Your Thoughts On Refs.....

[FromWayDowntown]

Rules aren't applied equally to all players in any sport, BronxCowboy.

MLB umpires, for years, have given wider strike zones to certain pitchers (cough, cough, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux) and have narrowed the zone for certain hitters (this was particularly true of, say, Wade Boggs and Tony Gwynn in the late 80's and early 90's). NFL officials give the benefit of the doubt to certain DB's (Deion Sanders) and to certain WR's (Michael Irvin), resulting in inconsistent calls.

All things considered, I think NBA officials (in my experience) do a remarkably good job of staying consistent. I don't think most fans view it that way, but I also think that most fans bring very subjective viewpoints to the game and don't appreciate just how consistent most of the NBA officials are.

[samikeyp]

Its really amazing that people actually think the refs get together and say "hey...let's hose this team tonight"

The refs don't make you miss shots, throw the ball away, not get back on defense or miss free throws. Do the refs miss calls? Certainly. Do Superstars get away with some calls? Yes. But David Stern does not have some cadre of little old men sitting up in an ivory tower playing puppet strings with the officials.

[FromWayDowntown]

Exactly, mikey.

The officials didn't hold the Nuggets under 80 in the last two games or cause them to ac ulate the lowest FG% in these playoffs so far. The officials also didn't make the Spurs miss 17 straight shots in the 4th Quarter of Game 1.

And they don't have some contractual obligation to home fans to bail out teams that aren't playing well.

[BronxCowboy]

Rules aren't applied equally to all players in any sport, BronxCowboy.

OK, I'll concede that, because I don't really watch any other sport. NBA refs probably are as good as any out there, but I still think the practice of giving some players preferential treatment sucks. *Disclaimer: I don't think that there is a conspiracy to help any particular teams win.*

[Clandestino]

I'd say the NFL, hands down, has the best refs in any sport. they see so much with so few. they are watchin 22 players run around in a huge field of play and catch most things. the nba only watches 10 on a small field and miss tons of not on the ball. basic things like shaq in the paint for 5-6 secs a time, and duncan's jersey always being almost pulled of.. nba refs generally suck compared to nfl refs.