The King that never commits a foul...

[jambr380]

Posted this earlier tonight in the playoffs thread:

Just tuned in to the Chicago-Cleveland game (early in the third), and I'm amazed at the crazy stuff happening.

First, Rose took his first FTs of the series, and Mike Breen said that officials told Rose that Rose was initiating all the contact on his drives and that's why Rose hadn't been getting any calls. To which I thought, "Wait, that's what LeBron does, all the time, and he almost always gets the calls."

Then Noah's called for a foul when LeBron takes the ball right into Noah's chest—not only was LeBron initiating the contact, but there was literally nothing that Noah could do, nowhere he could go.

Then, after LeBron was rightly given a T, they refs T up Noah for clapping and saying something like, "Good job." Double technicals are stupid.

Several people here have rightly mentioned the noncall on James near the end, but let's not forget the noncall when he hit Butler in the head on a 3 attempt.

That's amazing with the Rose stuff. Virtually every star perimeter player does the exact same thing with initiating contact, yet since it's against "the King" they actually call it different. Ridiculous. When you're not a fan of Lebron it's virtually impossible to watch him without feeling disgusted. All stars get star treatment, but his just goes so far beyond that it's hard to stomach.

TP - this is exactly how I feel. I am a fan of good basketball so I appreciate what Lebron has been able to do, but really have a hard time watching him. Most of the time he acts all cool, but the second something doesn't go his way, he turns into a two year old.

The guy is obviously a very accomplished athlete, but the hypocrisy that goes on out there can be agonizing to watch.

[SHAQATTACK]

I love the technical foul. He got one, had a talk with the refs, so they gave Noah one too.

That's when I turned it off.   ....... He starts the whole thing ,  I hate the double technical , it's worthless call.....that's does Nothing to help the game integrity .

Did you notice LEBron  had a HOLD of the referees shirt a one point ,  in his face , had him by the shoulder ......    That would get anybody else ejected but ....MJ or LeBron .......I turned the fake sport off at that point.    How can a game be consider fair , when ONE player is put on a pedestal and can do no wrong.......I mean ....who the heck is responsible for this type of game.......not LeBron .....it's the league .....or TV .....that's who....who want ratings ......such dog ma. .....then Big money needs to,be out of sports so,it can be played correctly.   I don't care if every star fouls out of both teams , as long as the game is called correct.

If that had been ANYBODY on the Celtics ,  They would have been tossed out of the game for touching the referee .

[SHAQATTACK]

NBA is making JOKE out of supposed professional sport .....allowing the game to be called in favor of ONE player ....

This is the type of thing ......NASCAR does .......to purposely effect the outcome of the race .

If fans and public figures don't call them out on such blatant behavior ......

Then eventually the sport loses it appeal to people who love the GAME .....not the players.

[GreenWarrior]

the entire officiating staff needs an overhaul. as well as a new way to officiate games needs to be implemented. this product is horrible.

I used to be able to watch other games in the NBA that didn't involve the C's. but now they're just completely unwatchable.

i'd like to know when it became legal to stick your arm out before you even start dribbling. I think it was game 1 or game 2 of Tor/Wash where I counted 50 offensive fouls in the 1st half against Toronto alone on just plays where guys held there off-ball hand out to ward off defenders...I hate that this is allowed!

another thing I can't stand is the picks and the officials themselves don't know what to call. perfect example the pick with Perk against Crowder, I honestly still don't know how when a guy setting a pick is allowed to raise his arms up near the defenders head and chest area? much less get a running start and doing this. that's not a pick, that's head hunting.

the incident with Smart and Gasol? same effing thing! everyone focused on where Smart's hand went, but completely ignored the fact that Smart was about to get his head taken off because Gasol had his hands raised with Smart running full speed ahead in his direction.

the real horrible thing is now the commentators talk about the sad officiating more. but it's treated like an infant that did something bad but still looks cute while doing it.

the game last night when Lebron clearly fouled Rose at the end? were the officials watching the game? or were they playing the situation? the commentators even said "James what are you doing?!!?? you don't go for a foul there!?!?!?" of course no foul was called because apparently even when he's trying to foul they won't call it. 

