Every year the NBA hands out several awards to the most deserving and talented players in the league; The Defensive Player of the Year award is one of the most prized honors. However, with the officiating trends of the last several years...does the award mean anything anymore?
Drive to the Hole...Walk to the Line
When you take a cursory glance at the NBA, it's very obvious to see the most common pattern in any game. As the shot clock is winding down the finest players in the game will clear out the lane and head for the cup; usually drawing a foul in the process. However, when you take a closer look at the action, it's clear to see every NBA player knows how to capitalize on this current officiating trend.
Foul vs. Assumption
Back in the 1980s and the early to mid 90s if you drove to basket, you had to sustain hard physical contact in order to draw a foul. Simply getting tapped on the shoulder as you drove to the bucket wasn't enough to send you to the line. Make no mistake, honest hard contact is still called a foul and rightfully so, but the trend of small bumps, and "love taps" now constitute foul shots which can drastically take away from the art of solid defense and also change the tempo and even the outcome of the game. Thanks to modern technology which provides extensive replays of most every play, it's very obvious to see that many officials make foul calls based on assumption...rather than honest hard contact. When a player drives the lane and has to maneuver around several big men in order to get to the basket, the player will contort his body and in the process get "tapped" or impeded by a hip or shoulder rub...and thus a foul is called. In live time the foul "may" seem logical, but in many replays it's very apparent that little, or in some cases, NO CONTACT ever occurred. If you make a strong drive to the basket and have to elude the big men to do it, you'll most likely get the foul bailout.
Statistics and Fan Reaction
When you look through the NBA archives and look at current box scores compared to box scores from the 1980s, the total fouls per game are about the same. Actually many games had more fouls. However, what you don't see is the breakdown of offensive and defensive fouls. In our current age, an NBA game has 45 fouls per contest, on average. The majority of those fouls are shooting fouls or contact made while going to the basket. Offensive fouls are far less frequent in the overall foul total of a given game. The NBA fans have been very vocal about the current state of NBA officiating and have spoken loud and clear. Internet blogs are filled with people wanting to know where the NBA has gone...and who stole the game they loved as a kid. Many fans feel NBA officials have too much control over the game and can almost dictate the outcome and force momentum swings with a simple blow of the whistle.
Tim Donaghy Scandal
Many conclusions can be drawn about NBA officials and how they impact the games, but the current criticism (of any sort) certainly has a root. The Tim Donaghy betting scandal certainly gave fans a reason to form harsh opinions and honestly question the integrity of the game. Donaghy was investigated by the FBI for allegedly betting on games during his final two seasons as an NBA official. The allegations also suggested that he made certain calls that would impact the actual game and affect the point spread. In July of 2008, Donaghy pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. Since the Donaghy investigation and conviction, many fans view NBA officials as slanted manipulators who are only out to make an "under the table" profit. Right or wrong, many NBA fans lost trust in honest officiating after the Donaghy scandal.
Final Thoughts
The NBA is a trend maker, but also a trend follower. Over the years a new culture has entered the league and with it, many changes have taken place. The older fan base has grown tired of the current NBA product, but the kids of today seem to relate to many of the current superstars. The league is filled with talented players; and Kobe Bryant and Lebron James are two of the finest players the league has ever seen. However, for those who think this is the "Golden Age" of the NBA…many fans would have to "blow the whistle" on that call. In the eyes of "old school" fans, the phrase "I Love This Game", is on the verge of becoming...an official antique.
Sources:
Macmullan, Jackie (2007) "Officially, it's quite a mess" Retrieved June, 3 2009 from boston.com
