Can anything be done to improve officiating in the NBA?

[passenger]

yes,sending stern to guantanamo might help

 

[Darth Llama]

yes,sending stern to guantanamo might help

Ok, that was pretty funny.

 

[Ollie]

- Tell officials to stop reffing based on reputation (i.e. Pistons and Spurs have a reputation for being "physical" therefore they get away with more fouls)

- Stop the favoring of superstars

- If someone has proven that they can't do their job (ie Violet Palmer has been rated as a bottom 5 official since she has been hired) then find a replacement

- Call traveling more than once a game

The worst problem with NBA refereeing is its incredible lack of consistency from one game to another, because of players, teams and refs involved.
Home-court advantage, superstar calls, super physical play during the last 5 mns, adjustement to the way some teams play... make most games painful to watch.

And non calling (or misunderstanding) 3 sec, palming, traveling (watching Lebron James or Wade driving to the basket, taking 4 steps, go uncalled and ending with an and1 is horrible. Same thing with the infamous "I shuffle my feet at will" Tim Duncan special move), lane violations, loose ball fouls, in favor of "entertainment" is turning the league into a circus.

Ref by the rules book and only by the rules book.

Get rid of refs over 55. I'm sure that Dick Bavetta is a nice grandpa and all, but he shouldn't ref anymore. HE'S 68 !

Rank the refs every year and send the 10 worst to the NBDL. Replace them with the 10 best of NBDL and NCAA.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I think that the NBA should force the referees to have their own press conference to discuss the game/calls after the game. They should be held much more accountable for the horrible calls that they make.

 

[D-Dogg]

palming

This is my pet peeve. Players in the nba carry the ball ALL THE TIME. Every possession. Yet occasionally (randomly) they will call this once every 10 games or so. I remember in H.S. carrying was called like gangbusters.

 

[boisesuns]

I think that the NBA should force the referees to have their own press conference to discuss the game/calls after the game. They should be held much more accountable for the horrible calls that they make.

That would be a good idea, actually. Maybe they could also have the players ask the questions to get some more ratings

Imagine shaq after the game talking to the refs....That would be great TV.

 

[Griffin]

They should be held much more accountable for the horrible calls that they make.

They should, but they won't, because Stern doesn't want people to think officiating is that bad. The referees know that it doesn't matter whether they get a call right or wrong.

Supposedly, the league issues an internal report after every game, outlining which calls were correct, which calls were wrong, which infractions were missed. They use those reports to evaluate the referees, but neither the reports, nor the evaluations, are ever made public. Nor do we ever hear about any actions taken against referees. The league likes to handle everything internally to avoid public scrutiny. I for one would have loved to see the report from last night though.

The sad part is that none of this will matter. The league is content with the way things are, and doesn't really care if some teams lose a game here or there because of blown calls. It's part of the game, right? Happens in every sport. Sure they could easily fix it with replay, but why bother?

 

[Assface]

The worst problem with NBA refereeing is its incredible lack of consistency from one game to another, because of players, teams and refs involved.
Home-court advantage, superstar calls, super physical play during the last 5 mns, adjustement to the way some teams play... make most games painful to watch.

And non calling (or misunderstanding) 3 sec, palming, traveling (watching Lebron James or Wade driving to the basket, taking 4 steps, go uncalled and ending with an and1 is horrible. Same thing with the infamous "I shuffle my feet at will" Tim Duncan special move), lane violations, loose ball fouls, in favor of "entertainment" is turning the league into a circus.

Ref by the rules book and only by the rules book.

Get rid of refs over 55. I'm sure that Dick Bavetta is a nice grandpa and all, but he shouldn't ref anymore. HE'S 68 !

Rank the refs every year and send the 10 worst to the NBDL. Replace them with the 10 best of NBDL and NCAA.

Of the NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB the only one where I can watch any game and come away thinking the overall officiating was terrible is the NBA. As you pointed out, a huge problem is consistency. Sometimes a player can get karate chopped and no foul call and later they'll call a foul when someone's pinky grazes the other guy. Maybe adding another ref or two will help.

I think another problem is the lack of accountability. Stern is trying to improve the image of the league but IMO he's going about it wrong. If there's a blown call in the NFL that directly affects the outcome of a game, the league will acknowledge it and issue a public apology. Stern tries to convince everyone that nothing's wrong in the league. He's like an ostrich with it's head in the sand.

 

[Darth Llama]

I still think one stationary ref under each basket would fix a lot.

Basketball is a fast paced game, and a lot of calls are blown because the ref simply isn't in good position to make the call. I would like to see one ref added under each basket that doesn't move. These officials would be in good position to make the key blocking vs. charging calls and fouls across the wrist that all seem to happen under the hoop. The block/charge is almost always on a fast break, and the refs are rarely in the right position to do little more then just guess.

It would never happen though because the NBA would have to pay an additional 2 salaries per game for every game played over the season. They would never go for it.

 

[jbeecham]

I still think one stationary ref under each basket would fix a lot.

Basketball is a fast paced game, and a lot of calls are blown because the ref simply isn't in good position to make the call. I would like to see one ref added under each basket that doesn't move. These officials would be in good position to make the key blocking vs. charging calls and fouls across the wrist that all seem to happen under the hoop. The block/charge is almost always on a fast break, and the refs are rarely in the right position to do little more then just guess.

It would never happen though because the NBA would have to pay an additional 2 salaries per game for every game played over the season. They would never go for it.

It's a good idea that's been brought up on this board a lot, but the refs still have to be willing to make the calls and not ignore rules. Maybe it would be easier for them with more guys watching for stuff, but most of the worst calls or non-calls happen when a ref is staring right at the play.

 

[mojorizen7]

How about building robot officialls with x-ray vision.Also, these robots don't care about superstardom,tattos, fragile ego's,TV contracts,max contracts,the mafia,home court advantage, Jack Nickelson, market size, and momentum.
ROBO REFS......
"Have travelling will travel. Whether it's Kobe or Cuttino."