[showtime]

He thought they were behind and intentionally tried to foul Rose at the end and the ref's still wouldn't call a foul.  Never has there been a more protected player, not even close.

[nicknorman]

Posted this earlier tonight in the playoffs thread:

Just tuned in to the Chicago-Cleveland game (early in the third), and I'm amazed at the crazy stuff happening.

First, Rose took his first FTs of the series, and Mike Breen said that officials told Rose that Rose was initiating all the contact on his drives and that's why Rose hadn't been getting any calls. To which I thought, "Wait, that's what LeBron does, all the time, and he almost always gets the calls."

Then Noah's called for a foul when LeBron takes the ball right into Noah's chest—not only was LeBron initiating the contact, but there was literally nothing that Noah could do, nowhere he could go.

Then, after LeBron was rightly given a T, they refs T up Noah for clapping and saying something like, "Good job." Double technicals are stupid.

Several people here have rightly mentioned the noncall on James near the end, but let's not forget the noncall when he hit Butler in the head on a 3 attempt.

That's amazing with the Rose stuff. Virtually every star perimeter player does the exact same thing with initiating contact, yet since it's against "the King" they actually call it different. Ridiculous. When you're not a fan of Lebron it's virtually impossible to watch him without feeling disgusted. All stars get star treatment, but his just goes so far beyond that it's hard to stomach.

Imagine if what they are doing with Rose, with the non-calls, they did for every player. I mean the game would be so much more fun if you were really forced to earn your points when driving to the bucket. I love Isaiah for us, but even he sometimes gets some ticky tack fouls called for him while driving the lane.

[GreenGoggles]

It's not up for debate that LeBron is a great player. It's also not up for debate that while he may not get every call on the offensive end, he gets away with almost whatever he wants on the defensive side.

[jpotter33]

the entire officiating staff needs an overhaul. as well as a new way to officiate games needs to be implemented. this product is horrible.

I used to be able to watch other games in the NBA that didn't involve the C's. but now they're just completely unwatchable.

i'd like to know when it became legal to stick your arm out before you even start dribbling. I think it was game 1 or game 2 of Tor/Wash where I counted 50 offensive fouls in the 1st half against Toronto alone on just plays where guys held there off-ball hand out to ward off defenders...I hate that this is allowed!

another thing I can't stand is the picks and the officials themselves don't know what to call. perfect example the pick with Perk against Crowder, I honestly still don't know how when a guy setting a pick is allowed to raise his arms up near the defenders head and chest area? much less get a running start and doing this. that's not a pick, that's head hunting.

the incident with Smart and Gasol? same effing thing! everyone focused on where Smart's hand went, but completely ignored the fact that Smart was about to get his head taken off because Gasol had his hands raised with Smart running full speed ahead in his direction.

the real horrible thing is now the commentators talk about the sad officiating more. but it's treated like an infant that did something bad but still looks cute while doing it.

the game last night when Lebron clearly fouled Rose at the end? were the officials watching the game? or were they playing the situation? the commentators even said "James what are you doing?!!?? you don't go for a foul there!?!?!?" of course no foul was called because apparently even when he's trying to foul they won't call it.

Yep, several things need fixed. First off, the inconsistency HAS to be remedied. There will always be some sort of variation due to human error/tendencies, but the officiating can literally change from quarter to quarter, let alone from game to game, ref to ref, etc. There should be a more consistent standard on what constitutes a foul, technical, and flagrant throughout the season. Second, along those same lines I think they need to ease up on official interference in games and let the players play more. Third, I think they need to institute some level of coach challenges to remedy any potential bad calls in important games. Something like one challenge per game per team that cannot roll over sounds fair. Fourth, and most importantly, the superstars of the league should not be given as much leeway and star treatment as they currently do.

