The officiating problem encapsulated

[LarsV8]

It's amazing to me how dumb players are.

There are clearly triggers that get refs to blow the whistle 90% of the time. The other 10% is completely arbitrary and subject to individual refs biases, which you can't do anything about.

Harden has mastered recognizing those triggers and seeks them out, since getting to the foul line is probably the single best offensive outcome that can be achieved on a possession basis. If he has the ability if would stupid for him to NOT do it.

The refs also internally review calls and score grades on their performances. Any reviews of the calls on Harden, would be scored correctly, because guess what, they are fouls. He is legitimately fouled on basically every drive he performs, because he is exceptional at basketball. Putting the contact on display for legitimate fouls is not a disgrace, it is not flopping, it is not "not basketball". It is forcing the rules to enforced as they are written.

There are also clearly ways to counter...by guess what...playing exceptional defense...with your feet / brain, and not by reaching.

There is no "fix" for this, because nothing is broken. You don't want to see it, play better defense.

[nedleeds]

The refs are just brainwashed at this point. Untraining the existing awful ones would be harder than training new ones to not call the head jerking, shot by a .45 reactions. The travel off the catch is now over called, actual traveling off the dribble isn't called and post calls are a magic 8 ball. Train G league refs to call actual basketball, not acting then fire all the NBA turds.

[dhsilv2]

The refs are just brainwashed at this point. Untraining the existing awful ones would be harder than training new ones to not call the head jerking, shot by a .45 reactions. The travel off the catch is now over called, actual traveling off the dribble isn't called and post calls are a magic 8 ball. Train G league refs to call actual basketball, not acting then fire all the NBA turds.

The nba has the best refs in all of pro sports....just saying.....

[Dupp]

Any video or clips of the lakers with hands behind back?

[sogood]

Read on Twitter

[DFan]

Wow

[Chinook]

Fans don't want to watch free throws. It's amazing that the NBA doesn't seem to get that. Whistles slow the game down. The NBA should do whatever they can to call fewer fouls and remove incentive for players to commit fouls in the first place. I know I'm a broken record about this, but the league could take the following steps to make the game flow better:

-Let more incidental contact go on drives. So long as the players aren't chopping with their hands or bulling over each other, just let them play. Keep the flagrant rules in place so guys don't start body-checking each other, but any little nudge shouldn't draw a whistle. I'd also rework charge/block calls to remove incentive for players to throw their bodies in front of potential scorers. It's not safe, and it slows the game down.

-Set up an "advantage" system like in rugby. If a guy gets fouled, they can continue along a straight line for a bit or go into a shooting motion. If they make the shot, they get credit for the bucket. It would remove the ambiguity with the continuation rules while maintaining an advantage for the offensive player. They get a mostly uncontested attempt to try to score, but if they miss, they get free throws.

-Call more offensive fouls for things like kicking out the legs. Definitely don't allow screeners to root defenders out of position before the ball-handler drives. I'm all for contact, but offensive players shouldn't be able to blindside or trip defenders as much as they do now.

-Have a "free throws and the ball" system for "take fouls". Guy drives past you? He's just going to score. Big have you buried in the paint? He earned his dunk. Teodosic fouled Rudy Gay twice last night because he got crossed over and was going to give up an open layup otherwise. That sort of thinking needs to be taken out of the equation. Fans want to see that layup, not a whistle. This also takes out hack-a strategies and any other strategic end-of-game fouling. That crap's annoying.

-Give technicals for flopping, including retroactive Ts upon film review. Obviously establish a rigid guideline for what it means to flop so that you can take out as much subjectivity as possible. Personally, I'd include "selling a foul" in that list. Combined with the first item on this list, subtle contact probably shouldn't be getting whistles anyway.

-Have clear effing rules rather than having so many judgment calls. Refs aren't players; teams shouldn't have to scout them to factor them into their gameplan. If a foul's a foul, call it in every situation. It shouldn't matter if the guy is a star or a rookie, who's at home or away, if the player or coach has complained or what time in the game it is. Just call it. Or hell, you can have that variation if you want, but be upfront about it rather than it being an unwritten rule.

[Lalouie]

Per Wiretap

After the game, Barnes said "I ask the refs on almost every play what I could be doing or what I'm not doing. Still haven't got any answers from that. Maybe [NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe] can give me some answers. I'm just trying to be aggressive and trying to find spots where I can."

The fact that this is a mindset, let alone a mindset players feel free to publicly complain about, is ridiculous. There should be nothing you can do as offensive player that *draws more calls.* Whether you're fouled, or not, should be entirely dependent upon whether the defender actually fouls you. If you're jumping into defenders, falling down after the slightest body contract on a drive, or flailing your arms on clean blocks, you shouldn't be getting the call.

it is from this from this limey soil that we see a completely unexpected change in team performances this season.

maybe the bedrock play of lebron will plow through this nba garbaage and get lal to the wcf after all

[BasketballFan7]

That's nuts.

