"Go Ahead, Make My Day!"

[grunewar]

WARNING - NBA (NBE) Thread - Stern lays into coaches.....

NBA commissioner David Stern is tired of coaches and players griping about the officiating, and challenged them Thursday to "make my day" by continuing to complain during the rest of the playoffs.

Speaking before the Thunder hosted the Lakers, Stern said such comments were "corrosive" to the product that the league is putting on the floor. He said he understands why coaches try to work the officials through the media, but that the result is such comments undermine consumer confidence in the league's product.

"So, our coaches should be quiet because this is a good business that makes them good livings and supports a lot of families," Stern said. "And if they don't like it, they should go get a job someplace else. I don't mean to be too subtle."

Read More: NBA's Stern warns coaches to quit griping about refs - NBA - SI.com

[Jurassic Referee]

I'll believe that when I see a star like LeBron james get fined for his whining about the officials. Case in point---> last night's game in Chicago. He got called for a charging foul with just over a minute to go. He was absolutely amazed........amazed, I tell ya.... as was everybody else in the building who naturally expected him to get the call. His comment on the call, reproduced verbatim below, is absolutely priceless and should tell tell you all that you need to know about the crediblity of the NBE pro game.

BronBron: "I saw him back-pedalling. Me, as a driver, I'm watching the defender's feet. I'm seeing if he's stationed or still moving. To me I felt that he was still back-pedalling. That's when I decided to take off, but I knew exactly what I seen on the court with the defender right in FRONT of me."

Yup, you got a back-pedalling defender directly in FRONT of you and because he's not stationary, you can legally run him over. And the sad part is that if you're a star in the NBE, that statement is probably true. Hell, for all I know, the NBE rules might actually require defenders to be stationary to take a charge. Their rules don't really resemble real basketball rules anyway. Staionary defenders and crab-dribbles are de rigeur.

[APG]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

BronBron: "I saw him back-pedalling. Me, as a driver, I'm watching the defender's feet. I'm seeing if he's stationed or still moving. To me I felt that he was still back-pedalling. That's when I decided to take off, but I knew exactly what I seen on the court with the defender right in FRONT of me."

Why are you surprised a player said something to this effect? This doesn't sound like anything radically different from what you'd hear from an announcer or coach or any other player. I was watching the game last night, and was not at all surprised that a charge was called.

[APG]

Also, players are fined all the time for publicly criticizing officials many times. Just two and half weeks ago, Kevin Garnett was fined for publicly criticizing officials. If David Stern decides to go through and be more strict about players complaining in the media, more people to him and the NBA. Phil Jackson better get ready

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

Why don't you ask btaylor? He's an expert on NBE rules.

Not really a bad idea actually to get his thoughts on it. He is knowledgable afaik on NBE rules and calling philosophies. He sureashell knows a lot more about 'em than I do, which does make him a credible source imo. Their rules are what they are.....different. They're designed to reflect the direction entertainment-wise that the NBA wants their officials to implement. And I can't knock the officials for doing what they have to do if they want to keep their jobs. Imo they've been given almost an impossible job to do by the NBE poobahs. The problem lies with the direction that the officials are being given, not with the officials themselves.

Hey, I used to love watching NHL hockey too. But when the league went into their "left-wing locks" and "center-ice traps" and let the game deteriorate into a hook'n'hold travesty, they became unwatchable also. And again, you couldn't blame the NHL on-ice officials for that either imo. They had direction from the league as to what they had to call and what to let go.

[grunewar]

Here's what Noah said about the call.....

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

BronBron: "I saw him back-pedalling. Me, as a driver, I'm watching the defender's feet. I'm seeing if he's stationed or still moving. To me I felt that he was still back-pedalling. That's when I decided to take off, but I knew exactly what I seen on the court with the defender right in FRONT of me."

Noah said he was particularly concerned Deng would get whistled after seeing James' shot go in.

"I think one of the refs was about to call a block and then he looked at the other ref because he wasn't sure, and the other ref — thank God — called a charge," Noah said. "That was a huge play for us. I'm really happy that play went our way. I think I'm kind of biased, but to me, I thought it was a charge the whole time."

[Jurassic Referee]

Whoops, I see that the post by Nevada re: Btaylor was deleted by somebody. If a mod wants to get rid of my response to him above, be my guest.