Silver has done a nice job of trying to be more transparent in the officiating process, but I think more must be done to keep the reputation of the game intact. When even the announcers are talking about how bad and preferential the calls are, it's time for a change.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

There's a simple solution to this... Fine the refs.

At the end of every game, a committee will review said game and look for missed calls that are just so obvious you'd wonder why they missed it. And then fine the entire crew a certain amount of money for every call they missed.

They need to settle a category of which calls would be deemed fine worthy. A judgment call on an offensive foul/blocking should be forgiven and other things that are too close to call, you just make judgment calls. But obvious plays like LeBron hitting Butler in the head, Kyrie stepping out of bounds, travelling calls that could swing a game, etc.

Obviously it's not a well detailed suggestion, but you get the jist. If players/coaches get fined for criticizing bad officiating, referrers should get some responsibility as well. Fine them.

[GreenWarrior]

the entire officiating staff needs an overhaul. as well as a new way to officiate games needs to be implemented. this product is horrible.

I used to be able to watch other games in the NBA that didn't involve the C's. but now they're just completely unwatchable.

i'd like to know when it became legal to stick your arm out before you even start dribbling. I think it was game 1 or game 2 of Tor/Wash where I counted 50 offensive fouls in the 1st half against Toronto alone on just plays where guys held there off-ball hand out to ward off defenders...I hate that this is allowed!

another thing I can't stand is the picks and the officials themselves don't know what to call. perfect example the pick with Perk against Crowder, I honestly still don't know how when a guy setting a pick is allowed to raise his arms up near the defenders head and chest area? much less get a running start and doing this. that's not a pick, that's head hunting.

the incident with Smart and Gasol? same effing thing! everyone focused on where Smart's hand went, but completely ignored the fact that Smart was about to get his head taken off because Gasol had his hands raised with Smart running full speed ahead in his direction.

the real horrible thing is now the commentators talk about the sad officiating more. but it's treated like an infant that did something bad but still looks cute while doing it.

the game last night when Lebron clearly fouled Rose at the end? were the officials watching the game? or were they playing the situation? the commentators even said "James what are you doing?!!?? you don't go for a foul there!?!?!?" of course no foul was called because apparently even when he's trying to foul they won't call it.

Yep, several things need fixed. First off, the inconsistency HAS to be remedied. There will always be some sort of variation due to human error/tendencies, but the officiating can literally change from quarter to quarter, let alone from game to game, ref to ref, etc. There should be a more consistent standard on what constitutes a foul, technical, and flagrant throughout the season. Second, along those same lines I think they need to ease up on official interference in games and let the players play more. Third, I think they need to institute some level of coach challenges to remedy any potential bad calls in important games. Something like one challenge per game per team that cannot roll over sounds fair. Fourth, and most importantly, the superstars of the league should not be given as much leeway and star treatment as they currently do.

Silver has done a nice job of trying to be more transparent in the officiating process, but I think more must be done to keep the reputation of the game intact. When even the announcers are talking about how bad and preferential the calls are, it's time for a change.

I'm against adding anything. they can't handle what they have now, why would I expect them to handle more?

basketball is a game that requires 10 players, a ball, and a court. it's played in the street with no ref. while i'm not suggesting they eliminate officials completely, I do believe they could get away with 2 on the court.

challenges would be stupid, I'd rather they just keep playing. I've seen many of times where they look at replay and still get it wrong. so if they can't handle that, i'd rather just move on. 

[mgent]

I would have yelled if I wasn't in Applebee's.

Actually, I kinda did.

[dreamgreen]

I love this stuff! Every post is so good to read it brings a smile to my face. I'm with all you guys I can't watch a lecrybaby game unless he is losing. By far my least favorite player in the league.

