern has shown no resolve in handling this ineptitude, it would at least give me some hope.

[mqtcelticsfan]

What about Ray, who hits FTs 90% of the time missing a whole bunch of them against Miami?

My point still stands that even the best in the world can screw up. If Tom Brady hits the open receiver on a slant route 9 times out of 10, and misses him on the 10th time, is that due to corruption? Even if Brady misses the easiest throw in the world, it doesn't mean that something fishy is going on. It just means that he messed up. I don't know how this isn't readily obvious. Humans make errors, especially in judgments.

I think the problem with your point is there are obvious, valid reasons for Ray and Brady failing. Ray is hurt in the worst place possible for a balanced shooter. And Brady throwing a bad pass is not anywhere close to the same point as the refs CONSISTENTLY helping out the superstars on the Heat.

This is not a bunch of human-error, bad calls. I would like to believe that (as much as it would still be a bad problem) because it would mean the league's problem is not one of corruption as much as ineptitude. While Stern has shown no resolve in handling this ineptitude, it would at least give me some hope.

My point is merely that people are capable of errors. To expand upon why I think this is relevant, let's remember that most calls are as much judgment calls as anything else. When contact is made, it must be decided if it's enough contact to constitute a foul. If we're talking about fallibility, judgments are certainly highly fallible. It's not nearly as obvious and easy as Eja is trying to make it sound here.

[tgreanier]

What about Ray, who hits FTs 90% of the time missing a whole bunch of them against Miami?

My point still stands that even the best in the world can screw up. If Tom Brady hits the open receiver on a slant route 9 times out of 10, and misses him on the 10th time, is that due to corruption? Even if Brady misses the easiest throw in the world, it doesn't mean that something fishy is going on. It just means that he messed up. I don't know how this isn't readily obvious. Humans make errors, especially in judgments.

I think the problem with your point is there are obvious, valid reasons for Ray and Brady failing. Ray is hurt in the worst place possible for a balanced shooter. And Brady throwing a bad pass is not anywhere close to the same point as the refs CONSISTENTLY helping out the superstars on the Heat.

This is not a bunch of human-error, bad calls. I would like to believe that (as much as it would still be a bad problem) because it would mean the league's problem is not one of corruption as much as ineptitude. While Stern has shown no resolve in handling this ineptitude, it would at least give me some hope.

My point is merely that people are capable of errors. To expand upon why I think this is relevant, let's remember that most calls are as much judgment calls as anything else. When contact is made, it must be decided if it's enough contact to constitute a foul. If we're talking about fallibility, judgments are certainly highly fallible. It's not nearly as obvious and easy as Eja is trying to make it sound here.

Well you seem to make a point that this is just fallibility. However, if that was the problem then the calls would indeed even out and any griping about it would indeed be silly.

The calls have not evened out. So if this is just natural human error, why for 101 minutes have the calls been so helpful to Miami? Did Boston really do that to themselves?

[soap07]

You don't hear fans here complaining about crooked refs in MLB, the NFL, or NHL. Only the NBA. There are reasons for it.

Fans in every sport complain about the refs as much as C's fans do about the refs in those specific games. Every one. If you went to a Sox/Patriots blog, you'd see the same thing.

[fairweatherfan]

You don't hear fans here complaining about crooked refs in MLB, the NFL, or NHL. Only the NBA. There are reasons for it.

Fans in every sport complain about the refs as much as C's fans do about the refs in those specific games. Every one. If you went to a Sox/Patriots blog, you'd see the same thing.

I spent a lot of time in and around Buffalo about a decade ago, so the NHL thing was especially funny to hear.  Go ask a Sabres fans about Brett Hull and unbiased officiating, it's bound to be a fun conversation.

[mqtcelticsfan]

Well you seem to make a point that this is just fallibility. However, if that was the problem then the calls would indeed even out and any griping about it would indeed be silly.

The calls have not evened out. So if this is just natural human error, why for 101 minutes have the calls been so helpful to Miami? Did Boston really do that to themselves?

In a way, Miami does make it uneven, due to the aggressive nature of their play. When players like LeBron drive to the hoop so many times in a game, they increase the likelihood that a mistake can be made.

[Ocie1]

supportmuch appreciated

[Celtics4ever]

Money talks and it can affect any sport.   The NBA is the worst because of all the replays, period.  You have better opportunity to see screw ups in basketball.  I think the officiating has been beyond one sided.

But to think David Stern is the defender of truth, justice and the American way and clean is naive.   He is trying to make money for the league.  No one has more incentive.

Watch the games and how many blown calls and FTA disparities.   If you don't think the league extends series or helps certain teams I have some watercolors painted by Picasso I just happened to found and I would be willing to cut you a deal on them.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

Not buying the original post. Stern had every reason on Earth to sue Tim Donaghy. He had quite a bit of money to find quite a bit of evidence. Didn't do it. Nobody sued him. The FBI didn't charge him with any kind of perjury. Most refs kept pretty quiet.  This isn't "evidence". These are facts.  Gotta suspect Stern didn't want himself or any of his refs to take the stand.

Yup. The sky is blue and I think I found the evidence.  Stern "believes" everything is on the up and up and won't show you the evidence. It's the old...who ya gonna believe? Me or your lying eyes?

I am confused by your comment that you don't agree with my original post. Your comments seem to agree. What am I missing?

I don't buy that people find evidence to confirm their beliefs. People have beliefs because there is evidence.

You don't hear fans here complaining about crooked refs in MLB, the NFL, or NHL. Only the NBA. There are reasons for it.

Also the NBA is the only one that I know of at least recently with a major referee scandal that involved the NBA. That's not me finding evidence. That's just fact.

well said

[CelticG1]

I just don't even know what to be mad about the refs, the rules in place, or Stern.

The rules in place suck because you can make up whatever calls you want to make whenever there is contact whatsoever.  Refs suck because they are never consistent in any way during these games. Stern sucks for all of the above. I know all he cares about is money but I truly wonder if there is any other motivational factor