came across this piece which is eloquently written. i must say it is written by a GSW fan. but it was written before game 7.
http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2016/6/18/11970760/sympathy-for-the-devil-an-impartial-explanation-of-nba-officiatingSympathy for the Devil (an Impartial Explanation of NBA Officiating)
By cgun on Jun 18, 2016, 7:41pm
I've never seen the media flip a narrative so quickly as they have over the last seven days. Then again, we have never seen an NBA series flip so dramatically. Or be flipped. This post is in search of a reason that doesn't rely on conspiracy theories or ignore the obvious bias that propelled this series to game seven.
It starts with the business model adopted by the NBA early in the Stern years. For better or worse, that model was built around the idea that super-stardom attracts more viewers than fair play. As a result the NBA routinely and by design offers favorable rule interpretation to its stars. In the extreme, for the mega stars, it creates rule variations that help the star build legendary status akin to a video game character. The NBA also believes in the over-hyped story line, creating the illusion of rivalry games, and setting up a big stage under which its stars can shine brightest.
Enter the biggest star of his generation. He Flops. He Travels. He runs over defenders. The refs and league are not passive actors in this, they are actively enabling it. He wouldn't get those favors without being a generational talent. But to fans on teams he plays against, or anyone who values competition more than his legendary status, Lebron leaves a trail of controversy and frustration in the wake of his accomplishments.
Lets take a look at the events of last week through these lens.
1. Physical Play. Its was expected that the refs would let the Cavs be physical with the Warriors. There is a long standing practice of allowing physicality in playoffs. Its good that refs don't call as many fouls in the playoffs; neither fans nor the league nor the players want games decided with stars on the bench. The fact that this benefits the Cavs style of play isn't anyone's fault and the Cavs would be foolish to not take advantage of it. Yet there is the smell of a double standard left by overall lousy officiating.
2. Green's Suspension. Inexplicable from a policy standpoint. Why did the league office pick the NBA finals as the right time to suspend a player of Green's stature? Groin contact was neither injury threatening nor malicious. Lebron's actions were far more disrespectful than Green's. In order to achieve this result, the league office had to take the extraordinary steps of (a) imposing a flagrant foul retroactively, (b) reject the judgment of the officials on the floor, (c) base it on conduct that does not clearly fit the criteria established under rule for a flagrant, and (d) create a "groin shot" interpretation that could never be applied as policy across the league. Clearly this was done for a reason other than groin contact policy, player safety or accumulation of flagrants.
3. Steph Fouling Out. With Bogut out, having sacrificed a game to the Green suspension, on the road, a bad start to the game, the warriors claw back to single digits. Then Steph fouls out after two consecutive bad calls that take points off the board, effectively ending the comeback hopes. With all of the physical checking being allowed on Steph and Clay, with Steph being the reigning two time MVP and having his own legacy and superstar status in the spotlight, there are three horrible foul calls on Steph.
Follow the Motives
The league will make approximately $100M as a result of the finals being extended from game 5. Yes, its about money. (Pleased to meet you. Hope you guessed my name.) The league and its owners do not make more of it by the Cavs getting blown out and their superstar losing his luster. The NBA is a business. It makes decisions with the intent of increasing revenue.
The league has been pimping rules to make and monetize stars and perpetuate rivalries since the early days of Stern. The league purposefully assisted careers of all the superstars including Magic, Bird, Michael, Kobe, and its been there to help Lebron along his path since he was a high school player. What's new isn't the money motive, its the extraordinary measure the league took to prevent Dray from playing in a series clinching home game. Greedy and audacious without a doubt. But you don't need a conspiracy to explain this.
They are simply executing their business model.
POLL
Which of the following is the hardest to swallow about this series?
1. Double standard on the physicality allowed
2. Assessing a flagrant foul retroactively for minor (and arguably incidental) groin contact, resulting in suspension of a top player
3. Three phantom (or extremely bad) calls against the reigning two time MVP taking points off the board and effectively terminating hopes of a comeback
4. The NBA is rewarded with another $100M immediately by virtue of making these bad calls
5. The coincidence that all of the above happened, with no factors of significance helping the Warriors
6. Its not hard to swallow because none of that happened
the key two paragraph:
"It starts with the business model adopted by the NBA early in the Stern years. For better or worse, that model was built around the idea that super-stardom attracts more viewers than fair play. As a result the NBA routinely and by design offers favorable rule interpretation to its stars. In the extreme, for the mega stars, it creates rule variations that help the star build legendary status akin to a video game character. The NBA also believes in the over-hyped story line, creating the illusion of rivalry games, and setting up a big stage under which its stars can shine brightest.
Enter the biggest star of his generation. He Flops. He Travels. He runs over defenders. The refs and league are not passive actors in this, they are actively enabling it. He wouldn't get those favors without being a generational talent. But to fans on teams he plays against, or anyone who values competition more than his legendary status, Lebron leaves a trail of controversy and frustration in the wake of his accomplishments."
why does the NBA love LBJ so much? is there even another super star that is allowed to get away with so much? i can not think of another player actually. name another player who gets away with the crap that LBJ does. if i think about it, LBJ is actually the only player i truly dislike from the heart. i can not stand his act.
i love the game of basketball very much - especially the skills and the competition aspect of it. any player that puts winning above sportsmanship i dislike automatically. for example if if play someone with lot of skills, but goes for the bully ball tactic likes dropping shoulders and play physical offense but starts to call touch fouls i love nothing more to torch them with sheer skills. i respect people who plays with hustle and heart even if they are slightly less skilled... but that's just me i guess. but i know there are many like me.