[Nevadaref]

Updated: April 23, 2010, 6:40 PM ET
Jackson doesn't grasp Stern warnings


By Dave McMenamin
ESPNLosAngeles.com


OKLAHOMA CITY -- Round 1 went to David Stern on Thursday night when the NBA commissioner went Dirty Harry style and dared coaches and players to "make my day" by publicly criticizing game officials. He said they risked not just a fine but a suspension.
On Friday, Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson fought back.
"I think when you start throwing one- and two-game suspensions in the threats, I think that means a lot to both ball clubs and coaches," Jackson said at Lakers practice. "It seems awful heavy-handed to me, but David is one who isn't shy about being heavy-handed."
Jackson framed his comments about the Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant's free throw shooting made prior to the series as trying to gain a competitive edge. Stern described the comments as "corrosive."



"There's a certain gamesmanship that goes on that obviously he feels cheapens the game," Jackson continued. "It never was explained to us until it suddenly came down in this last week that arbitrarily they were going to do this. I missed the coaches meeting last September. Maybe they explained it in the coaches meeting last year because they said there was a couple instances last year when I think it was [Stan] Van Gundy and [Rick] Adelman were fined during the playoffs for statements that led to manipulating the press, I guess is the best way I can say it.
"I don't know how you guys could be so naive, being members of the fifth estate, third estate, second estate or whatever state you're members of."
The Lakers coach received two separate $35,000 fines from the league in the month of April. Jackson was fined for the Durant comments, insinuating the 21-year-old scoring champion led the league in free-throw attempts in part because, "I think a lot of the referees are treating him like a superstar; he gets to the line easy and often."
Jackson was fined earlier in the month for saying the "referees turned against us" after a game against San Antonio and for calling out veteran official Bennett Salvatore by name and saying, "With Bennett, you don't know what you're going to get."
Jackson said he thought the severity of Stern's statement was unwarranted.
"[If] there's a situation of favoritism on the NBA court, I don't think anybody is going to be deluded into thinking that [certain] people don't get calls on the court, regardless of how you say it," Jackson said. "It's just a natural evolution of the game and it's a natural evolution of who gets the ball the most. They're going to end up a lot of times at the foul line. Unfortunately it didn't work for Kobe [Bryant] that way last night, but it did for Kevin [Durant]. But that's the way things go in this game. You have to accept it, swallow it and move on."

For more news and notes on the Lakers, check out the Land O' Lakers blog from the Kamenetzky Brothers.


Bryant attempted zero free throws in Game 3 while Durant was 12-for-13 from the charity stripe. After the game, Bryant avoided a question about his lack of free-throw attempts Thursday night by saying, "I'm not quite sure how to answer that. ... Um, yeah. Both teams played hard."
Stern singled out Jackson and Miami Heat president Pat Riley as two coaches he would serve with harsher penalties than fines if he had the chance to go back 20 years and respond to their criticism of the referees again.
"In that instance, Pat started out by saying [Michael] Jordan got all the calls and got to the foul line all the time, that blatantly," Jackson said, describing a public battle of barbs between the two when Riley was coaching the New York Knicks and Jackson was coaching the Chicago Bulls in the early 1990s. "And I said, 'You should talk, Patrick Ewing travels every time he goes to the basket,' so we went tit for tat when it started like that. Now that's pretty blatant.
"Saying that Kevin Durant probably doesn't deserve all the foul calls he gets, what I said, he probably doesn't earn all the foul shots he takes, I don't know if that's as blatant as saying what Pat said about Michael Jordan."
Jackson said that the 34-12 free-throw disparity in favor of the Thunder wasn't because of any intentional bias by the referees, but said they could have been influenced by the raucous sellout crowd.
"It's about the energy that's in the building, let's face it," Jackson said. "There's 20,000 people here that are really [intense]. It's not an objective thing, it's subjective. We try to make it objective, but it's subjective. People definitely lean a certain way. There's a certain statistic I think that can prove that. But we try to do the best we [can] do it and I think the referees do a good job with what they've got."
But Jackson couldn't stop himself from getting at least one jab in at the officials, even though he admitted that he doesn't think any of his comments made over the years gained him any favorable edge when it came to how referees called his games.
"You know, I know that the referees take an eye test, I don't know if they take a reading test," Jackson said.
Jackson also wanted to clear up his brief meeting with Stern prior to Game 3 at the Ford Center. Stern described it as, "I just came by and said, 'Hi,' and he said, 'I don't like you today,' and I said, 'I like you.'"
"We ran into each other in the hallway ... I did not say I didn't like him. I said, 'I'm not happy with you,' is what I said and he said, 'I'm happy with you,'" Jackson explained. "He misquoted the exchange."
Dave McMenamin covers the Lakers for ESPNLosAngeles.com.

