tlongII
10-19-2009, 09:42 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf/2009/10/muffle_this_nba_your_replaceme.html
When Deldre Carr, CJ Washington and Ken Washington left the Rose Garden floor on Sunday they wore dark slacks, tucked-in referee jerseys and each carried a jacket with the official logo of the National Basketball Association on it.
And that's where the story begins and ends today. Because Portland beat Denver 98-96 an exhibition game. And we can talk in circles about whether the Trail Blazers are good enough, or ready enough for the season, but the big issue is whether the best basketball in the world can ever really matter as long as the officiating is not the best available.
The NBA cannot and should not start its season with replacement officials calling the games, because if it does, it is giving you a lousy product.
The NBA doesn't want to talk about how awful the officiating has been in the preseason. It doesn't want players to talk. It doesn't want coaches to talk. It doesn't want you to know that everyone is frustrated, and confused. That's why the NBA sent out a memo warning of penalties for complaints, and has backed that up by fining individuals as well as the team they play for.
If you can't fix it, censor it.
Said Brandon Roy, who declined to comment on the officiating: "They told us in media training to ask you, 'Do you want to pay the fine for me?' Because if you want to pay the fine, I'll say anything you want."
What Roy would say is that there's a natural rhythm to the game, and a good deal of that depends on how the game is called. Anyone who watched the Blazers-Nuggets game understands that as long as the NBA trots out replacement referees the outcome is going to be sketchy, at best. And embarrassing at worst.
Should fans really have to pay full price for any of this?
The NBA locked out its regular officials at the beginning of training camp. The contract between the league and its officials expired Sept. 1 and the sides have been trying to reach a new two-year deal. They agreed on salaries, which would have held steady this season and increased slightly in year No. 2. But the league's attempt to reduce retirement benefits resulted in an impasse.
The real result, though, is lousy officiating.
On Sunday, the Blazers and Nuggets were called for a combined 67 fouls, many questionable. Center Joel Przybilla was slapped so hard across his arms by Kenyon Martin on an errant layup attempt that the "thwack!!" could be heard in the 200 level -- no call -- and Martin giggled all the way down the court. And Denver's Nene was called for a foul when he was the one being mugged on a defensive rebound. And Greg Oden, who fouled out in less than 16 minutes of play, was called for his sixth foul while standing flatfooted, barely brushing against Martin, who had fistfuls of Oden's jersey.
There were phantom traveling calls. And whistle-happy inconsistency on both ends. And Denver and Portland combined to attempt 90 action-stopping free throws, and so what we have is a league that is confused, reeling, and trying to pass a free throw shooting contest off as elite basketball.
The three replacement officials who worked Sunday's game had a combined four seasons of Developmental League experience -- 99 total games. None of those were playoff games. None of them featuring the speed, athleticism or pressure of what they're encountering now. And it was evident that the guys with the whistles are not just going to become a major part of the story this season --- they are the story until the league ends the lockout.
Don't let the league fool you.
This isn't the best basketball in the world. Not with replacements calling the action. Not when it takes three hours to complete a game. Not when the athletes are unsure what a foul is, or isn't.
Understand, I'm typically slow to criticize officiating. Bad calls happen. Good teams overcome. But I can't defend the mess I saw on Sunday at the Rose Garden, and what's gone on throughout the league this preseason. When you have an epidemic that detracts from the quality of play everywhere it makes no sense for the league to charge full ticket prices, and attempt to pass the play off as top-notch, because it's far from that.
The Blazers are working hard to improve for the season, they're experimenting with lineup combinations. They're testing new players with returning players. They're watching Oden grow -- and he played five inspiring minutes in the fourth quarter on Sunday. The Nuggets are working hard, too, for what should be an electric season of the best basketball in the world.
But what's become evident with inconsistent officiating is that the players will matter less, and what the teams want to do will matter less, and what will replace that for emphasis is how the games are officiated. The replacement officials are shaky, often minute to minute. They lack confidence. They lack experience. They're painful to watch, because you can't help but empathize with them the minute you realize they're in over their heads.
The job is guesswork. And right now, everyone is guessing this lockout is going to bleed into the regular season. But it's time to bring back the regular officials, "the best officials in the world," the league always told us, and give the replacements a rest.
No amount of preseason experience is going to get 60-plus underqualified officials ready for the regular season. It's asking too much. And the league is woefully ignorant if it thinks otherwise.
Oden? Roy? Chemistry? Right now, I'm worried more about the officials and how they'll change the outcome of games more so than any problem the Blazers might encounter this early season.
By the way, the NBA's league office is free to dislike this column all it wants. Sing it to the rafters. No fine here.
