David Stern, NBA Have Referee Scandal on Their Hands

Let's get something out of the way up front. I'm a Celtics fan. I've been a Celtics fan since my father took me to the old Boston Garden to watch Larry Bird and Danny Ainge. I go to about 15 games a year. I love the team and, more importantly, I love the game of basketball.

That's why the news of Tim Donaghy's latest allegations shakes the very heart of the sport and bothers me to no end. Donaghy may have his own motivations, much the way Brian McNamee does, but those are often the people most willing to come clean.

So what are you to do?

The allegations involve something more drastic than referees or players betting on games. This involves scandal that we would equate to point shaving in college. But, here, it messes with the careers and the livelihood of men.

Donaghy's letter discusses a playoff game in 2002. Inference tells us (thanks to ESPN.com) that it was between the Kings and the Lakers in game six of the conference playoffs. In that game, the Lakers free throw advantage was staggering, two key Kings players fouled out, and a game seven was needed.

Michael Wilbon discusses in his Washington Post article that it was likely the worst officiated game he has ever seen in his entire life. That really is saying something for a guy that makes a living covering the NBA.

The referees involved were Bob Delaney, Ted Bernhardt, and Dick Bavetta. Bavetta was also involved in a playoff game against Houston that Donaghy questions.

So that brings me to game three of the NBA finals.

I was on the phone with my brother Tuesday morning. To sum up the conversation, we looked to guess the referees that would be assigned, the number of free throws Kobe Bryant would attempt, the disparity between the Lakers and Celtics in attempts, and how quickly Pierce and Garnett would get their second and third fouls.

We concluded it would be Bavetta, Joey Crawford, and Steve Javie (two out of three) as officials, Kobe would attempt more than 20 free throws (actually 20), the disparity would be at least 15 (it was 12), and the Celtics stars would have their third fouls before the six minute mark of the second quarter (got it right on Pierce).

Here's the problem: We shouldn't be able to get that close. Not going in blind.

We both knew that Crawford and Bavetta would be involved, and I bet we weren't the only ones. Crawford seems like a dubious choice to be officiating the finals because of his past actions. 

He has been suspended by the league for his actions involving Tim Duncan and was also part of the game six crew in 2006 that had Dwyane Wade shoot 25 free throws, which was as many as the entire Dallas team.

Add to that, he was part of the crew that refused to call a foul on Derek Fisher in the San Antonio series, causing the NBA to admit an egregious error on their behalf.

Bavetta, in addition to being implicated in both playoff games by Donaghy, made one of the worst calls I've ever seen on Pierce in the Detroit series. He called Pierce for an offensive foul on a pump fake to draw contact. It's a standard move, and one Pierce uses a lot. I'd have given him a travel, but it's not an offensive foul (side note: Pierce has used that move three times with three different results - offensive foul, four-point play, and travel).

Bavetta seems often influenced by the home town crowd, and that seems to be a standard feeling around the NBA.

When there is controversy involved, these two officials don't seem to be far behind. Why does that always seem to be the case?

Now, you can certainly account for part of this being the fact the Lakers were much more aggressive and rightly got the calls. But not all of them. It doesn't account for everything, like the disparity the Lakers suffered in game two, where Leon Powe shot more free throws than the entire Lakers team (13-10).

But Stern cannot simply shrug off the accusations. Not when more and more officials are criticized and people like me are able to anticipate how a game will be called.

Roger Goodell attempted to sweep Spygate under the rug, only to hear more and more accusations. He put the image of the league ahead of the good of the game. The NBA cannot afford this mistake, especially where it does not have the same fan base as the NFL.

In no other sport are officials as open to criticism in the NBA.

An NFL official may miss a holding penalty, but that doesn't force the ball to change hands. An MLB umpire may have a different strike zone, but it's the same for each pitcher. Sure, veterans get the benefit of the doubt, but that's true in every sport. Even baseball officials have admitted the need for replay to fix major errors.

Stern needs to step out and do what he can to get this to stop.  Much of that likely means more transparency and an independent body of officials that does not report up through the NBA. There needs to be separation so there can be public trust.

I would also advocate for a better definition of rules to allow people to understand what a foul is and is not. It creates consistency across the game, much the same way baseball attempts to standardize the strike zone.

And, above all else, we cannot change the way a game is officiated by quarter. A foul in the first quarter needs to be a foul in the fourth.

Call Donaghy desperate. Call him a criminal, a felon, a rogue official, whatever name you want to use. But, just as prayer is the last refuge of a scoundrel, he's likely the most honest man in the room.

That is a scary thought for the NBA.