[grunewar]

Yep, this new emphasis is working out just fine......

2010 NBA playoffs: Dallas Mavericks' Erick Dampier miffed over officiating in Game 3 loss to San Antonio Spurs - ESPN Dallas

Dampier didn't mince words in criticizing a crew that included one of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's least-favorite referees, Danny Crawford.

By Cuban's count, the Mavs have lost 16 of 17 playoff games with Crawford on the floor.

[btaylor64]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Not really a bad idea actually to get his thoughts on it. He is knowledgable afaik on NBE rules and calling philosophies. He sureashell knows a lot more about 'em than I do, which does make him a credible source imo. Their rules are what they are.....different. They're designed to reflect the direction entertainment-wise that the NBA wants their officials to implement. And I can't knock the officials for doing what they have to do if they want to keep their jobs. Imo they've been given almost an impossible job to do by the NBE poobahs. The problem lies with the direction that the officials are being given, not with the officials themselves.

Hey, I used to love watching NHL hockey too. But when the league went into their "left-wing locks" and "center-ice traps" and let the game deteriorate into a hook'n'hold travesty, they became unwatchable also. And again, you couldn't blame the NHL on-ice officials for that either imo. They had direction from the league as to what they had to call and what to let go.

I don't really know what to say here. I know you and many others have a disdain for the pro game and that's fine. All I can really say is that I wish you could just go on a road trip with a pro referee and just see how we conduct business and how the bosses interact and talk to us.

There is nothing of entertainment value discussed. It is just about getting plays right, communicating effectively and professionally and last but not least, running and managing the ball game.

I might be bias here, but I truly don't feel that the pro games' rules are based on entertainment. They r based on common sense and precedent (sp?). The basis of our game is freedom of movement. We want players to be able to move freely so that they are able to showcase their great talent, something that I feel is missing in the college game, although I don't hate the college game at all, just a personal observation.

As far as "star treatment" goes, I can promise you it doesn't exist. If u break down the amount of time that kobe or durant has the ball vs. The amount of times they go to the line it will be proprtional to the league avg. Of how long a player has the ball and goes to the line. Star players just have the ball in their possession so much that they r just going to get more fouls called on top of the fact that the best players are also the smartest players so, in turn, they know when players are out of position, they know when players are "backpedalling" and how to attack accordingly, they just know the game better and play it with more craftiness than all the others.

That's my opinion and true belief on it.

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by btaylor64

I don't really know what to say here. I know you and many others have a disdain for the pro game and that's fine. All I can really say is that I wish you could just go on a road trip with a pro referee and just see how we conduct business and how the bosses interact and talk to us.

There is nothing of entertainment value discussed. It is just about getting plays right, communicating effectively and professionally and last but not least, running and managing the ball game.

I might be bias here, but I truly don't feel that the pro games' rules are based on entertainment. They r based on common sense and precedent (sp?). The basis of our game is freedom of movement. We want players to be able to move freely so that they are able to showcase their great talent, something that I feel is missing in the college game, although I don't hate the college game at all, just a personal observation.

As far as "star treatment" goes, I can promise you it doesn't exist. If u break down the amount of time that kobe or durant has the ball vs. The amount of times they go to the line it will be proprtional to the league avg. Of how long a player has the ball and goes to the line. Star players just have the ball in their possession so much that they r just going to get more fouls called on top of the fact that the best players are also the smartest players so, in turn, they know when players are out of position, they know when players are "backpedalling" and how to attack accordingly, they just know the game better and play it with more craftiness than all the others.

That's my opinion and true belief on it.

You completely missed JR's point. One of his arguments is that you can talk about getting plays "right" all you want, but the critical factor is how you define "right" decisions.

BTW this gets an automatic nomination for the most laughable sentence ever posted on the forum, " I truly don't feel that the pro games' rules are based on entertainment."

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by btaylor64

I don't really know what to say here. I know you and many others have a disdain for the pro game and that's fine. All I can really say is that I wish you could just go on a road trip with a pro referee and just see how we conduct business and how the bosses interact and talk to us.

