I have made these points here and elsewhere before but I feel that the NBA is in an officiating crisis. It is similar to what MLB had a few years ago. Remember when every umpire had their own strike zone? Now I really feel as though NBA refs are trying to have the same kind of impact on the NBA. Some call it rough, some call it soft. I don’t buy the kind of thinking that “the players need to get the feel of the refs and then change their approach based on how the refs are calling the game”. I think that is crap.
The players should not need to adjust to different refs any more than baseball players should need to adjust to different strike zones. This problem can be fixed easily. All they have to do is define defense. If a defender jumps straight up and keeps his arms straight up it should never be a foul, even if the offender (or whatever the correct word would be) “creates” contact. If the shooter creates contact when the defender is defending within the rules, it is an offensive foul, period. There is no reason that this couldn’t be called consistently, even if a second round hack is covering LeBron.
I played formal BB through high school (as I know many of you have) and I have also done some refereeing both girls and boys. I respect how hard it is on the refs but I also think things can be cleaned up just like they did in MLB. I do not find it entertaining as a fan to watch the Kobes and Lebrons of the league take 15-20 foul shots every game. I like to watch player make shots, not create contact and go to the line. If it was clear what a foul is and what it isn’t, defenders would know what to do (and would do it) and I believe shooters would go back to trying to make shots instead of draw fouls.
(end of rant)
Topic: A Rant about the NBA and officiating (Read 1948 times)