Finals by Foul: the NBA Finals Fix

[Vertical]

Wow! i watched game 7 and I was squirming because I know it was a matter of time before the fakers would overtake the Celtics who keep shooting jumpshots...Shuttlesworth deserves all the blame.

[Jacob1983]

NBA refs have the most power of any ref in any sport because they reward players and teams with points. Yes, I know that an NBA player has to make a free throw in order to get the free points when he is fouled on a shot but just look at the stats. An NBA player is more likely to make a FT than a hockey player scoring a goal, a baseball player getting a hit, or a football team scoring on a drive. Refs in hockey can give teams penalty shots but the player shooting the penalty shot has to get the puck past a human being that is protect a goal. I'm not saying that making a free throw is a piece of cake but all the player has to do is get the ball in the hoop. Hockey players don't make 80-90 percent of their shots. Baseball players don't get a hit 80-90 percent of the time. A football team does not score 80-90 percent of a time on a drive. A large number of basketball players shoot 80-90 percent from the FT line.

[AnthonyM]

It's weird because one of the big reasons that football is the top sport in America is because of the hard-hitting, violence, and brutal nature of the sport.

You would think Stern would take the cue from the NFL and let the players in the NBA play rougher and get in each others faces more so fans enjoy the game more, but instead he thinks the game stopping every few minutes is more enjoyable than a game like last night, where things were extremely physical. It was great.

[Jacob1983]

People don't want to watch two teams shoot free throws during a large portion of the game.

[JamStone]

Cobbler, I would say that refs have much more control over the game of basketball than other sports, because no other ref can create an opportunity to GENERATE points. The closest thing to it is the pass interference rule in the NFL which can give significant yardage. Unsurprisingly, many pass interference calls are hotly contested.

I think that's why NBA refs are so scrutinized.

I think that's an opinion that would make for a pretty interesting debate. I don't necessarily disagree with it, but I think there could be a case made for umpires in baseball having more control than basketball referees. A couple of things to consider:

-while your point about basketball referees creating opportunities to generate points is a good one, referees in other sports can do the same. Hockey referees awarding penalty shots. Or football referees calling a penalty that puts a team in field goal range or more to the point at the goal line. It's obviously more noticeable for basketball referees because the amount of free throws awarded per contest makes it so

-in basketball, individual points aren't nearly as valuable as in the other three major American sports. Not that they aren't valuable at all. But in basketball, a game will have 175-200+ total points per game. An average NFL football game might have 40-70 total points in a game. An average MLB baseball game has less than 10 runs a game. An average NHL hockey game has less than 8 goals a game. Points are much more valuable in those other sports, so when basketball refs create opportunities to generate points by awarding free throws, it can be overcome more easily than if awarded in other sports because there is simply so much more scoring in basketball. Generating one single opportunity to score in say baseball or hockey will have a direct impact on the outcome of the game far more often in those sports than any one single foul call for two free throws will in basketball.

-I think there is a very good argument that umpires in baseball have more control than referees in basketball because umpires in baseball are involved in every single play of the game. Down to every pitch, a subjective ruling on balls and strikes to calling each play out or safe, fair or foul. Umpires rule every single play in baseball. In basketball, if there is no violation and no foul, referees don't make a judgment call. They just don't blow their whistle. Umpires stay involved with every single play.

I don't necessarily disagree with your contention though. I just think it could be an interesting discussion.

[pauls931]

Maybe replay and the internet spawns this, but back in the 80s, I don't remember anyone every ing about the refs in the Lakers/Celtics/Pistons games... Just sayin'...

[BeeGee]

Maybe replay and the internet spawns this, but back in the 80s, I don't remember anyone every ing about the refs in the Lakers/Celtics/Pistons games... Just sayin'...

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally somebody says it. The so-called NBA "fan" has turned just as as they claim the game has. Bunch of pussies. Lakers win a big game and immediately, it's "Fixed...Rigged!" And it's usually Spurs fan leading the way, lmao.

FCK YOU CLOWNS

[mavsfan1000]

Stern. He is the greedy little bas on why the NBA is so crooked.

[Cane]

Maybe replay and the internet spawns this, but back in the 80s, I don't remember anyone every ing about the refs in the Lakers/Celtics/Pistons games... Just sayin'...

Back in the 80's there was no Tim Donaghy and NBA fans really couldn't keep track of records like Danny Crawfords "LMAO WTF" record against Mark Cuban.

With youtube we can clearly see all the inconsistent calls and phantom calls especially from guys likes Joey Crawford.

Then there's the fact that there are still convicted felons officiating the NBA Finals.

NBA officiating can basically always be better also. Why the are palming and travelling even rules if they're only selectively enforced for example. Why can't something be done about a foul seen on a replay that wasn't called in the first place other than make a bull make-up call later on; like when Rondo fouled Odom for the loose ball play. Etc.