There is nothing of entertainment value discussed. It is just about getting plays right, communicating effectively and professionally and last but not least, running and managing the ball game.

I might be bias here, but I truly don't feel that the pro games' rules are based on entertainment. They r based on common sense and precedent (sp?). The basis of our game is freedom of movement. We want players to be able to move freely so that they are able to showcase their great talent, something that I feel is missing in the college game, although I don't hate the college game at all, just a personal observation.

As far as "star treatment" goes, I can promise you it doesn't exist. If u break down the amount of time that kobe or durant has the ball vs. The amount of times they go to the line it will be proprtional to the league avg. Of how long a player has the ball and goes to the line. Star players just have the ball in their possession so much that they r just going to get more fouls called on top of the fact that the best players are also the smartest players so, in turn, they know when players are out of position, they know when players are "backpedalling" and how to attack accordingly, they just know the game better and play it with more craftiness than all the others.

That's my opinion and true belief on it.

Ben, let me put it another way....

I hope that the direction on play-calling is coming from the NBA head office. If not, then NBA officials as a whole are just not doing a very good job overall officiating their game by their own rule book. I don't really care how much you talk about "conducting business" either. If what you say is true, it just ain't working. And I'm not an "official hater" or a fanboy of any particular team either; about as far from it as you can get. I used to be a big-time Celtics fan - going back to the late 50's. Now, with Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace with their foul mouths and unsporstmanlike play being their showcase, I hope they lose every damn game they play. They are an impossible team to like imo. And they're just one of many teams in the league that just aren't very likeable. I'm just sick of the swearing, chest-pounding and posturing that is a staple of just about every game played. And somebody is allowing them to play this way.

I think I know a little bit about officiating. But I DON'T know what a foul is in the NBA. I see fouls called where I can't see any contact at all, even on a replay. I see fouls not called when a player is knocked into the eighth row with heavy contact. Freedom of movement? Don't think so. And the foul-calling is NOT consistent from end to end, play to play or from player to player also. What is a foul now might not be a foul 2 minutes from now. And I also see the LeBron James' of the world take as many steps as they want to when they pick up the ball. The traveling that is allowed in that league is simply ridiculous.

If the NBA game isn't being officiated under league direction of what the NBA wants called, then the current NBA officials deserve the flak they are getting. My opinion is that the blame should lie with the officials' supervisors. But if I'm wrong and it should lie with the current officiating staff instead, so be it.

And I might be biased also, but I think that the officiating in the major NCAA conferences is more consistent and much better when it comes to actual play calling than what I see in an average NBA game.

That's my opinion and true belief on a game that I used to love. And I sureashell ain't the only one with that opinion!

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

You completely missed JR's point.

Yup. I wasn't crapping on the officials. I was questioning their direction.

[Nevadaref]

Updated: April 28, 2010, 7:19 PM ET
Howard fined for criticizing officials

Associated Press


ORLANDO, Fla. -- Even on a day off, Dwight Howard can antagonize officials enough to draw a penalty.
The Orlando Magic center was fined $35,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for criticizing officials on his blog, the second time this season he's been penalized for posting such comments.

Howard was in chronic foul trouble and constantly complaining about officiating in the Magic's series sweep over Charlotte. He fouled out in the last two games, played only 105 minutes and committed 22 fouls in four games.
"I'm not looking to say anything to get myself in trouble with the league, but I just don't see other star players getting called for fouls the way I get them," Howard posted on his blog. "No star player in the league is outta games the way I am."
NBA commissioner David Stern has grown tired of all the griping and vowed to crack down on critical comments, challenging players and coaches last week to "make my day" by continuing to complain during the rest of the playoffs.
The Magic have thus far been the prime example.
Coach Stan Van Gundy and forward Matt Barnes were fined $35,000 each last week for criticizing officials and publicly questioning their calls on Howard. Orlando's All-Star center also was fined $15,000 in November for similar comments on his blog, although those were light compared to his latest post.
"I mean, it was almost comical at times how I was getting fouls called on me," Howard wrote. "There was nothing I could do [out] there and I felt like I couldn't even move without getting that whistle blown on me."
The Magic were off Tuesday and Wednesday. They will face the winner of the Atlanta-Milwaukee series in the second round.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

[Pantherdreams]

David Stern clearly does not frequent this blog!