Touch for Attetion

This short NY Times piece about a possible Tim Donaghy fixed call unintentionally highlights the larger problem with NBA officiating, the huge amount of discretion they have, and the notion of letting the players decide the game.

 

“The Bulls-Warriors game of Feb. 9, played at Golden State and broadcast on ESPN, was tied, 112-112, with 23 seconds remaining,” explains the Times. “While a Bulls guard dribbled between midcourt and the 3-point shot line — clearly working the clock down for an attempt at a final shot — Warriors center Andris Biedrens stood in the lane without guarding anyone for about seven seconds, which is grounds for a defensive three-seconds violation.

Donaghy, stationed behind Biedrens on the baseline, clearly stepped forward and tapped Biedrens on the waist with 16 seconds left. Biedrens, by then at the edge of the lane, then immediately moved clear of the paint, and play continued… A veteran official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because speaking with the news media violates the referees’ collective-bargaining agreement with the N.B.A., said that in such a situation he would not have blown the whistle because the violation was too trivial in a crucial moment. “I would let the players determine the game,” he said… The official added that touching a player or providing any sort of a warning that a whistle is imminent — from either that referee or another on the floor — is forbidden.

I would never touch him — it would show up on tape,” the official said. “We used to be able to say something like ‘Get out! Get out!’ But they said that was cheating. We considered it game management.””

 

Got that? Players can camp out in the lane without fear of a 3-second violation because even the good refs don’t want their calls to determine the game. Donaghy’s big indiscretion in this instance was touching the player. Presumably, if he still hadn’t called the lane violation after, say, 15 seconds, that would still be ok with the league. Nobody, least of all the NBA, wants refs to enforce basic rules of basketball that might affect the game (sarcasm intended.). This could be one of the other big fallouts of the Donaghy scandal. Close scrutiny of officiated games is going to reveal that the calls, mindset and philosophy of the refs is, uh, uneven at best.