[GratefulCs]

I was watching game 3 of the Cavs and Bulls playoff series, what a joke.

If the refs are never going to call a foul on LaBron, and just let him hard foul opposing players at critical parts of the game, lets just stop the playoff now, and give him the championship so we don't have to watch him cry like a baby.

He just mugged Jimmy Butler with 40 seconds to go in a tie game, everyone in the arena knew it was a blatant hack, and he got no foul called on him. The NBA refs should be ashamed of themselves.

Fate jumped in and Rose hit a 3 to win it with a few seconds remaining.

Sorry, I've grown to just hate this spoiled cry baby.

... I feel better now.

I Recommend stopping by realgm to hear cavs fans cry about how a similar amount of fouls were called, so the refs did NOT favor the cavs.


Looking at quantity not quantity



Go bulls (for now)

[e4e5sesame]

There's a simple solution to this... Fine the refs.

At the end of every game, a committee will review said game and look for missed calls that are just so obvious you'd wonder why they missed it. And then fine the entire crew a certain amount of money for every call they missed.

They need to settle a category of which calls would be deemed fine worthy. A judgment call on an offensive foul/blocking should be forgiven and other things that are too close to call, you just make judgment calls. But obvious plays like LeBron hitting Butler in the head, Kyrie stepping out of bounds, travelling calls that could swing a game, etc.

Obviously it's not a well detailed suggestion, but you get the jist. If players/coaches get fined for criticizing bad officiating, referrers should get some responsibility as well. Fine them.

I'm not from the US, but this sort of thing would not be legal in any common law jurisdiction. You can't fine someone for doing their job poorly. You can fire them for bad work and you can reward them for good work, but you can't penalise them for bad work.

What they could do that's within the bounds of the law is pay the officials a base salary equal to the minimum wage and set out bonuses based on the number of foul calls made in error. This wouldn't be the worst idea if the league's goal really was to clean up the game, but I suspect there would be a few practical problems with this solution.

Firsly, the referees union would simply never let it happen.

More importantly, though, I think the point of this thread is to consider that the league has an agenda here - that they are more interested in protecting the marketability of their top stars than they are about fair officiating. If that's the case, then talking about solutions to the problem is kind of pointless, because the system is already perfect in the eyes of the league.

[hwangjini_1]

There's a simple solution to this... Fine the refs.

At the end of every game, a committee will review said game and look for missed calls that are just so obvious you'd wonder why they missed it. And then fine the entire crew a certain amount of money for every call they missed.

They need to settle a category of which calls would be deemed fine worthy. A judgment call on an offensive foul/blocking should be forgiven and other things that are too close to call, you just make judgment calls. But obvious plays like LeBron hitting Butler in the head, Kyrie stepping out of bounds, travelling calls that could swing a game, etc.

Obviously it's not a well detailed suggestion, but you get the jist. If players/coaches get fined for criticizing bad officiating, referrers should get some responsibility as well. Fine them.

I'm not from the US, but this sort of thing would not be legal in any common law jurisdiction. You can't fine someone for doing their job poorly. You can fire them for bad work and you can reward them for good work, but you can't penalise them for bad work.

What they could do that's within the bounds of the law is pay the officials a base salary equal to the minimum wage and set out bonuses based on the number of foul calls made in error. This wouldn't be the worst idea if the league's goal really was to clean up the game, but I suspect there would be a few practical problems with this solution.

Firsly, the referees union would simply never let it happen.

More importantly, though, I think the point of this thread is to consider that the league has an agenda here - that they are more interested in protecting the marketability of their top stars than they are about fair officiating. If that's the case, then talking about solutions to the problem is kind of pointless, because the system is already perfect in the eyes of the league.

Good post, so a valuable tp for you. Your basic point is spot on. As long as the current system continues to generate profits, there are few incentives to change it in any dramatic way. And let's face it, most casual fans seem to prefer watching stars to watching basketball.

P.s. your name is a mystery to me.