I hate to do this, as I truly believe the reffing was downright abysmal in game 2. Lebron took almost as many free throws as the entire Celtics team, and the zebras missed a blatant smack to Rajon Rondo's face leading to a 4 point swing in Miami's favor and breaking the deadlock. But I must point a couple of truths that make an NBA referee's job incredibly difficult. In a sport like baseball, every call is objective, with the exception of balls and strikes. Although, even they vary only slightly between different umpires. If a safe or out, fair or foul, etc. call is missed, then it is clearly showed on replay that the umpire made the incorrect call. In football and hockey, there's generally things all referees look for to make calls. These sports benefit from the physicality that is naturally present. Not nearly as many penalties need to be called as in basketball. Herein lies the first hurdle. NBA refs regularly call 40+ fouls a game. All calls are subjective as a referee needs to decide if there was enough contact to warrant a whistle. Not only do calls vary between different officials, but they vary at different situations in the game for the same official. For example, late in a close game, a referee may decide to allow a more physical contest, in an attempt to let the players decide the outcome. To make things worse, players are taking lessons from Hollywood as flopping has become a serious issue. And because it often tricks referees, players will continue to do it unless the league cracks down. Every call made, or not made, brings complaints from either fan base. Some are warranted, but most are just opinions from biased fans who ignore the subjectivity of difficult calls in a high-paced sport. Each fan base will offer justification for why a call went in their favor, while the other asserts that the referees made a mistake, are being payed off, are involved in a conspiracy headed by David Stern, offer preferential treatment to certain teams/players, etc. Even so let me add a disclaimer. Look, I'm always open to conspiracy theories. I've tried to open my friends up to the possibility that 9/11, the RFK and JFK assasinations, etc. could have been conspiracies. But let's be real here. We're talking about the NBA, not the government. If there was a conspiracy involving NBA officials deciding games then it would have surely leaked out by now.
Not Your Average Sports Blog
Friday, June 1, 2012
In Defense of NBA Refs
I hate to do this, as I truly believe the reffing was downright abysmal in game 2. Lebron took almost as many free throws as the entire Celtics team, and the zebras missed a blatant smack to Rajon Rondo's face leading to a 4 point swing in Miami's favor and breaking the deadlock. But I must point a couple of truths that make an NBA referee's job incredibly difficult. In a sport like baseball, every call is objective, with the exception of balls and strikes. Although, even they vary only slightly between different umpires. If a safe or out, fair or foul, etc. call is missed, then it is clearly showed on replay that the umpire made the incorrect call. In football and hockey, there's generally things all referees look for to make calls. These sports benefit from the physicality that is naturally present. Not nearly as many penalties need to be called as in basketball. Herein lies the first hurdle. NBA refs regularly call 40+ fouls a game. All calls are subjective as a referee needs to decide if there was enough contact to warrant a whistle. Not only do calls vary between different officials, but they vary at different situations in the game for the same official. For example, late in a close game, a referee may decide to allow a more physical contest, in an attempt to let the players decide the outcome. To make things worse, players are taking lessons from Hollywood as flopping has become a serious issue. And because it often tricks referees, players will continue to do it unless the league cracks down. Every call made, or not made, brings complaints from either fan base. Some are warranted, but most are just opinions from biased fans who ignore the subjectivity of difficult calls in a high-paced sport. Each fan base will offer justification for why a call went in their favor, while the other asserts that the referees made a mistake, are being payed off, are involved in a conspiracy headed by David Stern, offer preferential treatment to certain teams/players, etc. Even so let me add a disclaimer. Look, I'm always open to conspiracy theories. I've tried to open my friends up to the possibility that 9/11, the RFK and JFK assasinations, etc. could have been conspiracies. But let's be real here. We're talking about the NBA, not the government. If there was a conspiracy involving NBA officials deciding games then it would have surely leaked out by now.
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