NBA officiating is disgusting

[agentzero]

We all know the storylines about the officiating in the series with the Raps and Nets... Missed travels...phantom fouls...

But just watched OT of the Thunder Grizz game and the stupid ref interrupted the flow of the foul shooter Durant (game on the line with seconds left) to correct the score keepers about the amount of team fouls on the score board!?!? How was that critical at that juncture and you could correct that after the shot, not in between shots!! What the heck?

I stopped watching NBA for about 7 years because I couldn't take it anymore.. Glad to see it has gotten worse. Of the major sports leagues, this one is by far the least professional.

Rant over, but man was that poor quality... It's Durant's job to make that shot anyway, but what was that ref thinking?... Yeesh.......

[metaldude26]

I'm a Thunder fan. If you think what the ref did on that free throw is what cost them the game then you are crazy. Durant is not some pimple-faced kid. He's not a mental midget. He's one of the best shooters in the history of the league. He cashes that nine times out of 10. Shit happens. I am much more concerned with the play call at the end of the game. You have 2.9 seconds with a chance to win with a two-pointer and the best shot you get is a highly-contested fall-away three from the parking lot? Everyone in the gym knew that they were going to give the ball to Durant. Did anyone even consider using him as a decoy? I love Durant but I'd take anyone on the roster with a semi-open look over that shot they got. Even more concerning is the generally horrible way the Thunder have played in this series. Credit Memphis for their stifling defence but the Thunder should be way better with the talent on this team. It seems to me that if they can't get over the hump that this where they finally fire the coach. His complete and utter lack of offensive creativity despite possessing two of the league's 10 best players is maddening.

You are correct about the officiating in general though. It's absolutely horrible. You can't complain about missed travels though. The NBA has it's own special rules for what is and is not allowed there. The inconsistency with regard to foul calls is ridiculous though. You never know what you are getting play to play, let alone game to game. I can sympathize as a high school official that the game is challenging and that's dealing with athletes nowhere near this big, fast or physical. I also have to say that there is something about the general physicality of the game that simply doesn't translate over the television, even HD. You watch a game live and you realize a foul could be called on every single play. It's like holding in the NFL. But again, it's about consistency and in the NBA there is absolutely none.

Of course, I think that some of this has to do with the nature of how the game is officiated. There are more calls in the NBA than in any sport outside of baseball so there's much more margin for error. If we are going off straight percentages, anyone who has watched a baseball game lately with the ball tracking cameras can tell you that MLB umpires are pretty shitty in their own right. But again, that's as nycg about the number of calls as the degree of difficulty.

Now, we aren't so far removed from the stain of Tim Donaghy that we shouldn't be critical of the NBA officials. Whether it's intentional or general incompetence it needs to be said that the officiating has been abhorrent. That play you cited though. He did the right thing. If he waits until after the free throw then he's basically giving the Grizzlies a free time out. Because he did it when he did neither team was able to organize themselves. Did it need to be done? I'd say no. Did he need to be a colossal prick to the scorer? Definitely not. Should he have seen the error before tossing the ball to the shooter? Absolutely. Did he affect the outcome in this instance? No.

[agentzero]

MD, I am not crazy. I have reasoning, rationality and perspicacity far in excess of that needed to say something like the outcome of the game was directly and only affected by this one play made by the official. I think you know that as well.

I played ball my entire life, at the levels before and at which you were an official and even a bit beyond them. Watched it for just about as long as you and I'm going to guess for longer. I completely understand your points and in fact share pretty well all of them.

My point in this thread was pretty well to point out what you did: the inconsistency is simply disgusting. Travels and such have been my pet peeve my whole life with the NBA, but such is the product the game organizers would rather show than strict basketball. They like to call it loose, I don't, but hey as you said, it's their league.

As for the myriad of calls, that's also to my point. There is actually a lot of clarity around the purity of foul calls, but it gets lost when officials go rogue and inconsistent and make all sorts of calls you have never heard of or could never expect. It's terrible.

