I'm just curious what percentage of us is convinced that some NBA refs officiate playoff games differently for the Rockets than they do for other teams (over the last two or three years). Whether it's because of Harden or because we're the only real threat to the Warriors or whatever reason doesn't matter. If you think the refs show bias, vote yes. If you think they always treat both teams equally, vote no.
If we play Golden State the answer is YES. Even more so in the playoffs. Hell, they looked the other way in the regular season when KD was doing the Bugaloo out of bounds......
I think Steve Javie's point during the broadcast was very telling. He straight up said the refs don't like it when they feel like they're being tricked, so they swallow their whistles and it ends up with Harden not getting calls that he deserves to get.
I know this is a stretch but the league should figure out a way to automate the officiating of its games thru a combination of technology like sensors on player jerseys, that interacts with some kind of depth camera, and artificial intelligence. In cases where there is major contention, a team of arbitrators can make final fall.
CP3 had the rep as the worst phantom flopper in the game - which is why I wasn't that happy back when we acquired him... Harden was doing all kinds of crap a couple years back - like hooking guys and pulling them into him to try to draw the foul... the drive the lane just to immediately throw his arms up to try to fabricate calls... When i expressed my lack of appreciation for such tactics on here... i got told 'everybody does it' and most importantly - 'whatever it takes to win' and cheating is fine... welp... I believe those reps for past indiscretions are affecting how refs are viewing our guys today... nobody likes being tricked and looking stupid... and I know many players complain about calls - but we do it non-freakin-stop! Harden works the officials from beginning to end... Idk if EGo has ever made a drive that he didnt instantly complain about... CP3 can get downright nasty and disrespectful... I love our guys... but they gotta just play through some bad calls - and quit making it adversarial with the officials...
This. I think the same could be said for other teams too, especially against GS. I think the real poll answer should be "GS gets reffed differently than every other team in the league"
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25410888/nba-james-harden-foul-drawing-mastery-unstoppable Steve Javie, an officiating analyst for ESPN with 25 seasons of NBA refereeing experience, disagrees that deception is a major factor in Harden living at the line. "He's really a unique player where he doesn't really try to fool the referee actually," Javie says. "Nine times out of 10 when you look at replays, you go, 'Yeah, that's a defensive foul.' "The guy is really, really a smart guy. He's really clever. You can tell he practices at knowing what the defense is allowed to do and not allowed to do and where his defender is, because he seems to get the defender in a compromising position."
Are they really being tricked ? Usually Harden "makes the defender foul him" , the contact is there that constitutes a foul …. so it isn't the official being tricked. He's just making them make the call , that they do not like.
I think he's talking mainly about 3 pointers where often a player will fall down trying to make it appear contact occurred to draw a foul. Harden has been guilty of this in years past. I'm glad he went down on the no calls last night. If he had tried to remain on his feet, he could of ended up with a series ending injury.
"The Rockets, according to the sources, had a double-digit point deficit in six of the seven games (and a small edge in Game 2)," Amick wrote. "In all, sources say, they were harmed to the tune of 93 points. Game Seven was the worst, the research showed, with the league-issued report indicating that they should have had 18 more points. More specifically, two of the 27 consecutive missed three-pointers that did them in were ruled to have been missed foul calls."
He didnt say they were being tricked - he said "the refs don't like it when they feel like they're being tricked, so they swallow their whistles and it ends up with Harden not getting calls that he deserves to get." there's a distinction there...
The Refs against our main competition allow the defense to disrupt our advantage. It is very subtle because when you look at the game the free throws look similar in terms of the amount at the end. The impact of the Game is different in the moment though because momentum is being swayed
moving screens, defensive 3sec, bs fouls on tucker that don't immediately result in FT's for gs, etc the shysters in the league office got the rig perfected to a T
my guess somebody is getting rich(vegas) off these games and they are going to get their end. Donaghy is proven right again. I hate given credit to a guy like that but the facts are the facts
i seem to recall donaghy stating a couple months ago that per what he was hearing from ex-colleagues, the rig was in for harden/rockets vs GS this year
yeah you are right ni think it was on youtube. The NBA product is on the line in the public eye which gives our team some leverage. Also, what is different this year is no Lebron. The league wanted the Warriors and the Lakers to meet in the playoffs but the Lakers not being in the equation changes things
i think its a combination of factors - rules have made it harder for refs over the years - players are more into exploiting said rules than playing the game - refs like playing tin god Personally think the officiating and the game would be better served with simpler rules and allowing more physical play. Too much whining by players and posturing by power drunk refs.
Pretty misleading wording here. I’d reword the poll if you actually want a productive answer. Do referees consistently call games? If the answer is this is no (which it is) we have a problem. No need to color opinion by bringing specific teams or games into it.
