I’m getting tired of the terrible officiating in the NBA. It is not that I believe that they are biased, they are just terrible. There are a couple of calls which I hate: 1: The offensive foul when backing down in the post. All the defensive player has to do is wait for a random moment and fall down. Even a blind guy sees that there was no difference between the bump that made the defensive player fall down, and the previous bump, the only difference is the player falling down. And they call it every time (Note this is different from taking a charge on a drive). 2: It seems they just randomly call a foul when a player blocks a shot. They have no idea if it is the blockshot was all ball or not. For example the block Jones made in the Pelicans game was called a foul, but the dunk attempt of Jones in the game before that were he was hit on the elbow was not called a foul. There are 2 possibilities there either the refs really do not see if a player has all ball (and if that is the case why even have refs if they just call a foul randomly) or they just do not care enough. 3: I hate the technical foul for showing emotion after a scored basket. It is also called randomly. 4: My biggest pet peeve is the no call at the end of the game ‘because They have to let the players play’ The play of Marion on Love at the end of the Wolves game was bad. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ovzx9UPvhH0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> But the foul on Rivers at the end of the Mavs-Pelicans game was even worse. How could they not call a foul on that. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/U39YkvLfQuk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I’m really getting fed up by the refs. Again please understand that I’m not saying there is a biase in favour of certain teams (I’m not Bill Worrel or any commentator, not at the national networks), But the randomness of these calls are just terrible. It is really starting to influence games. Lets all post the worse referee calls we see in the NBA.
There was an earlier thread in NBA Dish about corrupt refs that i was following for awhile. Officiating is so frustrating sometimes, but you gotta also realize that its not easy job either. Really subjective sometimes, but other times its like the ref has an agenda going for a certain team. This starts from the top, the commissioner. Stern hasn't done anything. I dont know about this new guy
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7JFRnCZXWzk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> The referees did it again, maybe this call would not have changed the outcome of the play, but again it is a call they never make, so why make it now. And to give a T on top of that.
NBA Release: Foul should not been called; technical should not have been assessed. Sorry, that's all you get.
You make it sound like it was a foul, just rarely called. There's absolutely no foul there. Just a ref giving Sac a 4 point swing and the ball.
You are right. There was no foul. My post wasn't clear. I was just to upset with these calls. Can you imagine if it was a rocket...
If you think these calls are terrible, you should go watch AAU games or even UIL games at the middle school and even high school level. It's incredible how bad it is. And how vindictive the refs can get. And yes...I know...it's the NBA and should be more professional.
The NBA simply needs a philosophy change as far as officiating. Everything is a damn foul. When in doubt, they blow the whistle. It should be the other way around. Basketball is a contact sport, why are they turning this into such a wussified game? It's like they're scared of the game becoming too physical because they don't want fights to break out or something. This all started when Stern became obsessed with the league's image, i.e. dress codes. I'm hoping Silver can undo this ... the game is being ruined
I wonder if current technology is sophisticated enough for computer referees. Or, at the minimum, have computers to help human referees to figure out who touched what at what time etc. Come to think of it, how far are we from that really? Let's see. One of the most difficult things to do is to let the computer recognize the players, their body, hand positions etc. Well, this can be solved by having the players wear special uniforms that are covered with sensors. That's how the computer game industry create human like characters. Sort of like this: If I were the new commssioner I'd look into this.
It sounds good on paper but this would ruin the game, because the NBA really isn't a non-contact sport-- there is contact on every possession and the refs just have to let things go or else the game would take six hours. An obvious use of technology would be sensors in the ball, hoop, and sidelines to immediately detect out-of-bounds, goaltending, late baskets etc. As far as cleaning up the game, they simply need to start making refs accountable so that those prone to fix games won't have the incentive. Calls like this are a complete atrocity.
Sensors are probably unrealistic for all calls. But it definitely have promise in terms of deciding between a legit charge and a flop. They can calibrate a certain amount of force hitting the defender in order to count as a charge.
Has the NBA responded to this? I don't see how anyone can adequately resolve the issue, as the game has been completed. The most league officials can offer is formal apology and a reprimand of the officiating crew. --Captain Decker
I do not think this will be necessary. The things that bother me the most are not the calls they miss because it is difficult. but they are choices the league has made: 1: The post up flop. When a player backs down in the post the defender decides to just fall down. They could just not call this, it is clear for everybody with eyes that it is a flop. 2: I also hate the shot fake, and then jumping into the player. Why call the foul if the offensive player is going out of its way to make contact. Again not a difficult call it is the choice of the NBA to call these fouls. 3: Not calling a foul at the end of the game is also a choice. 4: Big men are constantly called different then smaller players. Again a choice. The league wanted a game more wing orientated and they changed the rules to facilitate it. This is one of the things that annoys me the most. 5: I hate the anticipation call, they expect a foul so they blow their whistle even though it was clear there was no foul. 6: Why call a T for the reaction of Lowry, Of course he is upset you call a offensive foul. Even if it wasn’t a idiotic decision by the refs (which is was), all lowry did was run away, he should be able to show some emotion, it was not like he started cursing at the refs like Noah (with Noah the T was justified). The 3 videos in this thread are clear examples where the refs made a idiotic choice. You cannot tell me the ref really thought that Lowry made an offensive foul, or that the refs in the Dallas games couldn't see that there was a foul. I’m really getting fed up with the way the refs call the game.
The blazers Warriors game again ended with a clear foul not called. It was clear Batum was hit on the elbow. But they didnt call the foul. Ofcourse the delay of game calls against the rockets with the Heat game were terrible (especially since they didnt call the same things in the Jazz game). But this one is also brilliant: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/m6WHvm20Ubo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Referees have huge egos because they are protected by the NBA and can do whatever they want. Power is everything, take that protection away and see what happens!
You could actually calibrate the computer refs to only call the foul when the contact is excessive. That is, you could have the computer refs only make the foul call when a certain amount of force is applied by one player into another, or when the contact has a clear affect on the other player's position and trajectory. I'm not advocating that, but the technology is on the horizon.
