Let's Talk NBA Officiating

[ProfessaPackMan]

As the the title says, let's talk about the Officiating in the NBA.

What is it that you like/hate about it? Any concerns, gripes, complaints, complements, bitching, venting, issues, annoyances you have about it....go ahead and voice them out here.

Do you think it'll get better? Is it overblown? Is it underappreciated? What do you think of it? What type of changes would you like to see made, even if they're not realistic.

And based on how much it's talked about in the Games/OT Thread, this thread should get 10 pages EASILY.

So yeah, vent away.

[Vni]

Re: Let's Talk NBA Officiating

I think the officiating is nearly perfect as it is. My only grippe is that flopping isn't rewarded enough. It's a real skill and a sucessfull flop should be an automatic technical free throw plus the ball. Other than that it's pretty good.

[turty11]

Re: Let's Talk NBA Officiating

im sure its in everyone's thoughts, but the lack of consistency with calls is really annoying to me.

HATE the new delay of game rule for touching the ball, but refs have let up on calling it...failure to enforce a point of emphasis but credit given for realizing it was terrible to add this rule for "any touch"

officiating won't get better until they start getting in young guys who dont have terrible eye sight, and even then it will still probably be bad because refs make to many assumptions

@vni that kind of sarcasm man ><

[ojandpizza]

I'm usually one of the few here who don't think officiating as a whole is that bad, as far as being way softer than it was "back in my day" that's something that will always be said, at any level..

My issues lies in consistency, and different calls that seem to be based on player size/strength.. A foul should be a foul regardless of if you're Shaq's size or Steve Nash's size.. I think officiating took a big jump back in this area because people had no idea how to ref for Shaq back in the early 2000's..

And now it seems that the guys strong enough to play through contact aren't rewarded as much as the smaller guys who get knocked around easier.. Which I don't agree with.

[jeebs9]

Re: Let's Talk NBA Officiating

The travel calls are really bothering me. This isn't some kiddy league. We're talking about Pro here. I hate watching a game where the whistle is blown 4 times in 2 minutes. And most of them are not travels.

[turty11]

Re: Let's Talk NBA Officiating

yea, instead of the "lets call a possible sliding pivot foot before the dribble" how about they call the 3-5 steps guys take without a dribble going to the rim.

[jeebs9]

Re: Let's Talk NBA Officiating

I don't know... I wouldn't even call those travels in my opinion. The NBA is a business. I don't want to see LeBron James steal a pass in the open court and take 3 steps and be called for a traveling.

[turty11]

Re: Let's Talk NBA Officiating

I don't know... I wouldn't even call those travels in my opinion. The NBA is a business. I don't want to see LeBron James steal a pass in the open court and take 3 steps and be called for a traveling.

i do, because 3 steps without a dribble makes you faster than with a dribble, and if lebron takes 3 steps that can cover over 10-20 feet easily

[ojandpizza]

Re: Let's Talk NBA Officiating

If they start calling all of that more closely then the euro-step has to be called more closely as well.. A euro step is two steps just as you normally get.. It's not completely leaving the ground and landing on one leg (an illegal jumpstop) and then strategically throwing in the extra step to make it look like it was a euro-step.

NBA players have been walking, traveling, carrying, palming, etc for the last 30 or so years.. If the get too strict with it it's just going to lead to more complaints from fans..

But there are some areas where it could be improved.. I especially don't like when guys can cradle the ball up to their head on a crossover.. This isn't the Rucker.

[Steven78]

Re: Let's Talk NBA Officiating

Like others have said all I want is consistency. What is called a foul in the first quarter for team A should also be a foul for team B in the fourth quarter.

I look at it like the frustration fans have for an MLB umpires strike zone. Sure, he may be calling that pitch a couple inches off the plate a strike, but if he calls it consistently, all game, for both teams, there isn't a big issue.

The problems come when one team or player is getting calls and the other team or player is not.

Consistency, is that too much to ask for?

[Majingir]

Re: Let's Talk NBA Officiating

I still believe refs do let some things slide with bigger name teams/player,especially when facing lesser known players/teams, and might sometimes call things in their favor.

I'll admit that many times they made no difference to the result of the game, but Raptors have had it happen a few times.

Recently against the Rockets, one of the Rockets player was dribbling, he backed up and slipped on his own foot, and the refs called Raptors for a foul. Not too long after, a Rockets player grabbed a Raptors player by his arm(going for an intentional foul), and refs called nothing.

And last year vs the Heat, there were so many calls so obviously in Heat favor. One time Lebron was chasing a loose ball and he dove out of bounds to save it, then the refs called Raptors for a foul, despite the fact that nobody touched him, and he wasn't flopping,he was just diving to save the ball...

[702]

Re: Let's Talk NBA Officiating

The players slipping on their own accord and getting a foul call happens quite a bit actually.

Overall, the refereeing is acceptable. It will never be perfect.

My one real issue is Joey Crawford. Hes a clown and needs to go.

As for an idea for improvement... I heard this somewhere, think the NHL does it? Don't know but a league wide review booth. So instead of wasting 5+ minutes huddled around a monitor, they can just have a headquarters where they can do video reviews and relay the call to the crew. Would be more efficent and save a ton of time.

[return.specialist]

Re: Let's Talk NBA Officiating

Part of me longs for fingers spread across the top of the ball; part of me would love to see traveling enforced; part of me would love to see goal-tending be less stringent and offensive interference allowed. However, part of me also adheres to the notion that 'rules' are subject to interpretation. The NBA, as a business, can improve its business model by exploiting the malleability of the rules. As a fan, I loved the Conference Championships and the Finals--and I think the casual enjoyed each more than recent years past--and if that comes solely as a result of the refs, then I support it.

[turty11]

Re: Let's Talk NBA Officiating

My one real issue is Joey Crawford. Hes a clown and needs to go.

i will probably never agree with anything more in my life.... the guy is complete trash when it comes to officiating and maturity....i mean the guy was yelling at the towel boy, tries dancing half way down the court to call a charge, and probably thinks he could score 50 on MJ

"I've been at this thing 30 years, and sometimes I'm starting to wonder what's a foul and what's not a foul." -mike woodson

[Majingir]

Re: Let's Talk NBA Officiating

As for an idea for improvement... I heard this somewhere, think the NHL does it? Don't know but a league wide review booth. So instead of wasting 5+ minutes huddled around a monitor, they can just have a headquarters where they can do video reviews and relay the call to the crew. Would be more efficent and save a ton of time.

NHL doesn't do it(if they do,then I really haven't ever noticed), but they do check for severity of something before deciding on it.For example, if a player gets high stick in the face, it's a 2 minute penalty, but it can become 4 if the ref sees the player bleeding after the incident.