Referees in the NBA seem destined to forever be a hot topic, especially among the fans of whichever team loses, so today I’m tackling the officiating so far in the NBA Finals.

The Tim Donaghy scandal and the recent parade of knee-jerk “the refs made sure we didn’t win” reaction losing teams and their fans employ have almost irrevocably blurred the line between legitimate gripes with officiating and just plain old whining.

There’s a big difference between the two and it’s no surprise that most of the improper criticizing of officials comes from bandwagon fans. The problem has become even more glaring with this year’s Finals, a hotly contested, physical battle between two teams that genuinely dislike each other.

Whether you highlight Kobe’s angry physical antics when losing (does anyone hysterically throw their arms up more during games?) or the venom exchanged between the two fanbases during the historic rivalry, enraged fans have been looking for the easiest excuse when their team loses.

You know, other than “the other team just played better.”

Kobe is among the leaders in complaining to referees.

Blaming the refs has fit that mold perfectly, although it’s a big joke coming from Lakers fans. I have very little doubt that crooked or impartial refs, gambling and the almighty dollar in general are possibly influencing how games are called in some form. If you honestly believe a money-making organization as big as the NBA is 100 percent clean then you’re a fool. But to listen to fans of the very franchise that has arguably benefited most (and in the most egregious ways) from questionable calls since the Shaq era in Los Angeles until now complain is absolutely ridiculous.

The officiating during the infamous 2002 Western Finals between LA and the Sacramento Kings was a downright travesty. The epic game 7 collapse by the 2000 Portland Trailblazers has also been redefined to exclude a sizeable free throw disparity (37-16) and awful calls. Derek Fisher has gotten more flops called his way than anyone since Vlade Divac. And I won’t even talk about how Shaq used to get away with camping in the lane and offensive fouls during the three-peat. It’s no coincidence that despite playing the same way since then he’s lost the benefit of his Lakers pass and gotten more whistles.

That brings us to this year. The Boston Celtics currently hold a 3-2 advantage in this year’s finals and are one win away from their NBA record 18th championship banner.

Every single game Boston has won was followed by Lakers fans complaining that the refs “screwed” them and favored Boston. Aside from the first two games, which were universally bashed as foul-fests created by whistle-happy refs, the last three games have been called pretty evenly. Both teams had some bad calls go against them, but it’s been mostly neutral. If there appeared to be any type of advantage at all, it’s actually for the Lakers.

This is why the anti-ref rants of LA fans seem even more hollow and hypocritical.

Of the five games played so far, the Lakers have shot 22 more total free throws (144-122) and have twice shot 10 or more in a game than Boston. So to suggest that the referees are giving the Celtics an advantage at the line is just a lie.

Well then they call more fouls on LA right? No.

Let’s look at the numbers; 127 total fouls called against Boston, 121 against Los Angeles. Combine that with the fact that the Lakers drive to the basket considerably less than Boston (LA has shot 18 more 3-pointers so far despite having six fewer total attempts) and at least 10 late-game intentional fouls LA has committed and you see just how many breaks they’ve really gotten.

Scientific diagram depicting the logic behind Lakers fans complaining about officiating.

The bottom line for the last two games has been that Boston has just wanted it more and played harder as a team, something LA has failed to do. The refs have done a decent job of not being the focus of each game and “let the players play.”

So quit the whining Lakers fans, because complaining about NBA officiating while supporting a franchise with such a checkered history on the issue just looks pathetic. Nobody believes your empty cries, especially not when guys like Mike Bibby, Jameer Nelson, Dikembe Mutombo, and countless others look back at all the uncalled elbows and phantom fouls.

LA is the major market team with the top-selling star and all the Hollywood glitz, so I won’t be surprised if this series goes seven games or if they once again benefit from some home cooking to get a ring. This is entertainment and deep pockets and all that shine go a long way.

Just don’t be too shocked if every so often someone without all that glamour exposes your carefree entitlement and punches you in your mouth and takes what you want.

Do like your hero Kobe says and man up or get out.

- Will.

The Sports Snob will be published once a week here on YouBeenBlinded.com. Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

Game 4 between the Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs was a classic. Great plays, comebacks, and a tussle… All of the things that make sports fun to watch. It’s really great to take in the action without being attached to either team. I don’t care who wins the series I just want great action and I haven’t been disappointed yet.. Well, that’s not exactly true.

I know this is a tired take, but the NBA officiating is not fantastic. Basketball is one of the hardest sports to ref, especially since the rules are pretty easy to comprehend by anyone watching, leading to people arguing over what is a foul and what isn’t. With that said, I found myself saying the league must have made “the call” to the refs at the start of the 4th quarter. San Antonio, the home team, couldn’t get a call. I’m not big into conspiracy theories but if the Spurs had went up 3-1, the Suns could have gone ahead and cancelled Christmas. With the league’s best story (the Warriors) already on the ropes, the NBA needs it’s favorite team the Phoenix Suns around for as long as possible. I thought I was alone in seeing the referee bias but True Hoop and the story Henry linked to felt the same way.

