The Amazingly Sucky NBA Refs thread

[Zonkerbl]

39 to 9?

Look, no one is that good. No one is that good that you don't go to the free throw line ONCE in an ENTIRE HALF.

WHAT. THE. HELL.

[LyricalRico]

But that's the way Stern wants it - stars and home teams getting the calls. And when the home team has a star, like Dwight Howard, you get 39-9 FT disparity.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The Wizards should send video to the league office. Picking a number, I'll say seven.

Washington should select about seven officiating dubious calls or non calls from the game. Show maybe two plays where Wall was hit on drives to the basket but did not get a call. Show a couple that went against McGee where no contact was made. Show the play late where Wall got raked by Howard and a change of possession occurred. Show two or three phantom fouls that went against the Wizards.

Along with those plays on video present the overwhelming statistical advantages in every other aspect of the game.

It is pretty clear the Orlando game was horribly officiated. Just point it out so those particular officials can be monitored. Tim Donaghy might have been shunned and quieted by the league but I wouldn't put a thing past officiating crews. There may have been one ref making the worst calls.

i think there could be a perception that Washington's such a bad team or they are a team full of knuckleheads. But with bad officiating not so obvious before this game, I'd wonder about point spreads and betting lines maybe shifting on this game.

The refs definitely had an agenda yesterday.

[LyricalRico]

The Wizards should send video to the league office.

Cuban already does that and he just gets fined, so I'm not gonna hold my breath.

Does the NBA have anything resembling the NFL Comnpetition Committee? I know they have a mechanism for rule changes, but do they have a group that is completely autonomous from Stern that can approve a new emphasis on fair officiating?

A buddy of mine had the idea of increasing the personal foul limit to 7 and instructing the refs to have relatively quick whistles. Everything gets called, no matter who it is. The players would adapt and the league would be much more credible IMO.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The Mavs won the championship after all was said and done. They swept the Lakers en route. In the Finals, the Heat didn't get all the calls.

I don't think sending in video hurt Cuban or he was ever fined for it. Publicly complaining gets you fined. Leonsis/Grunfeld/Wittman can send a video from last game because Orlando had lost 3 straight and was missing many starters and was basically handed a game.

I think sending in video without commenting or judging it and asking for verication of each dubious call is legit.

[BigA]

I only watched parts of the game last night. The spread was Orlando -9.5, so if there was an effort by the refs to get Orlando to cover they ultimately failed.

If I had the time I would do a blog that tracked spreads, blatantly obvious officiating anomalies, and who's in those crews (does anyone own fixednba.com?). I suspect that certain officials or groups would keep coming up. That would at least be a useful gambling tool.

The league didn't really do anything in the wake of the Donaghy thing. I think there's going to be another major NBA officiating scandal at some point. There's too much money in it for these guys and the league is determined to turn a blind eye. Like MLB with steroids in the 90s.

[FAH1223]

Wizards have almost never gotten the calls and all the phantom calls go against us. ALWAYS.

[closg00]

Last nights Orlando game was a real eye-opener. That drive in the closing seconds where Howard openly held John's arm and there was no-call would have gotten many coaches tossed or T'd-up.

I wish there was a web site devoted to bad officiating. Hmmm, potential business idea

[montestewart]

anybody know what the spread was generally on that game?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Last nights Orlando game was a real eye-opener. That drive in the closing seconds where Howard openly held John's arm and there was no-call would have gotten many coaches tossed or T'd-up.

I wish there was a web site devoted to bad officiating. Hmmm, potential business idea

There is a good one out there. No time right now, but I can say I remember looking at it last playoffs. The site went over questionable calls, officiating crews, everything. It was a very professional-looking site, too.

I just can't recall the name and didn't bookmark it.

[LyricalRico]

^ Yeah, I remember it too CCJ. I had video and everything.

[dobrojim]

The Mavs won the championship after all was said and done. They swept the Lakers en route. In the Finals, the Heat didn't get all the calls.

I don't think sending in video hurt Cuban or he was ever fined for it. Publicly complaining gets you fined. Leonsis/Grunfeld/Wittman can send a video from last game because Orlando had lost 3 straight and was missing many starters and was basically handed a game.

I think sending in video without commenting or judging it and asking for verication of each dubious call is legit.

exactly

I asked about this whole issue in a planholders event

Teams, incl us, send in videos/etc all the time, possibly every game.

Public whining will get you fined.

[fishercob]

Mike Prada pointed out on twitter -- and I seem to remember this as well -- that the Magic have always been good defensively without fouling much. I know there were some missed calls last night -- there are every night, as refs remains human beings. The free throw discrepancy isn't just a product of biased officiating, my friends. Style of play and execution play a huge role. While it might prove effective, I find the coach, players, and owner all whining publicly about the refs to be sort of a lame cop out. You need to play through it, bottom line.

Edit: The Wiz are 2nd in the league in fouls and the Magic is 26th. Puts last night's results in some context.

[jivelikenice]

I don't put it all on Stern. It seems like refs are far too often trying to anticipate foul calls instead of calling what their eyes see.

[dobrojim]

sometimes in spite of extensive and/or rigorous training
the human tendency to see what you expect to see rules out.

all this being true, 39-9 still raises some eyebrows.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The Mavs won the championship after all was said and done. They swept the Lakers en route. In the Finals, the Heat didn't get all the calls.

I don't think sending in video hurt Cuban or he was ever fined for it. Publicly complaining gets you fined. Leonsis/Grunfeld/Wittman can send a video from last game because Orlando had lost 3 straight and was missing many starters and was basically handed a game.

I think sending in video without commenting or judging it and asking for verication of each dubious call is legit.

I said that yesterday. This news comes today. I put the whammy on him.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=A ... ricksfines

Mavericks’ Cuban, Carlisle fined by NBA

NEW YORK (AP)—Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and coach Rick Carlisle have been fined by the NBA after they became upset with the officiating during a 95-86 loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

Carlisle was fined $35,000 for kicking a ball into the stands with 9:34 left in the fourth quarter. He was ejected and apologized to Cuban and the fans right after the game. He said: “The incident where the ball got kicked into the stands, that can’t happen.”

Cuban was handed a $75,000 penalty for his critical remarks about the officiating following the home loss.

NBA executive Stu Jackson announced the fines on Friday.

[Illuminaire]

I'd like to think I contributed to both this thread and the Wizard's tank tonight. After what looked like a horrible call, I called out a specific ref and shouted a series of sarcastic barbs. He clearly grimaced at my heckling, then called an immediate touch foul on Vesely that even my pro-Raptors buddy admitted should never have been whistled.

I am so proud.