JVG is no longer the only one who knows about what the referees should be calling
 

Television viewers have long relied on broadcasters to provide analysis and explanations about the often-questionable decisions made by NBA referees.

Steve Javie hopes to change that.

The longtime NBA official, who retired before the start of this season due to an arthritic right knee after 25 years in the league, has been hired by ESPN as a rules analyst for pregame and postgame coverage of the NBA Finals, as well as SportsCenter. Javie hopes to follow in the footsteps of Mike Pereira, the former NFL vice president of officiating who has been sensational for Fox Sports in helping viewers understand the NFL's byzantine rule book.

In an interview with SI.com on Sunday, Javie said Pereira's success inspired him to pitch ESPN on a similar position months ago. Last week, Laurie Orlando, ESPN's senior vice president of talent planning and development, reached out to Javie to do a segment on SportsCenter on the officiating of the Heat-Celtics series. Network officials were pleased with what they saw and have now invited him to work the NBA Finals.

"Mike and I are friends and I think what he's done has been fantastic," Javie said. "He's been the trailblazer here and he told me he thought the NBA, ESPN or TNT would be interested in something like this. I think Mike has really gained credibility for officials in the NFL, but fans of the NBA have never heard from or been given the perspective from the officials' point of view. I'm hoping for positive feedback because I believe it's something that's been missing. I hope people come away and say, "Boy, I didn't even look at it that way, and I never knew that."

Asked whether he could criticize his former NBA colleagues, Javie offered a nuanced take. "One thing officials do all time is critique each other as a crew when we are watching film after a game," he said. "You have to be open, honest and objective. The first thing I tell young referees is if you are not objective enough to admit your mistakes, you are not growing in the profession. The key is why did I blow the whistle or not blow the whistle, and I think I'll be able to offer that perspective. I can probably show you the reason nine times out of 10 why an official missed the play, whether it was because of the angle or the positioning they were in. People need to know how they could miss something.

"Now I'm not going to be a jerk about it because these are my guys. But I want to be the voice of the official and tell people, 'Look at this play. Maybe you should have had a whistle here, but here is the reason why they didn't blow it.' I won't be a guy who blasts the officials but at the same time I will be someone who points out to fans that the ref did not get a call right and here's why. It's not necessarily a criticism but an explanation on why a call was missed."

For years Javie ranked as one of the league's highest-rated referees, with a reputation for talking things out with players as well as being quick to deliver a technical when needed. Among his highlights were calling Michael Jordan's final game in 2003 and ejecting both a mascot (Hoops, of Washington Bullets fame, in 1991) and a broadcaster (Trail Blazers analyst Mike Rice in 1994, for disputing his calls).

Last year Javie called Games 1 and 6 of the NBA Finals between the Heat and Mavericks, one of 18 Finals he has worked over his career. What kind of challenge do star players such as Kevin Durant or LeBron James present for referees?

"I believe when you have great players, they make the game easier to officiate," Javie said. "They do great things and people are astonished by it. But as an official, in my experience, when you get to the Finals, you have the best players, the best teams -- and with someone like Durant and LeBron, their play is elevated and I think it makes it easier for officials. Does that mean there won't be difficult plays? No. But the better the player they are, the easier the game is to officiate in my experience."

Javie was told during his interview with SI.com about a joke making its way through the sports blogosphere about Thunder center Kendrick Perkins receiving a technical from the refs before the start of the series. "That's a pretty good line," Javie said, laughing. "Kendrick Perkins is a very intense player as we all know. I don't know him personally, but he seems to be a nice guy who lets his emotions get a hold of him at times. But in the playoffs, a lot of times the players keep their emotions more in check because they know one point can mean the game. I think in the Finals, you'll see the players make a concerted effort to be under control."


Read more: Former referee Steve*Javie joins ESPN team; Belmont, NBA draw strong ratings - Richard Deitsch - SI.com

If this works out as well as it has for the NFL, that will be great.

What would have worked out even better would be if Javie replaced JVG. Now we'll probably have to listen to how he "disgrees with Javie on that call...they should change that rule."

I doubt the addition of some wisdom by Javie will balance out the stupidity of JVG.

There it is. We need more officials' advocates in the media.

The question that should have been asked is not whether or not he disagrees with calls made, but whether or not he will point out mistakes by JVG on the air. A full-time gig.

I'm sure ESPN will tell them to have some interplay about calls. It'll make for a better broadcast. He shouldn't be there to jump down JVG's throat. I don't think that would make Javie look good.

Interesting sitaution I noticed watching the NFL network last week. An old playoff game - from the 90s - was on and there was a very odd play. The officials ruled it correctly and Dick Enberg was rattling on how the call didn't make sense and that the NBC crew should ask Jerry Seeman (who was the officiating supervisor and happened to be in the press box) whether the crew handled it right. Seeman said "yes"...and Enberg still complained that the ruling made no sense! :)

More of the big sports are allowing some media scrutiny of this sort. Former NHL referee Kerry Fraser does a column for TSN (our ESPN) that evaluates controversial situations as suggested by fans. It's been really useful (really interested to see what he says about the controversial call in tonight's Stanley Cup game, as a matter of fact).

This kind of real-time interactive 'accountability' will only enhance the officials' credibility. Those guys get it right so often that highlighting their calls will just confirm that fact.

They had Javie on SportsCenter...wasn't a very long segment. Talked about Hardin trying to fool an official into a defense foul with a leg kick...then talked about a block/charge play involving Wade and Colllinson.

To be fair, this was a pretty clean game, so wasn't much to talk about.

I'd be more interested in added scrutiny to the idiocy coming from the mouths of the announcers, which tends to inflame fan sentiment.

Team Javie up with JVG. That would be worth watching. One fool (JVG) getting run over with facts rather than his form of fiction.

During Game 2 JVG stated that he knows how hard officiating is because he tried to officiate several scrimmages in practice! :D

Clearly, that's the same as calling the NBA Finals. :eek:

how could he know how hard it really is since he doesn't know the rules, or anything about being objective, impartial and unbiased.

That's all nice
 

I'll be really, really impressed when someone hires retired official to explain the calls, or more importantly, the no-calls, to parents. Maybe they can have a smartfone app with an earphone and get it explained while the game is in progress so they don't make fools of themselves. Needed especially for the two most brutal types of parent -- a) JVG in general and b) BV parents who think the guy with the whistle stands between their good-but-not-quite-superstar kid and NCAA-1 glory.

And I know how to coach because I'm helping my son's tball team.

Do it like the NFL on Fox?
 

They should have Javie in the studio ready to jump in with Magic and crew at halftime or longer unusual breaks for commentary. JVG is very good at jumping down an official or the rulebooks throat in game and being very level headed during these 5:00 minute segments after the damage is already done.