Another thing I’m disappointed with is all the whining that the Phoenix Suns’ fans are doing. I hate to say this but SHUT THE HELL UP. Jeezus. First, you want the NBA to change the rules so Steve Nash can have 4 hours to fix his bleeding nose. Thank God he didn’t break his leg because Suns fan would be asking the NBA to suspend the playoffs until Steve healed. Second, Amare and the Suns’ fans calling the Spurs dirty while Raja Bell still suits up for Phoenix is beyond funny. Yes, you can slow down some tape and show Bruce Bowen intentionally/unintentionally stepping on Amare’s heel. Yes, you can argue that Bowen kneed Nash in the nads on purpose, but you don’t need to slow down anything to see Bell’s clothesline of Kobe Bryant last year, a play dirtier than ANY violation in this year’s playoffs. Including Baron Davis’ Horry-like take-down of Derek Fisher.

Speaking of the Horry take-down.. I was pretty sure that the league would suspend Big Shot Rob for two games to balance out the fact that two Suns were getting suspended for game 5. I’m not glad that I was right, but I am somewhat familiar with how the league thinks. I would have been cool if Horry got a game and Amare got a game but Diaw was allowed to play. Boris did leave the bench but not with the same intensity as S.T.A.T. If Stoudemire had made his way to the melee, something bad might have happened. Boris probably would have done the baseball square dance. The NBA “leaving the bench” rule needs to be, and probably will be, examined at the end of the playoffs. As the rule stands, the NBA made the right decision. And before you say what about The Big Fundamental, I’ve seen the footage of Duncan stepping away from the bench but that’s not nearly the same thing. As a matter of fact, that happens all of the time. When you see a big play down the stretch in a tight game, watch the bench. Guys are jumping up and down and celebrating..Some of them spill onto the floor. Check out the bench when a team knows it’s about to call a timeout.. You’ll see a player or two wander out onto the floor. It’s not malicious. It doesn’t carry the same intent.

And finally I’m disappointed in everybody sweating Dirk Nowitzki for winning the NBA MVP award. Like I’ve said before, it’s a regular season award. Dirk was the man in the regular season. It’s strange that when Shaq (or Shaque Cousteau) said the NBA MVP award has been tainted lately, everybody jumped down his throat.. Claiming he said Steve Nash’s MVP’s are tainted when he clearly said the last 4 or 5 years. Some people even went as far as to call Shaq a racist. Now that Nash didn’t win, people are saying the award is meaningless, the voting is a joke, the voting should take place after the playoffs, blah blah blah… Enough already. Do people realize that if the MVP voting came after the playoffs, Steve Nash would have ZERO MVPs? Dwayne Wade would have won the MVP last year and Tim Duncan would have won the year before. Dirk was the best player on the best team in the regular season. The exact reason that Nash won the MVP his first year. I don’t care if Nash had a better statistical season this year than last year. The players aren’t competing against themselves for the award. Follow this example.. A man wins salesman of the year two consecutive years at his company. In the third year, he sells more than he did the first two years, but another employee sells more than him. Who’s gonna win salesman of the year? The other employee. It’s the exact same thing. Steve Nash not winning the MVP doesn’t take away from his status. There were years when Michael Jordan could/should have won the MVP and didn’t. It happens. Nash is a great player.. better than Nowitzki.. And I guarantee you, if Phoenix wins the championship Steve Nash won’t give a damn about his two MVPs or “the one that got away”.

NBA suspends Stoudemire, Diaw for leaving bench. Thank you ESPN

Phoenix Got the Calls. Thank you True Hoop (ESPN)

Oh, Why Not. Thank you Section F Sports

Shaq says recent MVP awards ‘tainted’. Thank you MSNBC

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A study conducted by Justin Wolfers, an assistant professor of business and public policy at the Wharton School, and Joseph Price, a Cornell graduate student in economics reports that during the 13 seasons from 1991 through 2004, white referees called fouls at a greater rate against black players than against white players. The study also found that black refs called more fouls against white players.

The duo of Wolfers and Price did a lot of research for their study and even submitted the results to the NBA. David Stern had his own team of nerds do some research and they came up with some different results:

“We think our cut at the data is more powerful, more robust, and demonstrates that there is no bias.”

Of course you do Mr. Stern. Unfortunately for Stern the New York Times had 3 independent experts compare the Wolfers-Price paper to the NBA report, and all 3 concluded that the Wolfers and Price study was “far more sound”.

I decided to do my own study and here’s what I discovered:

• Violet Palmer calls fouls against males 100% of the time.
• 12 of the top 20 most foul prone players (min. of 40 games) are black, 5 are foreign born, 3 are white Americans, 2 are O’Neals, 2 are Warriors, 2 are Cavaliers, and 17 are big men (6’9″+).
• Joey Crawford hates Tim Duncan regardless of color.
• Dirk Nowitzki (12) and Chris Kaman (8) led non-blacks in technical fouls.
• Euros don’t foul flagrantly.
• Rasheed Wallace (21 techs) was ejected 1 time while Chucky Atkins (4 techs) was ejected twice.
• I have too much time on my hands.

While I’m poking fun at the study, it does have some interesting information. I can’t wait for the next report: BASEBALL UMPIRES CALL MORE STRIKES AGAINST LATINOS

Study of NBA Sees Racial Bias in Calling Fouls. Thank you The New York Times

NBA players foul statistics. Thank you NBA.com

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