2014 NBA Playoffs: 10 Burning Questions (Part 1)
10. Can we do something about the quality of officiating?
Every year the quality of officiating in the NBA seems to be a bigger and bigger concern, especially once the playoffs roll around. This year it’s no different, with a number of controversial late-game calls serving as fodder for an endless debate that does nothing but rile up helpless Twitter trolls. In Game 1 of their first round series against the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers committed a crucial turnover when Draymond Green poked the ball away from Chris Paul. The NBA later admitted a foul should have been called, but going to the monitors couldn’t fix that initial mistake since a foul was not called on the floor. By letter of the law, it was Warriors ball and the Dubs took Game 1.
In Game 5 of their current series, the Clippers once again got the worse end of an officiating controversy when the Oklahoma City Thunder were awarded the ball under very similar circumstances. Reggie Jackson was fouled attacking the basket with 11 seconds, but no foul was called and the ball went off his hands. By the same logic as that first round call, it should have been Clippers ball and the Thunder should have been screwed (just like the Clippers were) by the no-call. But the refs went by the spirit of the rule and awarded the ball to OKC. We all know what happened from there.
The same play happened in Game 5 between the Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat, with the Nets being awarded the ball after LeBron James appeared to have fouled Paul Pierce and the ball went out of bounds off of The Truth. The Nets lost the game, but can you imagine the uproar that same call would have generated if Brooklyn had somehow pulled out a win? Between stoppages in play for late-game calls, unbearably annoying clear-path fouls, double technicals and a general incompetence of the vast majority of referees, this is leaving “bothersome” territory and fringing on “crisis.”
Simple fix: add an official whose sole job is to handle video replays to streamline the process; change the clear-path foul so it stops breaking up the action (or eliminate it entirely); stop giving players a technical for every damn word of trash they talk or sour look they give an official; let these guys play; and for the love of God, train these officials to be better. Whether that means throwing more money at them or making them train more, I don’t care. But the only bad thing about the 2014 NBA Playoffs so far (other than our next topic) has been the horrendous officiating across the board.