We'll just call it even.
When Deldre Carr, CJ Washington and Ken Washington left the Rose Garden floor on Sunday they wore dark slacks, tucked-in referee jerseys and each carried a jacket with the official logo of the National Basketball Association on it.
And that's where the story begins and ends today. Because Portland beat Denver 98-96 an exhibition game. And we can talk in circles about whether the Trail Blazers are good enough, or ready enough for the season, but the big issue is whether the best basketball in the world can ever really matter as long as the officiating is not the best available.
The NBA cannot and should not start its season with replacement officials calling the games, because if it does, it is giving you a lousy product.
The NBA doesn't want to talk about how awful the officiating has been in the preseason. It doesn't want players to talk. It doesn't want coaches to talk. It doesn't want you to know that everyone is frustrated, and confused. That's why the NBA sent out a memo warning of penalties for complaints, and has backed that up by fining individuals as well as the team they play for.
If you can't fix it, censor it.
Said Brandon Roy, who declined to comment on the officiating: "They told us in media training to ask you, 'Do you want to pay the fine for me?' Because if you want to pay the fine, I'll say anything you want."
What Roy would say is that there's a natural rhythm to the game, and a good deal of that depends on how the game is called. Anyone who watched the Blazers-Nuggets game understands that as long as the NBA trots out replacement referees the outcome is going to be sketchy, at best. And embarrassing at worst.
Should fans really have to pay full price for any of this?
The NBA locked out its regular officials at the beginning of training camp. The contract between the league and its officials expired Sept. 1 and the sides have been trying to reach a new two-year deal. They agreed on salaries, which would have held steady this season and increased slightly in year No. 2. But the league's attempt to reduce retirement benefits resulted in an impasse.
The real result, though, is lousy officiating.
On Sunday, the Blazers and Nuggets were called for a combined 67 fouls, many questionable. Center Joel Przybilla was slapped so hard across his arms by Kenyon Martin on an errant layup attempt that the "thwack!!" could be heard in the 200 level -- no call -- and Martin giggled all the way down the court. And Denver's Nene was called for a foul when he was the one being mugged on a defensive rebound. And Greg Oden, who fouled out in less than 16 minutes of play, was called for his sixth foul while standing flatfooted, barely brushing against Martin, who had fistfuls of Oden's jersey.
There were phantom traveling calls. And whistle-happy inconsistency on both ends. And Denver and Portland combined to attempt 90 action-stopping free throws, and so what we have is a league that is confused, reeling, and trying to pass a free throw shooting contest off as elite basketball.
The three replacement officials who worked Sunday's game had a combined four seasons of Developmental League experience -- 99 total games. None of those were playoff games. None of them featuring the speed, athleticism or pressure of what they're encountering now. And it was evident that the guys with the whistles are not just going to become a major part of the story this season --- they are the story until the league ends the lockout.
Don't let the league fool you.
This isn't the best basketball in the world. Not with replacements calling the action. Not when it takes three hours to complete a game. Not when the athletes are unsure what a foul is, or isn't.
Understand, I'm typically slow to criticize officiating. Bad calls happen. Good teams overcome. But I can't defend the mess I saw on Sunday at the Rose Garden, and what's gone on throughout the league this preseason. When you have an epidemic that detracts from the quality of play everywhere it makes no sense for the league to charge full ticket prices, and attempt to pass the play off as top-notch, because it's far from that.
The Blazers are working hard to improve for the season, they're experimenting with lineup combinations. They're testing new players with returning players. They're watching Oden grow -- and he played five inspiring minutes in the fourth quarter on Sunday. The Nuggets are working hard, too, for what should be an electric season of the best basketball in the world.
But what's become evident with inconsistent officiating is that the players will matter less, and what the teams want to do will matter less, and what will replace that for emphasis is how the games are officiated. The replacement officials are shaky, often minute to minute. They lack confidence. They lack experience. They're painful to watch, because you can't help but empathize with them the minute you realize they're in over their heads.
The job is guesswork. And right now, everyone is guessing this lockout is going to bleed into the regular season. But it's time to bring back the regular officials, "the best officials in the world," the league always told us, and give the replacements a rest.
No amount of preseason experience is going to get 60-plus underqualified officials ready for the regular season. It's asking too much. And the league is woefully ignorant if it thinks otherwise.
Oden? Roy? Chemistry? Right now, I'm worried more about the officials and how they'll change the outcome of games more so than any problem the Blazers might encounter this early season.
By the way, the NBA's league office is free to dislike this column all it wants. Sing it to the rafters. No fine here.
We'll just call it even.