Quote:
Originally posted by w_sohl
NBA Officials what NOT to call and who to not call it on.
|
I guess I disagree with both parts of this statement. I don't think pro officials are looking for things NOT to call. My experience is that the pro philosophy is "look for things TO call". They don't want ticky-tack calls, but they don't want to overlook rules infractions b/c of the game situation.
In HS and lower NCAA games, if the game is a blow-out, many officials say to each other, "Ok, Team B (losing team) gets the benefit of the doubt. We'll get everything on Team A, but we'll try to let stuff on Team B slide if we can." The thinking is that since the game is essentially over, there's no reason even to
seem like we're "piling on" to Team B.
The pro official will
never take that mindset. You look for things TO call; not for things to let go.
As far as "who to not call it on", the pro philosophy is to be aware of who has how many fouls. They will not avoid calling a foul when a foul needs to be called. But if they have a choice of giving the foul to the guy with 3 fouls or the guy with 1 foul, they will give it to the guy with 1 foul. They are already aware of which guy has more fouls, so it looks pretty smooth. They're not going to shy away from the foul if the guy commits it all by himself; but if somebody else is around, they will likely give it to the other guy.
Does that make sense? The philosophy is not "don't call fouls on the stars". The philosophy is "if possible, distribute the fouls so that the stars can stay in the game."
Just my opinion from very brief experience.