NBA

[Impar Tiality]

Why does "the most dominate physical player", foul out so rarely. He seems to finish most games with 3 fouls while 2 or 3 of his defenders foul out(even quality guys). How come he recieves so few offensive(elbow clearout) fouls? He definately get more free throw attempts after lay-ups or dunks.
What about Phil leaving him in with 4 fouls for more than 6 min.. Any other center would be called for their fifth within a couple of minutes!

[ilya]

he never gets called for offensive fouls for 2 reasons:
1) he's so domminate it's jsut a thing he always does
2) la has a lot of money

[steve gillies]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Because people pay big $$ to see this player play.That if he fouls out in 2nd or 3rd qtr. Nobody will want to pay to watch this.
Big money players in Big money markets are what NBA and NBC and most bandwagon fans want to see.Money dosen"t talk it swares.

[jackgil]

Well Impartiality -

Because there is a conspiracy and the refs are prejudiced or being bribed. Right?

[pizanno]

ever consider that maybe he's such a dominant player BECAUSE he 'never' fouls out?

Just wondering...

[Hawks Coach]

On a couple of occasions, I have seen the "most dominant player" called for traveling, even when he got hammered inside(clearly after the travel, but if there is bias, shouldn't make a difference). This in the league that supposedly has never made a traveling call. The ref probably forgot he was instructed to favor Shaq on those calls. We should probably look for him to be fined or fired for failure to exercise adequate bias

[Impar Tiality]

Everyone but jackgil actually had something to say. very nice.
Now if anyone would dare the specifics?
What about the elbow clear outs?
How about advantage being toward the bigger player in an in-the-air-collision? No advantage = non-call.
I'm not only talking about one player either.
Lot's of "Superstars" seem to get the benefit.
It's a matter of perceptions, not conspiracy.

[Mark Padgett]

To understand the NBA's position regarding their product being entertainment as opposed to pure sport, and why some players are treated differently, I suggest you read the book "Calling The Shots" by the late, great former NBA referee Earl Strom. It also gives great insight into the craft(yes, I said craft) of refereeing.

[Brian Watson]

Would one of the conspiracy theory junkies care to tell me when or at least pin point a general time when NBA refs started throwing games?

I think it would be a stretch to say NBA refs were biased back in the days of Wilt and Russell, after all baseball was more popular then, and it certainly was not the entertainment juggernaut it is now. However, can someone refresh my memory on how many times Wilt (arguably the most dominant player of his time) fouled out? If you know the answer, then Pizanno just might be correct. One rarely fouls out if one is the most dominant player of that era, it’s called talent.

And trust me, it pains me to say that because I am not a Shaq fan. But, no one in the league can carry his jock right now (although his free throw skills seem to remind me of another laker big man...).

[JoeT]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mark Padgett:
...I suggest you read the book "Calling The Shots" by the late, great former NBA referee Earl Strom.

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Hey Mark, thanks for the book tip. I looked it up, and it's out of print. Amazon.com will try to find one for you though. Barnes and Noble had one copy available, but.... well... they don't any more!

Joe

[beancenzo]

I like Shaq but one call that was not made, but should have, ocurred in the Portland series, game 7. Portland was down 2 with less than a minute remaining. Steve Smith drove to the basket for a layup and Shaq came over and "bumped" Smith out during the shot, causing Smith to miss.

It sure looked like a shooting foul. Instead, no call was made.

[jackgil]

Impar -

Thanks, I appreciate that.

I agree with Brian and Pizzano. Certain players (even "physical players") rarely foul out of games not because the refs favor them but because they play "smart". Jimmy Walker, the great guard for Providence College (I realize he is not a Shaq in size but he was a big, physical guard for his time) fouled out of 1 game in his college career. And he fouled out of very few games in his NBA career.

Jack

[steve gillies]

I"m not a shaq fan but that play I beleive your talking about was a great no-call.Steve Smith ran wright into shaq.Who was jumping strait up.You can"t penalize his size.Either way it didn"t effect the outcome.Going 8 min.with out scoreing won"t move you on in any level of the game