[Lalouie]

Wow

yikes!!!

[Riko]

It's fans' fault, they want irrealistic statline every game from the star and the NBA give them with star treatment.
Stop whistle every time a star calls for a foul. It's incredible the amount of **** the stars in this league get away with...

[SleepingDragon]

Guess who's the only one that doesn't have a ring?

[Spens1]

Also, this happened:

Read on Twitter

honestly screw the suspensions, we should have started dropping them to the floor (not like punching them but good, hard as hell fouls).

[dynamic duo]

metta has the answer.

[DCRYsing89]

Read on Twitter

Clear foul on lonzo,
That although may not be a major shoulder charge, isnt a body check at all.

[dynamic duo]

Guess who's the only one that doesn't have a ring?

to be fair, if you put harden on that 73-9 warriors team in 2016 durant wouldn't have his plastic rings either and harden would be the "champion".

[stevegb]

Per Wiretap

After the game, Barnes said "I ask the refs on almost every play what I could be doing or what I'm not doing. Still haven't got any answers from that. Maybe [NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe] can give me some answers. I'm just trying to be aggressive and trying to find spots where I can."

The fact that this is a mindset, let alone a mindset players feel free to publicly complain about, is ridiculous. There should be nothing you can do as offensive player that *draws more calls.* Whether you're fouled, or not, should be entirely dependent upon whether the defender actually fouls you. If you're jumping into defenders, falling down after the slightest body contract on a drive, or flailing your arms on clean blocks, you shouldn't be getting the call.

The NBA created this by rewarding floppers and guys like James Harden who just jump into people for the whistle.

They created it when "star calls" became a thing.

[Unbiased hater]

Per Wiretap



The fact that this is a mindset, let alone a mindset players feel free to publicly complain about, is ridiculous. There should be nothing you can do as offensive player that *draws more calls.* Whether you're fouled, or not, should be entirely dependent upon whether the defender actually fouls you. If you're jumping into defenders, falling down after the slightest body contract on a drive, or flailing your arms on clean blocks, you shouldn't be getting the call.

The NBA created this by rewarding floppers and guys like James Harden who just jump into people for the whistle.

its harden's ability to decelerate and change direction on a dime, that makes him unguardable, especially with these rules. Teams have been playing a alot of illegal d againist the rockets and been getting away with too

funny how manu ginobili and vlade were beloved by this website for years and they were the biggest floppers ever

They were competitors and cared more about winning than about stats

[NPZ]

Per Wiretap

After the game, Barnes said "I ask the refs on almost every play what I could be doing or what I'm not doing. Still haven't got any answers from that. Maybe [NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe] can give me some answers. I'm just trying to be aggressive and trying to find spots where I can."

The fact that this is a mindset, let alone a mindset players feel free to publicly complain about, is ridiculous. There should be nothing you can do as offensive player that *draws more calls.* Whether you're fouled, or not, should be entirely dependent upon whether the defender actually fouls you. If you're jumping into defenders, falling down after the slightest body contract on a drive, or flailing your arms on clean blocks, you shouldn't be getting the call.

The NBA created this by rewarding floppers and guys like James Harden who just jump into people for the whistle.

I and-oned you, but that MFer doesn't even need to jump into people. He stumbles and bumbles and trips you and pushes you (which started the fight in the first gm at Staples). He also falls on every three so if you jump to block it, you will fall on his feet and they call fouls on that. He also has the Paul Pierce, CP3, Iverson bit where he cocks his head back on the most incidental bump and pretends that he got shot by a sniper. He initiated the contact on Hart and did the cockback AAAHH nonsense and the 3 points at the line put that game to bed.

Harden and Paul are puddles of vomit. I have no clue how that team is 500 with the kind of "reffing". It's one thing when a Laker fan complains about it, but after many Rockets games you hear the same sentiments from fans of at least a dozen teams if not more.

[Unbiased hater]

-Have a "free throws and the ball" system for "take fouls". Guy drives past you? He's just going to score. Big have you buried in the paint? He earned his dunk. Teodosic fouled Rudy Gay twice last night because he got crossed over and was going to give up an open layup otherwise. That sort of thinking needs to be taken out of the equation. Fans want to see that layup, not a whistle. This also takes out hack-a strategies and any other strategic end-of-game fouling. That crap's annoying.

-Give technicals for flopping, including retroactive Ts upon film review. Obviously establish a rigid guideline for what it means to flop so that you can take out as much subjectivity as possible. Personally, I'd include "selling a foul" in that list. Combined with the first item on this list, subtle contact probably shouldn't be getting whistles anyway.

1) Big no. Player shouldn't care what fans want to see, if they want to fouls someone they should. Hack a someone is a legit strategy, git gud at shooting free throws if you don't want to get hacked

2) You have situations where someone is fouled hard but those who use words as soft and alpha costantly say it was a flop so this rule would hurt non star player and euro players.