NBA: Time For David Stern To Face Reality With The Competency of NBA Referees

In an attempt to stop myself from saying in my head “one more win, one more win” for just a few moments, I thought I'd address David Stern’s response to the latest accusations from Tim Donaghy.

Stern was his typical arrogant self.  And this time, David, it isn’t going to work.

Stern’s defiance is going to stand in the way of actually solving any problems or easing any of the concerns of NBA fans.  It has for years and it appears there is no end in sight. 

He said, in part, that NBA officials do a great job.  If that is the case, explain Lakers-Kings in a game where the league's best were supposed to be in charge of the calls?  If it wasn't fixed, then those guys were really just that bad.  Either way, it isn't good.

If Stern insists the referees do a great job, then the only explanation people are left with when they consistently see poorly officiated playoff games is that there is some sort of conspiracy going on.  Improve the officiating and the conspiracy theories will go away. 

The NBA has an officiating problem, and it has had it for years. It is clear to anyone who watches on a regular basis.  

When I first heard an official had been caught betting on games, my first thought wasn’t “wow,” but “which official?”  That is because so many of the NBA refs do a poor job on a regular basis that it was easy to believe one of them at least had a reason for such a bad job performance.  

My response was shared by everyone I know who regularly watches the NBA.  No one was shocked because we all know it is a rarity to see a well-officiated NBA game.

I don’t think the NBA is fixing games. I don’t think David Stern and league officials would ever be stupid enough to go to a referee and say, “Make sure Team X wins tonight.”  The reward just does not come close to justifying the risk. 

I don’t however, rule out in assigning officials to certain games, especially important ones, the league takes into account factors that might show one ref  is more likely to call a game for one team or the other. It will be interesting to see if Dick Bavetta or Bennett Salvatore is assigned to officiate Game Five tomorrow night.

But aside from any conspiracy theory, I think for the most part these NBA referees are just that bad at their jobs.  I see it in the playoffs, but I also see it in regular season games in January where the league couldn't possibly care which team wins. 

But Stern and the NBA refuse to acknowledge this and correct the problem from a basic standpoint—improving the overall quality of officials.

I don't want to hear about ratings and grades for officials.  Those are meaningless.  I have two eyes, I watch a lot of NBA games.  I know officials do a poor job on a nightly basis. 

It isn't just are the calls they make correct. It is far more complicated. 

What about the calls that aren't made?  What about their consistency?  What about suddenly calling off the ball fouls once a team falls behind, only to stop making those same calls once that team has got itself back in the game or taken the lead? 

One of the worst things any team can do is get out to a quick lead on the road because you know the officials, regardless of the teams, will almost always help the home team get back into the game.

When people talk about umpires in baseball calling strikes, all anyone asks for is a consistent strike zone.  The same should be true in the NBA—are you calling a tight game, are you calling the off the ball fouls.  Whether yes or no, that is fine.  The problem is that with most officials the answer is sometimes.  

It seems to me officials are far too influenced by the crowd and the scoreboard. If a team is ahead and a player runs over an opponent, it is likely a charge.  But if that same team is behind, it is likely a block. 

A coach says something to an official, and the next play, the coach gets what he wants.  Is that good officiating?  Absolutely not.  Is it common?  Absolutely.

I am troubled from what I heard from an ex-official on the radio the other day—that league officials would talk to referees immediately before games, and even at half time, and instruct these refs what to look out for, and who to watch for.  This is entirely inappropriate.

It is like the episode of Seinfeld when George buys Elaine the cashmere sweater with a red dot, and asks Jerry if he can see the dot.  Jerry said he can’t help it because he knows it is there.  

Similar here —tell a ref to look for something, and then of course that ref is going to notice it, maybe even go out of his way to do so, when otherwise the whistle might not have been blown.

This in part explains why some players seem to get called for certain fouls repeatedly while others do not.  

A great example is Kendrick Perkins—he has to lead the league in moving screens and defensive three-second calls.  Maybe he does set an inordinate number of moving screens.  But is he really setting more moving screens than anyone else, or have NBA officials told refs to look out for Perkins setting screens? 

That is subtle manipulation and it is the type of thing that is far more likely to be going on than the NBA outright picking who they want to win games.

I also don’t want to hear that the referees have a difficult job and I should lay off.  That is why they are there.  If it wasn’t difficult, we would just roll the ball on the court and let these guys call their own fouls. 

A few years ago, the NBA announced referees would call technicals for any complaining about calls.  Maybe player and coach complaining had become out of control, but the NBA in its usual fashion refused to address why it had become out of control.  Sure some players/coaches like to whine and complain,  but for the most part, they are complaining because of bad calls.  It is time to fix the bad calls.

Think about the NBA’s recent announcement that it is going to fine players for flopping next year.  Why?  The league has to do this because the referees are not competent to handle it themselves.  

If officials didn't fall for flopping, there would be no need for fines.  But they do, and they do it all the time even though it is frequently obvious to anyone watching that a player flopped.

With the fine for flopping and the technicals for complaining, the NBA is trying to fix the problem with its officials by addressing the results.  It is as if the NBA is going to do all it can to improve the appearance its officials are doing a poor job, but is not willing to do anything to actually improve the performance of the referees. 

The NBA needs to address the cause for the flopping and the complaining—the referees themselves.

I don’t need Tim Donaghy to tell me there is a problem with the NBA officiating or that the Lakers-Kings game was an absolute disgrace.  The man has no credibility.  That doesn’t mean he can’t be telling the truth, but it does mean I want some serious corroboration before I take him seriously for one second.

But I do believe the officials in the NBA on average are well below par.  And until David Stern wants to admit there is a fundamental problem with his officials, the perception of the league fixing games will persist.  

Sometimes it is just easier to believe games are being fixed than to believe the alternative—that these referees are really that bad.