NBA for me too... love the players' skill level, but HATE the officiating.
I have DVR capability which allows me to go back and review each and every blown whistle. It's astonishing how poorly officiated the game truly is.
Based on my observations, It's clear that NBA referees' calls are correct only about half of the time. And if you factor in missed calls (e.g. traveling), their overall assessment is dismal.
What makes matters worse is that the NBA doesn't even recognize there's an integrity problem with its game.
What I hate most about the NBA:
Phantom fouls, where there's virtually or in some cases absolutely no contact whatsoever. This is a common occurrence, often happening multiple times per game.
Ticky-tack (hand-touch) fouls, unnecessary stoppages, ridiculous given the general physicality of the game.
But I believe there's a psychological component behind the excessive whistle blowing.
The NBA uses 3 refs. Up until the 1988-89 season, the NBA had always used just 2.
This, in my opinion, is when the officiating actually began to deteriorate.
Here's why:
Officials have a psychological need to exercise their authority.
With 2 referees, there was always plenty of opportunity for each ref to exert his or her authority.
Now with 3, it sets up a sort of "competition" among the officials to blow their whistle.
Each of them desperately wants to "participate", be involved in, and exert their authority on the game.
In some cases, I'm absolutely convinced refs make calls because they haven't blown their whistle in a while.
Subconsciously, they may feel obligated to blow their whistle, even if the call doesn't exist for fear of being perceived as not doing their job.
Coaches, players, and fans should be up in arms!
Unfortunately, coaches and players are deterred from publicly complaining as they are subject to stiff fines imposed by the league. This leaves it up to the fans to demand change.
Possible remedies to restore game integrity:
Use ex-NBA players as referees
Return to 2-ref officiating team
Institute a replay assessment system similar to NFL's red flag to review critical or consequential calls
No more ticky-tack fouls that serves only to unnecessarily impede the flow of the game
No more fouls where contact is initiated/created by the offensive player
The NFL has a rules committee whose function it is to annually assess the integrity of their game. The NBA needs to form its own rules committee, ASAP!
* Attention Freeones' administrators: If there's a more suitable location for this topic, please move it there. Thanks!
