The more aggressive you play, the more superstar treatment you get? There is no deny that Yao was playing very aggressive in the last two games, especially in the 4th quarter. There are some plays that could have easily been called on Yao (last basket against Seattle, elbowing Walter! for boards last night, etc). However, the referees swallowed the whistle. You can argue about whether these are fouls or not, but they were called against Yao in the past. I am wondering whether his aggressive and clutch play in crunch time has earned him some respect from the zebra men, If such, that's certainly good news for Yao and the Rockets, and it also serves to teach Yao a lesson: the NBA rewards tough and aggressive plays for star players.
i think that the refs appreciate agressive play. So they when they see a move that could be a foul they will sooner let it go because of the agressiveness. IMHO
Its not 100% true, but the refs tend to favor the team (and the players) who are the aggressors. They also, however, won't be making the same calls in the 4th quarter that they might of been doing the entire game... and thus the Suns might have gotten really frustrated last night, as they continued to be aggressive in the 4th, but the refs stopped calling the ticky-tack stuff (and everything else all-together). I would say that you won't see that drastic of a shift from most crews for regular season games... BUT you can definitely expect that exact same type of treatment for the PLAYOFFS. That's why I don't understand Phoenix's whining... the refs are starting to use these late season matchups (them vs. Spurs, and them vs. us) as playoff-tuneups, and thus they're swallowing the whistles in the 4th, and the Suns don't seem like they can handle it. Maybe they are just built for the regular season.
Yes, the refs do tend to favor the aggressive. But there's a catch. If the opposing player flops... well, that can make your aggressiveness work against you. And Yao defenders have made a living out of flopping to stop Yao. And that's when the call-out-the-refs-in-public help. Seems to me JVG's statements about playing Yao through fouls is helping out with the whistles.
Actually the written rule is "You will be rewarded for being aggressive, but punished for being stupid" "I’m gonna attack. That’s what I do,"...... "That’s my game. Regardless of Yao or Dikembe Mutombo, I’m going at them." -Amare Stoudemare link
Indeed... he is STUPID. Of course, to be fair, this is something that a lot of big men had frustrations with... especially Hakeem. The solution for Amare would be to not be so damn ONE-DIMENSIONAL.
its pretty much accepted that if you play hard and are aggressive, the refs will give you cals more often
it's also an unwritten rule that if you're a superstar and you don't get a call you want want two or three times then you can b**** about it and get special treatment for the rest of the game. i hate that crap. nba referees are terrible. yes i know there are exceptions.
I would agree the refs reward aggressiveness but punish stupidity. People like to see players drive to the hoop and refs being people appreciate that too. So as long as you're not elbowing people in the head or dropping your shoulders into defenders you'll get more respect from the refs. OTOH if you play timid the refs will be more inclined to look at you harder when you drive and someone flops over. I think this is one of the benefits that Shaq and Barkeley got. They would be knocking people over left and right, many times legitimately, and not be called for O fouls because the refs knew they were aggressive players and gave the benefit of the doubt.
