Foul Play in the NBA

May 18, 2017

After watching the first game of the NBA playoff round between the Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs, I thought about the foul-calling criteria and how it ruins the whole experience for many fans. Sure, the referees will call fouls which is part of the game, but now it's becoming an essential factor that influences victory. The officials are dictating flow by how much contact they allow. Plain and simple.

Referees monitor and control the speed in any sport where officiating involves a lot of objective calls. In baseball, an umpire needs to call balls and strikes; 95% of the time, they make the right decision. They are allowed more scrutiny in hockey and soccer, but football and basketball are reaching new levels of highly technical and nitpicky rulings of plays. They constantly stop the game to look at something and throw on headphones while looking at a television monitor. Then we wait as fans until some guy in New York makes a decision.

So back to the Warrior and Spur game. The whole situation of Kawhi Leonard and Zaza Pachulia is enough to throw your TV out the window. The crux of the discussion involves; is a player dirty because he might have intently stepped on another player's shoe is stuff for tabloids. If you watch the replay over a million times, you will never know what this guy was thinking. He stepped on the guy's foot, so a foul should be called. So, now can we move on? Basketball is a contact sport, and expecting huge men not to bump into each other is fruitless. There must be some give and take on this contact thing.

This year, in particular, I notice more and more players throw their bodies into a defender to shoot a foul shot. It is getting to the point where defenders have to act like statues and only put their arms up. Even that is exploited by the likes of James Harden, who initiates all the contact but gets to shoot free throws. The NBA better handle this quickly because it is becoming embarrassing for the sport.

With foul calling being so scrutinized in the NBA, a summit should be called this off-season. One set of rules needs to be established that are consistent throughout the league. The James Hardin style of play must be changed. If anything, make it a one-shot foul. My pet peeve has always been the leniency of traveling calls. Players are carrying the ball with them all over the court. What happened to one and a half steps? Lastly, all the begging and pleading needs to be reined in. Players who complain and moan to the refs should be called for more technical fouls and fined. Displeasure is one thing but acting like a spoiled baby is irritating for all to see. Are we as fans happy about the current state of the officiating in the NBA? I have heard the gripes all season which is getting louder.

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