There's always been ing about refs but yea not on this level.

[Armando]

Maybe just maybe the freethrow disparity in Game 7 favoring the Lakers had to do with the Lakers outrebounding the Celtics and earning second shots at the basket and getting fouled. Even with all that Boston still had thier chances to steal game 7.

[Armando]

Thanks to youtube everyone becomes an armchair referee

[namlook]

Donaghy says the Celtics were favored on the calls in game 7:

Up until the 4th quarter, the officiating was heavily favoring the Celtics, according to Tim Donaghy. 4 Missed calls that favored the Lakers compared to 10 missed calls that favored the Celtics. Then in the 4th quarter it evened out just a little bit, with 5 bad calls in favor of the Lakers compared to 2 in favor of the Celtics. That brings the grand total at the end to;

Calls that favored the Lakers: 9
Calls that favored the Celtics: 12

[sabar]

The product isn't rigged for a certain team, it is rigged for certain players. Superstar treatment and home cooking are garbage, imo, and way too prevalent. There is an uneven playing field each game (slight, but there).

[v2freak]

namlook, may I see the article in which I read that please?

[cobbler]

[cobbler]

[pauls931]

I think there has always been the same level of 'corruption' in the league. Just replay and as one person mentioned, Youtube lets everyone see inconsistencies more clearly. I think it started roughly in the min 90s when the term 'Jordan Rules' came to life.

Back in 93 watching MJ trash KJ, not once did I think about the refs, but how much MJ pissed me off being so good. However if I ever get to watch the series again, I'm sure I'd notice the officiating more.

[LnGrrrR]

Jam, umpires do control a game more, but they still can't generate points for a team. The only way they can "give" a team a run is by screwing up a ca, say calling a foul ball a fair one. They can't just put a player on base. Now, they could theoretically call strikes as balls, but to takes four balls to walk. Even then, you're only giving a player one base. The strike zone is the most objective part of baseball, and most fans accept that.

NBA refs may only be handing out two points at a time, but if you add then up it becomes significant. For most NBA games, I'd say that scoring at the foul line accounts for roughly 20% of total points in the game. That is way more than other leagues. Sure hockey refs can give a player a penalty shot, but that's relatively rare, and there's a goalie. Football can gift long yardage, but it's relatively rate that a team gets a long pass interference call. (that said, I think it happens more than most fans like)

When all is said and done, the NBA is te only league that relies on refs giving relatively easy points to a team, which is probably why NBA refs are reviled so much.

[mojorizen7]

NBA.....the last 25 yrs it's been faaaaaaantastic for 6 teams....

Stern has done a wonderful job.

[LnGrrrR]

Go have another lager. We're catching you es at 17 next year.

Probably.

Do you deny that the NBA is the one league where a ref can give relatively easy points or not?

[LnGrrrR]

When Durant beat the Celtics this year. In the presser, KG had his head down and said, "you would of thought we were playing against Michael ing Jordan out there." The MJ era brought about more bogus whistles than anytime in the history of this game. You literally couldn't touch the guy.

Agreed, but that's an extreme example. Let me put it this way... NBA refs can control a game more, through use of whistles. However, by definition umpires control the hitting in a game. You can't have a baseball game without an ump calling what's a strike and what's a ball.

[monosylab1k]

History is riddled with bad calls in all sports.

http://www.askmen.com/top_10/fitness...ness_list.html

lol askmen.com

[v2freak]

Agreed, but that's an extreme example. Let me put it this way... NBA refs can control a game more, through use of whistles. However, by definition umpires control the hitting in a game. You can't have a baseball game without an ump calling what's a strike and what's a ball.

The MLB accepts instant replay so it a shot is questionably fair/foul or a double should be a home run, the umpires usually look at it right away. As for the game itself, you have a person standing behind another person trying to see if balls fit within an imaginary strike zone. It sounds crazy but you hear way less whining about MLB umps.

Lead MLB umpires in a game can generate points if they ins ute a tiny strike zone and call every pitch a ball, and even then that would require the batter to not swing, swing and miss, foul it, foul tip it etc. The conditions for an MLB umpire to generate a run must be that the pitcher throws borderline strike/ball pitches, the batter doesn't swing, repeat as many times as necessary. And even with check swings, the catcher can appeal to the appropriate umpire depending on the handedness of the batter.

Totally agree with you on NBA refs and the point-generating power they wield. It's not comparable with other sports.

[kobyz]

it's well known that when you playing the Lakers you need to win both the Lakers and the refs, it's been like this forever.
when ever the refs feels like the Lakers in trouble or in bad spot to lose the game they will always help them and will give them momentum calls in their favor, it happened a lot in this playoffs and also in game 7 against Boston.

[cobbler]

lol askmen.com

You owe me 10 grand welcher boy.