i have heard frequently about the phenomenon that referees are more likely to give players calls when they are at home, but can anyone verify this by providing stats? now that the majority of this season is over, the sample size of games this season is large enough to draw conclusions from. i'm wondering about this phenomenon because analysts insist that nowitzki should have jumped into odom to draw contact for the final shot in the mavs-lakers game, and since he was at home, he would have received th call.
No referee calls a foul (unless its a flagrant or technical) in the last possession of the game. Its a proven fact.
I'm sure you could show the degree of correlation with some statistical chops I don't have. I doubt the correlation is high enough that you can say Dirk should have initiated contact. He'd may be better off making sure he hits the shot.
Fouls have been called at the end of games that are not technical or flagrant. If it is a borderline call, then it will not be called. But, if it is an obvious foul, then it will be called. They won't call something like someone jacking up a desperation jump shot with time running out and the shooter getting slightly hit. So, I seriously doubt even Dirk would get a call if he got bumped or drew a bump when he is jacking a last play shot. With some home-cooking, however, he might get the call. If an offensive player drives the lane and their arm is blatantly hammered while attempting a layup, then it is going to get called. But, if he just draws some bump contact, then there isn't going to be a foul called. They are not going to let every foul go just because it is the end of the game. They will let a lot of stuff go but they are not going to let everything go all of the time...especially blatant fouls. The bottom line is teams will play more aggressive at the end of the game when the game is on the line and the officials will let them play for the most part. But, they are not just going to let everything go because it's the last play of the game and the game is on the line. For the most part, it has to be an obvious foul that one cannot look back on as questionable. A ref is not likely to call a foul if it would be considered a questionable call. In that sense, there is real emphasis on letting the teams play out the last play to decide the game. That's how I see it.
If you watch the Bobcats @ Rockets game last week, u will see some blatant homecooking because the NBA wanted to hype up the ABC game vs the Lakers
Often at New Orleans home games the locals fatten up the refs on homecooking before the game, leaving them needing to call extra fouls merely to take a breather because they're stuffed on gumbo, etouffee, etc.
you would only have to see whether the average fouls a team receives on its home court is significantly higher than the average fouls it receives when it is away - no correlation or anything like that required - just use a t-test. calculating these stats myself would take a long time, so i was wondering if anyone had seen these stats anywhere that i wouldn't have to do that work.
See flopping teams home court records. Exhibit A: Utah Jazz Exhibit B: Dallas Mavericks Exhibit C: San Antonio Spurs
"T-Mac could walk on water and some of you would say it's because he can't swim." That's one of the funniest sigs ever
I can't, but Mark Cuban can. Seriously. I recall seeing the summary results of a statistical analysis he had done years ago, which showed the average number more fouls per game that each official called for the home team over a season or two. Every official in the league, except ONE, gave the home team AT LEAST 1.2 more calls per game (IIRC)... or as the statistics put it, a +1.2 differential in favor of the home team. For some the favoritism was considerably worse than that. And who was that ONE official, who had a -0.2 (negative) differential? It was Joe Crawford. I was always impressed with the guy, but when I saw that I was even more impressed. I mean, that's a huge jump statistically speaking... even the fairest officials in the league had a 1.2 differential, and he had 0.2. That's nuts. I believe it, though. It fits his persona of not taking **** from anyone, and even slightly favoring the visiting team occasionally.
I borrowed that from an old Michigan quote: "Bo Schembeckler could walk on water and some of ya'll would say its because he couldn't swim." Who knows if thats where it originated, but thats the first place i heard it. I had it before the streak started.
not saying your right or wrong. but doesnt it seem odd that you think the 3 biggest flopping teams in the league are our rivals???
thanks for the statistics! mark cuban may criticize the referees too heavily but he backs his claims up, at least.
Eh, I think its odd that our 3 biggest rivals, who we tend to think of as floppers, have a very lopsided record home vs away. Spurs are the only one with a winning road record, and they are 1 game over. The only team with a similar home record is the Denver Nuggets, and they have the altitude thing to fall back on.
No problem. I tried like hell to find the link, but it kinda got buried it seems, since Cuban was involved with another study on NBA refs which revolved around racism much more recently. So it seems like everything I find on Cuban/refs is on that instead of the home/away study I'm talking about here. I'd love it if someone could find it. Can't be more that 4 years old or so.
