From a recent article: Last month, Cuban said he had hired a "statistics expert'' to track referees during every Mavericks game. "I can't tell you how I do it,'' the owner said. "I got someone I trust, and I pay him a lot of money.'' Apparently Cuban has hired an outside person to track referees during Mavericks games, which I think is a good idea. I don't like seeing the stars of the league being favored so heavily by the officials, and I think it would improve the league if the officials were somehow forced to call games based on what they saw instead of what they think a player is capable of doing. Football always seems to be trying to improve their officiating, so why doesn't basketball? I could see Cuban suing the league because he lost 5 games in a year that could have gone the other way based on inconsistent officiating. If we are lucky, there may come a day when Shaquille will foul out with 6 offensive charges in the first quarter, and exit the playoffs in the first round.
wonder how he will feel finding out Finley and Dirk get all the calls going there way. being no American it is the one thing about the NBA that has always giving me the Sh1ts, is the way referees make calls based on how many years you are in the league or your status int he league. downunder referees just make calls doesn't make who it is!!!!
Personally, I am not going to complain anymore. Remember as soon as last year when Steve Francis had millions of traveling calls made against him because he carried the ball? Those have mysteriously gone away now that he is in his 3rd year and one of the leaders in the All Star balloting. And believe me, Steve uses his new found respect from the refs. He gets away with a LOT of traveling that used to be called against him. It is just an aspect of the game that has to be dealt with.
Would you rather face the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals w/ refs that call it like they see it or with refs that let Steve carry the ball? The same refs that let Steve carry the ball out of respect are the same ones that let Shaq get position by playing like a bulldozer. I would rather have them call it like they see it.
Hey, I am not saying that the NBA is better the way the refs call the game right now, but does anyone actually think things are going to change? I sure don't. I don't see the league having ANY incentive right now to change their policy on refereeing. My point was just that people sometimes act like the superstar calls are just enjoyed by certain players, none of which are on the Rockets. Francis gets away with plenty himself, and I tire of complaining about the refs. It gets old fast, and of all the things about the NBA that you can complain about, it is one that I think will change last.
Cuban seems to be obsessed. If nothing else, it will be interesting to see how far he takes this thing. Over a million dollars in fines and his criticism has only become more intense. With all of this money at stake, I think that it is going to lead to a lawsuit of some kind. Winning championships and games=CASH. Can you imagine a ref taking the stand and confessing that he was told to cheat for the sake of "the league" by his superiors? It would be a lot bigger than the IRS tax evasion problem, or the TImberwolves/Smithgate. Stern could become hypocrit of the century.
Mark Cuban is a "big ol'" fan with money. I get just as irritated with the officiating as he does, but I just don't have the money to go out and buy an NBA team so that I can shoot my mouth off about the refs. I believe that the game has gotten so physical over the past ten years that the league has instructed the refs to lay off of some of the nit-picky calls. Because these nit-picky fouls are happening all the time, I think the refs start becoming confused as to what is a "real" foul and what is a foul that shouldn't be called. If the rules were truly enforced equally for all players, we would have large numbers of players fouling out in the second and third quarters. The game would bog down even more and become more unwatchable. In the 80's and early 90's (up until the physical play of the Pistons and Knicks became the NBA norm), one-on-one defense was much more lax than it is today. Scoring was higher and fouls were less frequent. Today, it seems as if the defense will try to get away with whatever it can, short of physically harming the offensive player (of course there are exceptions...Karl Malone...DeathStick Bradley...etc.). In the end...the state of referring in the NBA today stinks. Frustration levels among fans are so high that psychologists might be able to attribute road rage to the anger caused by poor NBA referring. Oh well...as long as LA, Chicago, or NY are doing well...the league will sit around and assume that life is grand. You better check yourself David Stern...your employees suck!!!
The thing is that he is absolutely right. Just look at the horrible charging calls on the Rocks last night. DD
boomboom, good points, but you are wrong about what would happen if the refs actually started calling the game correctly -- i.e. more tightly. Yes, for a short time, the games would bog down and they would take longer and stars might even foul out of some games, early. But sooner than you think, the coaches and players would adjust -- and you would wind up with a more fluid game where players grabbed, elbowed and otherwise fouled less; in other words, a lower-contact, higher-scoring game that would more closely resembly the game of 15 years ago. Letting players get away with fouls, no matter how minor, only serves to encourage that behavior -- if it is done to you, but you don't do it, you are at a disadvantage. This is also the same kind of thinking that basically allows a player to be mugged when there are less than 5 seconds left in a close game. The refs are not going to call anything in that situation, which is a joke.
Guys, No use crying about refs. They are part of the game. The only thing in life guaranteed is death, taxes, and refs at every sporting event in the world from now until the time you die. So get use to it. We can cry all day, The Brat in Dallas can blow 3 million on fines, and the sky could turn purple today, and refs will still be here at every NBA game. Making calls, some bad, some good. Its like a marriage. You love her somedays, and somedays you don't know why you married her. Believe me it all evens out in the long run. The Rockets have gotten bad calls before, and they've also received bad calls before. The best thing to do honestly is adjust and play ball. Whining won't get you anywhere, except maybe tossed out, or out of 500 G's like money bags in Dallas.
I don't think the topic was removing the refs from the game, but correcting their poor judgments. If I performed my job as poorly as some referees do, I would be replaced by someone more competent.
It works with my wife! I honestly don't know how to get the refs to do a 'better' job. I sorta believe in the 'conspiracy' theories that have the league office instructing the refs to lay off certain players, but I don't think anyone (outside of the refs) could ever prove it. At least I probably won't have to worry about Seattle illegally zoning the Rockets to death anymore!
Yep, in the NBL (the Aussie league) the refs are CONSISTANTLY bad to EVERYONE, regardless of the team or (star) player. A truely Egalitarian society
correct but at least they are consistent, as a player and a coach all i ever want from refs is consistency, if they are consistent then you as a player or as a coach can make adjustments.