As for your comment, I believe you may be in slight contradiction in saying:

that play you cited though. He did the right thing. If he waits until after the free throw then he's basically giving the Grizzlies a free time out. Because he did it when he did neither team was able to organize themselves. Did it need to be done? I'd say no. Did he need to be a colossal prick to the scorer? Definitely not. Should he have seen the error before tossing the ball to the shooter? Absolutely. Did he affect the outcome in this instance? No.

Did it need to be done? No. Was he an ass for no reason? Yes. Should he have caught the error before passing the ball to the shooter the first time? Yes. Did he? No. Could there have been a better way to handle that and not make a spectacle of yourself instead of ensuring the flow of the game (your primary responsibility as an official)? Yes. So, when adding the YES and NO columns, it points more to NO for me. It was a mistake. Now, did it cost the Thunder the game? Well, that's a bit rich to say it did, I agree. Durant's job is to make that shot no matter what. The team should have won the game long before then. But did the official confirm my feelings about NBA officiating? Yes. Did he interfere with the flow of the game for something that could have been corrected later without doing it right after the play (I mean, they could have corrected it on the next foul call really... Didn't need to be before then...) and did he do so in a way that took away from the game more than it gave to it? Yes. and to me, that's the difference. It was a bad move. It didn't cost the Thunder the game entirely, but officiating should never "cost" the game to any team entirely or in part (that's the goal) and in this case I believe it affected the game negatively for the Thunder, even if only a little, by way of a spectacle that was entirely avoidable and contributed far less to the game than was apparent by the way the ref reacted.

Like, seriously. What was that... Stupid way to handle a scoreboard inaccuracy. The Raps and Nets played a whole game without a shot clock for God's sake. One incorrectly posted foul count would have meant nothing, even so late in the game.

On a personal note, sucks as a Thunder fan for you. They are definitely playing below their level and I thought they should have carried the momentum from Westbrook's tying steal with seconds left into the OT, but didn't. The arena also seemed eerily quiet for that moment. Something like that play should have blow the roof off a la final four NCAA crowd style but the crowd was so tame! Weird to me.

[doulos]

I've coached basketball, I love the sport, and I play whenever I can for fun (but not in an organized league any longer due to the fact that there seems to be a brawl every year). I have not watched the NBA seriously for years though due to the officiating. It's horrific.

[agentzero]

I play whenever I can for fun (but not in an organized league any longer due to the fact that there seems to be a brawl every year).

Ain't that the truth... between basketball and dodgeball, what is it with these two activities that adults cannot complete them with civility? Must be the nature of the contact... geez. Always fights.. It's why I stopped too. Streetball has less brawls that gym games at the Y... which is hilarious, comparing the framework surrounding one vs the other.. The lawless street is more lawful and ethical than the structured league. Love the paradox.

NBA reffing is brutal. And they are WAY too chummy with the players.

[doulos]

Ain't that the truth... between basketball and dodgeball, what is it with these two activities that adults cannot complete them with civility? Must be the nature of the contact... geez. Always fights.. It's why I stopped too. Streetball has less brawls that gym games at the Y... which is hilarious, comparing the framework surrounding one vs the other.. The lawless street is more lawful and ethical than the structured league. Love the paradox.

NBA reffing is brutal. And they are WAY too chummy with the players.

I used to play in a summer 3 on 3 weekend tournament that was pretty laid back for a few years, but then even it turned into a goon-fest after a while. It's really unfortunate as the sport is wonderful.

[agentzero]

I used to play in a summer 3 on 3 weekend tournament that was pretty laid back for a few years, but then even it turned into a goon-fest after a while. It's really unfortunate as the sport is wonderful.

What's the deal.... Adults are idiots, many of them.. I hate violence and hooligans, unless it is violence perpetrated ON violent hooligans to teach them a lesson and give'em a taste of their own medicine. They ruin pretty well anything for everyone... All fun and games until some angry moron thinks it's somehow a good idea to throw a punch. Like wtf.