In my opinion, the biggest problem with the NBA is the subjectivity of the referees. This was on full display last night in game 4 of the Lakers vs. Spurs Western Conference finals series. Brent Barry got the ball with just a couple seconds left, pump faked and got Derek Fisher to bite and jump into the air. As Fisher came down, there was obvious contact between him and Barry. Barry’s mistake was in seemingly trying to avoid contact instead of leaning into Fisher which would have almost certainly forced the ref to blow the whistle. But, since he appeared to try to elude contact, the ref opted for the non-call.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not a Spurs apologist. In fact the best thing about this series is that either the Lakers or the Spurs are going to lose!
But, this play just illustrates what is in my opinion the biggest problem that the NBA has. There is just too much subjectivity on the part of the officials. They call the game based on the context of the game. There is something inehently wrong with that. In other words, early in the game, the contact between Fisher and Barry would have almost certainly been a foul, but at this point, in this context, it was not. It’s either a foul or it’s not a foul….right? Apparently not.
And, this modus operandi is just commonly accepted among everyone associated with the game including players, coaches, analysts, beat writers, broadcasters, etc etc…
On every single possession, there is one or more calls that could be made and it is left entirely up to the three officials on the court to make a subjective decision on whether or not to blow the whistle.
One classic situation that happens all the time in the NBA is the late whistle foul. In this situation, a player drives to the basket and takes some contact in the act of shooting a lay-up. The ball bounces around the rim and eventually falls out. It isn’t until that point that the referee blows the whistle. Clearly, the referee is waiting to see if the ball went before making the decision to blow the whistle. So, if the ball had gone in, this would not have been a foul, but since it bouced out, the whistle blows. This situation drives me insane everytime I see it. Do they think we are idiots? Either it’s a foul or it’s not a foul. Whether or not the ball goes through the basket should not make any difference. But, everyone knows that it does. And, we all just accept this as part of the game.
So, what can be done to address this problem? Well, that’s why it is the NBA’s biggest problem in my opinion…because there is absolutely nothing that can be done about it. It will constantly lead to consipiracy theories, to outcomes such as last night’s game where the ref basically dictated the result, to star players getting the benefit of the doubt calls, to rookies getting the rookie calls, to floppers, to whiney players, to dirty players (ie – Ginoble, Duncan, Bowen, and oh yeah….Derek Fisher), etc etc.
So, what am I trying to say? Well, mostly that I love the NBA, but I hate this aspect of it and it frustrates me to no end season after season.
BuffaloNickel 
