Basketball Diaries

I am very frustrated watching the NBA these days. The rules are interpreted in such a way that the offense nearly always has the advantage and the super-stars always get the calls against the non-stars.

The rules say that whomever initiates contact is the one who should be called for the foul. But actually watch any contest and you will see that is the exact opposite of how the calls are made. For example, in the Lakers vs Wizards game yesterday, Andrew Bynum was standing with his hands raised straight up. He was already in foul trouble and didn't want to be called for his next one. Arenas drove directly at him, leaped into Bynum's chest while simultaneously elbowing Bynum to clear some room for his shot-- sure enough, Bynum was called for a foul and Arenas went to free-throw line. How many fouls were committed? Arenas initiated contact by jumping into Bynum and Arenas elbowed Bynum in the chest to clear room. Fouls called? Bynum for, apparently, being in the way.

I used to laugh because in the 90s, Reggie Miller would shoot shots by leaping into the air and kicking out his legs (remember that both kicking and initiating contact are supposed to be fouls on the one initiating either) and he would get to the foul line all the time for free-throws, not to mention getting his defender into foul trouble. In some of Jordan's most famous videos, he is pushing, pulling, grabbing, and knocking down his defender (all are fouls) and not only making the shots but also usually making it to the line for free shots.

Another huge gripe I have is the referee who calls the play. The NBA went to three refs because fan's perception was that having two wasn't enough-- so many calls were missed. I have seen no improvement in calling since the third ref was added; now, on about half the plays I see fouls called, it is the referee who is out of position and who could not possibly see the foul who makes the call. Just because you hear flesh-on-flesh contact does not mean that a foul was committed. And, if the player's back is blocking you from the play, rely on one of the other refs who are spaced so that they have the advantage on you to make the call. If they don't, assume no foul was committed and let the players play!

The charging versus blocking foul call is one that exemplifies these issues the clearest. It shows the disparity between the super-star and the workman player and that the plays are rarely called in the correct order. In the same Lakers game last night, Arenas drove toward the basket. Bynum was already there, feet appearing to be out of the circle. Turiaf rotated over, also keeping his feet outside the arc. Both were there, between Arenas and the basket before he began his leap. Arenas leaped forward, directly into both defenders who held their ground even knowing they were going to get 200 lbs of guy leaping knees first into them-- yet they were called for blocking instead of Arenas being called for charging. I rewound the play a number of times (gotta love TiVo!) as well as watching the NBA replays of the play-- it sure looked like a clear cut call from every angle-- but the ref who called it as blocking was the guy who was behind Arenas and didn't have a good angle on who initiated contact! And the other two refs didn't over-rule that call because the first ref was the senior man on the court.

I am only presenting these Lakers highlights as proof because that was the last game I saw and those plays stick out. And I will admit I am a Lakers fan; however, there were a number of equally poor calls on the Wizards against the Lakers. And I see the same poor foul calls when I am watching other, non-Lakers teams play against each other.

I wouldn't be so up in arms except that the result of all of these dubious foul calls is that the people the fans pay to see (whether in the arena or via their cable bills at home) are taken out of the game if they have fouls against them. Therefore, the fans do not get to see the team or players they are paying to see.

My solution to this problem has a few steps:

1. The refs need to be retrained so that they only call fouls they actually see. They also need to be trained to be "colorblind" when calling fouls-- doesn't matter if a star or non-star is involved.
2. Take the third referee and put him/her behind a monitor. They watch the game live on this monitor and their job is to overturn plays called by the on-court ref. This will, I believe, help the on-court refs to only call what they see. The replay time would be limited to 10 seconds; in basketball, that is a lifetime and would be plenty of time to overturn something.
3. Coaches would get 2 challenges per half for egregious calls. If the calls are overturned, play resumes. If the call is upheld, the team that challenged loses a time out. If they do not have any time outs, they cannot challenge.
4. Revise some of the rules to take the subjectivity out of it. The hand-check rules are superfluous and highly subjective, for example, and should be revised to make it a clear case of "if X happens, it is a foul."
5. It is true that fans like scoring, however, that does not mean that fans want only offensive-minded games. We cheer just as hard for the solid block, the defender holding his own against the offensive player, steals, and whatnot. What we want is the best game we can watch. So, let the players play a bit more. Do away with some of the rules that highly favor offensive players and get back to having an even, fair, solid contest where the best teams win.