“Let Them Play” vs Tony Brothers
‘Tony - Making the Calls’ (Stephen Dunn - NBAE/Getty Images)
Final stages of game 2. Bobby Jackson’s game tying 3-ball sails through the net, and the camera unexpectedly jerks back in Kirilenko’s direction for having drawn a crucial offensive foul on Luis Scola. Moments later, a quick flick of Korver’s wrist on the other end of the court drove the second painful nail into Houston’s post-season coffin.
As another Jazz win against the Rockets came as little surprise to much of the national media, most of the coverage the following day hovered around Scola’s game-altering offensive foul at the end of the game. The banter quickly spun into a debate of whether a ref should back off and refrain from deciding a game down the stretch. Is there any accountability for players anymore?
There is no merit to the argument that a ref should hold his tongue and “let them play.” The biggest criticism leveled against the NBA is the lack of foul consistency. The Donaghy scandal more grossly exposed an age-old issue of referees having too much power to determine the outcome of a game. Elite players have always been said to receive “star treatment” from the referees. However, that is not a valid reason for refs to pocket their whistles and blend in with fans when the game is on the line. In fact, the opposite is true.
What is the difference between a ref betting on the game and the ref becoming timid with this whistles, thereby changing the way the game is being called late in the 4th quarter? Either way, the ref is using unpredictable discretion to call the game, undermining the integrity of the league and giving more fuel to NBA haters who love to attribute a win or loss to a zebra rather than a careless Argentinian.
Similarly, a no-call has just as much influence on a game as a whistle. Refraining from making a call can be just as deliberate as making it. If the ref had missed that offensive foul, do you honestly think there would be less criticism of the refs over the last day ‘n a half? It would all be coming from Utah, but the blame would be much the same.
The only way to take a referee’s undue influence out of a game is to mandate that the game be called consistently from the first minute to the last. In that situation, the ref cannot be criticized as often because he has only the discretion necessary to allow for acceptable human error.
It is about time haters take a step back and acknowledge the irony of their position. They clamor for refs to play spectator during crunch time when it is that approach that encourages day-after conversations to swirl around Tony Brothers rather than Luis Scola.
4 Comments to ““Let Them Play” vs Tony Brothers”
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Bottom line… if your game plan was weighted so heavily on the other team not flopping… I’d say that you have a pretty crappy game plan. Everyone flops. You can’t stop it unless you give refs an instant replay system to review calls. But since that hasn’t happened yet, its pretty common sense to play smart.
But honestly what can you expect from a team that hasn’t made it out of the first round in the past 6 tries (and shaping up to be 7). T-Mac isn’t accepting any responsibility for himself. The coach wants is more than the players do, so of course he is grouchy. The rest of the team, they all want to be “The Guy” who steps up to help, but non of them are talented enough to be “The Guy” Maybe Alston can make a series altering difference if he plays tonight.
Final plee to the Rockets… Come on guys. You have to be able to admit when you are down, out-manned, out-talented, and simply out of a series.
With or without Yao the rockets still stink. People use the injuries as an excuse. Then i remind them that they did just as well without Yao and Rafer might be a little help IF T-Mac MIGHT actually pass the ball to him. But hey if T-mac wants to go 7 for 22 thats fine with me. Hes just helping the Jazz more than helping the Rockets.
Reffing; Finding competent reffs must sorta be like finding a qualified person to run for public office, especially POTUS, meaning real tough. One would think out of 300 million folks we could find a hundred or so that have some knowledge of the rules of the game. (Big Sigh).
If the idea of the league is to allow a bit more contact during playoffs, fine, but they still have the responsibility to call real calls. I swear these guys are either sleeping or daydreaming. Yes I know that I am a biased fan, but really, when someone seems to be defying all physics laws known to mankind, someone else probably had some input to contribute to such activities. Think about it.
I will mention how proud I am of the JazzMen for putting up with seemingly, so many bad calls, no calls, dreaming calls. The world of the NBA is better off that I do attend but one game a year, as I am not so sure that I could contain my own emotions as well.
The following from Basket ball John in a post following game 2.
“And I’ll echo the sentiment by RRR. The refs are plain awful. I really can’t remember a year when the they’ve been this bad. They missed calls, they made wrong calls, and this particular set seemed to think that the game was about them and that they’re in control. Do you want to know how you’ve got bad refs? When their antics resemble Enrico Pollazzo and not officials. They’re out of position on calls and in Deron’s leveling, the ref was more worried about whether the shooter’s feet were behind the three-point line than what was going on in front of him. And of course Rockets fans have a legitimate gripe when AK did some great acting to draw an offensive foul from Scola when Bobby Jackson had just made a game-tying three. But there were other missed calls. Scola and McGrady got to extend their arms all night to make room. Price was called for a block when Jackson was spinning out of control. Deron was called for a travel after receiving the ball in the air and coming down. And Boozer was whacked on the head on one of his lay-ups. Like RRR stated, can we can find competent refs amongst the population? And whatever happened to Stern’s promise of more transparency for the refs? There needs to be some accountability for these things.”
http://www.basketballjohn.com/2008/04/22/recap-utah-jazz-houston-rockets-round-1-game-2/#comments
What I know for sure is that my resume will not be appearing at NBA HQ for one of these jobs. Who with right mind would desire to run a marathon in 100′ sprints? With most in attendance willing to take you “outside” for a little one on one action as well? I realize it is one tough job, but sometimes you need to provide more than your best effort, you need to make the correct calls at the correct time.
u need to stop tlkin bout the refs like that. they have such a hard job. if so so good at seein bad call why dont u go go be a ref. and tony brothers just happens to be my dad.
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