Nets at Hawks

[exodus]

The NJ announcers, Mark Jackson and Marv Albert, both readily admitted it was a bad call. Jackson was fairly complementary to the Hawks but was flabbergasted that Smith made those jumpers at the end.

[swolehawk2]

If you describe fair as being poorly officated at both ends ...and hoping that our bad call is not as bad as your bad call...then yeah it is fair alright.....if NJ scores and we lose...because they had a possesion we should have had ...is it fair?

The NBA, a billion dollar corporation, can't do anything to improve officiating?

[Lascar78]

they are full-time professionals who are trained and taught every offseason, whose every play is reviewed and evaluated by the league, and are graded by the league, GM's and coaches. What more do you want? Be specific

Like it or not basketball is a hard game to officiate. It is inevitable that there will be a number of bad calls in any given game. Sometimes they will equally go against both teams, sometimes they go more towards one team or the other.

People act as if we wish we had international refs, yet what happens at the world championships / olympics when those refs have to handle world class players? Half of the commentary is about how poor the refs are and how badly they need NBA refs.

I say quit whining. NBA refs are far from perfect but are the best basketball refs in the world.

[swolehawk2]

Who is whining? I have accepted that the NBA won't fix the game and officiating is horrible....too many rules that are not written that factor into a game.

I just hope that our bad calls are not as bad as the opponents' and move on.

I would like to see officials work more together to get a call right....it happens just not enough.

[CrawDaddy]

Speaking of the reviews officials receive, does anyone know if they are fined for blatant bad calls? For instance, after reviewing the tape rrom last night's game, would the officiating crew receive a deduction from their paycheck for the missed call at halfcourt?

It's nice to say you're reviewing tape with your officials and all that, but if there's no real penalty, then why would they care if they keep making bad calls?

[Lascar78]

they are penalized, but I don't think that it's ever been made public as far as what exactly happens. I don't know if it's a salary deduction, or if they get less games or what. I'm sure that if they consistently ranked as one of the worst they get fired too.

[swolehawk2]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5320410

"Here are the biggest problems:

Officials delaying their whistles while a player is fouled in the act of shooting a relatively easy lay-up. Should the shot fall, then the whistle will be silent. Should the shot miss, then the tooter will toot. The subsequent late whistles drive coaches and players to distraction. Sure, the officials want to avoid making unnecessary calls that jam up the smooth unfolding of the game, but a foul is a foul is a foul.

Despite the refs' insistence that make-up calls would actually constitute two bad calls in succession and therefore never happen, make-up calls are routine.

The extra "European Step" that drivers are allowed makes playing legit defense impossible on a one-on-one basis.

If refs are not supposed to follow the flight of the ball, then how can they accurately adjudicate goal-tending violations? And how can refs be asked to follow the action while also keeping track of offensive and defensive 3-second violations? The answer here is for a pair of auxiliary refs to be positioned somewhere off-court at roughly the level of the basket (perhaps on raised seats like tennis officials) and be assigned the task of calling only basket, and lane violations.

More ex-players should be encouraged to become refs, only because of their increased athletic-competition IQ.

Referees maintain that their calls are correct 93% of the time. This is an admirable rate of accuracy, but there are certain qualifications. One bad call (with a 7% probability) at the wrong time can turn a ball game the wrong way. Also, non-calls are equally as decisive as calls and are not tallied.

Several of the newest NBA arenas have as many as 12 cameras recording the games (compared with about half that number utilized by the various networks in nationally televised games) for the eventual perusal of the home team's coaches and video coordinators. According to these admittedly biased observers, the extra angles provided by the extra cameras show that refs botch about one-third of their calls.

Poor referees are allowed to continue working even after their malfeasance has been demonstrated."

[Catapult]

"The extra "European Step" that drivers are allowed makes playing legit defense impossible on a one-on-one basis."

European Step? I have always thought that the interpretation of the rule is more loose in US than in Europe - at least so it seems when you watch american players here in the finnish league.

[Lascar78]

definitely, and it's not even close. In Europe you get two steps, period. And I believe that a jumpstep is a travel, it was for me growing up in Europe. That's the main complaint that europeans have with the nba game, is that too much traveling is allowed. In Europe you can't take your first step unless the ball is on the floor, which makes a huge difference.

I've said it many times, but the problems with traveling in the NBA are not referee-related at all. The problem is the rules which need to be re-written in the worst way:

Quote:

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Section XIV-Traveling

a. A player who receives the ball while standing still may pivot, using either foot as the pivot foot.

b. A player who receives the ball while he is progressing or upon completion of a dribble, may use a two-count rhythm in coming to a stop, passing or shooting the ball.

The first count occurs:

(1) As he receives the ball, if either foot is touching the floor at the time he receives it.

(2) As the foot touches the floor, or as both feet touch the floor simultane- ously after he receives the ball, if both feet are off the floor when he receives it.

The second occurs:

(1) After the count of one when either foot touches the floor, or both feet touch the floor simultaneously.

c. A player who comes to a stop on the count of one may pivot, using either foot as the pivot foot.

d. A player who comes to a stop on the count of two, with one foot in advance of the other, may pivot using only the rear foot as the pivot foot.

e. A player who comes to a stop on the count of two, with neither foot in advance of the other, may use either foot as the pivot foot.

f. In starting a dribble after (1) receiving the ball while standing still, or (2) coming to a legal stop, the ball must be out of the player's hand before the pivot foot is raised off the floor.

g. If a player, with the ball in his possession, raises his pivot foot off the floor, he must pass or shoot before his pivot foot returns to the floor. If he drops the ball while in the air, he may not be the first to touch the ball.

h. A player who falls to the floor while holding the ball, or while coming to a stop, may not gain an advantage by sliding.

i. A player who attempts a field goal may not be the first to touch the ball if it fails to touch the backboard, basket ring or another player.

PENALTY: Loss of ball. The ball is awarded to the opposing team at the sideline, nearest spot of the violation but no nearer the baseline than the foul line extended.

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