The ref issue

[aleZ]

(please don't move this in the Nets game thread as it's a general topic)

About time someone bring this up,
we're used to blame everybody in the organization for losses, but the officiating has a huge part in it even this season when the team has more exposure, more fans and is in general more media-friendly. The issues can be pointed out as follows.

- the Magic don't get any respect from the refs (see home games)
- our stars, Dwight as an example, get regularly hammered without calls
- opponents get free passes in crucial game situations, buzzer beaters etc.

I usually don't like to find scapegoats but if this crap goes on the season (and postseason) will be a lot tougher than it should be, for "external factors" so to speak.

[lovehoops01]

I had my say on this in the game thread, with plenty of specific examples.

The Magic need to address this situation with the league. The city, county and fans are going to be investing a lot of money in a new building and the team already has invested a lot of money in players. We deserve to get games officiated fairly in our own building so that our team can get wins at home, too. We might not be the NBA's biggest market, we might not have JayZ as an owner, we might not be located in the city next to the NBA front offices or have a former NBA vice president as our general manager, but that doesn't mean they should treat us like an unwanted red-headed stepchild. I just want fair.

[MagicMadness]

Oh. My. God. You have got to be kidding me.

Every single team's fans, whether it be the NBA, NCAA, MLB, NFL, etc. ALWAYS complains about the refs screwing their team when said team loses. Do you honestly think the NBA is out to get the Magic? Or do you maybe think the refs are just that bad that they mess up calls on both ends? I'll choose the latter.

[whocares]

Oh. My. God. You have got to be kidding me.

Every single team's fans, whether it be the NBA, NCAA, MLB, NFL, etc. ALWAYS complains about the refs screwing their team when said team loses. Do you honestly think the NBA is out to get the Magic? Or do you maybe think the refs are just that bad that they mess up calls on both ends? I'll choose the latter.

1. well said and that pretty much sums it up.

[lovehoops01]

I don't complain about the refs every game.

But you keep believing that they didn't miss all those calls that I listed in the game thread. Or that it hasn't happened before.

Or that they never hurt the Magic's chances of winning games. And they'll keep treating the Magic the same way and no one will hold the NBA accountable because the Magic fans just accept it. Because the NBA refs aren't human with their own personal feelings that sometimes affect their decisions and of course, they would never have another agenda (Tim Donaghy), right? It's always just the fault of the Magic players, coaches and team management.

[whocares]

1. here is the deal.
2. the first game between the nets and the magic which noone seems to remember was blatantly stolen from the nets by the act of refs.
3. why the selective memory?
4. these things unfortunately happen.
5. the refs are not stateless, tabula rasa machines which if the opposite would have been really fair for all the participants.
6. unless it is a slap in the face like the travesty 6th game between the kings and the lakers, the fans should not put too much effort into these.
7. a good team should beat the nets even when the refs are doing a poor job.
8. the magic lost the momentum of the game in the fourth and needed a perfect arbitration on the part of the refs which seldom happens.
9. the magic have to concentrate on the wrong things that they can control and try not to repeat them.

[magictreat]

That's a cop out, the players need to make plays, and Dwight have to make his freaking free throws, last night we lost by one, and Dwight went 3-10 from the line 30% that was the game right there.... I love my Magic, but stop making excuses, and play the game right.

[MagicMadness]

I don't complain about the refs every game.

But you keep believing that they didn't miss all those calls that I listed in the game thread. Or that it hasn't happened before.

Or that they never hurt the Magic's chances of winning games. And they'll keep treating the Magic the same way and no one will hold the NBA accountable because the Magic fans just accept it. Because the NBA refs aren't human with their own personal feelings that sometimes affect their decisions and of course, they would never have another agenda (Tim Donaghy), right? It's always just the fault of the Magic players, coaches and team management.

lovehoops, no offense to you or to your opinion, but I've just spent the past few days on an FSU football message board reading about how the refs screwed the Seminoles out of winning their latest bowl game. That just reinforces my opinion that people need to STFU and realize that 9.9/10 of the time, the team that should lose the game is the one that actually does. The refs usually end up screwing both teams - or at least, that's how the fans of both teams end up feeling ("the refs were horrible, but we still won!!!/they made us lose!!!"). At some point, you have to rise above the nonsense and say, gee, every time my team loses, it seems like the refs were the reason. What about the times my team wins? Is it because of the refs? No, of course not, it's because MY team was better.

Hmmm....

In this case, the Magic had a huge lead and blew it. The refs aren't out to get us. The NBA isn't out to get us. Flat out, the Nets came back and pwned the Magic. The end.

Rise above the cliches.

[lovehoops01]

1. here is the deal.
2. the first game between the nets and the magic which noone seems to remember was blatantly stolen from the nets by the act of refs.
3. why the selective memory?
4. these things unfortunately happen.

The game in New Jersey was on FSN, and that was not on most TVs in Central Florida. Since I couldn't see it, I have no memory at all of that game. But I do know that the Magic won by 15 points and that the Nets shot about 30 percent so maybe you can tell me how the refs screwed the Nets for a 15-point loss. I was at this game live -- and pretty close to the floor, too, so I got to actually see this one.

One of the things that I saw that I did not mention was that the refs tagged Dwight with two fouls by the 6-minute mark of the first quarter. And one of them was very questionable, too. I was willing to give the refs the benefit of the doubt on that one, despite the fact that they subsequently T'd up Dwight when he complained about it, too. But the Magic might have found it easier to get Dwight the ball more and he might have actually had the chance to score more if he hadn't had to sit out most of the first half. Fortunately for the Magic, Auggie and Foyle did a nice job in his place.

Yeah, unfortunately these things happen. Ho hum....So just go back to your little hovel and accept it.

[aleZ]

MagicMadness you prolly missed the soccer scandals we've had in europe and prolly don't think much of the Dogarthy fiasco but trust me: there's no such thing as a fairly officiated game these days.

When you accept superstars calls, ticky-tack fouls and flopping you're halfway thru making this league sports entertainment territory.

In the end it's either you be a "good fan" and cheer on blindfolded, or try looking at the whole picture.

[drsd]

The NBA needs to be very careful this year, and look closely at any allegation.

[Typhoon20]

I don't care about all of that, as long as every player gets the same treatment. I hate it when a superstar gets a so-so call in the final seconds but another player doesn't get a much obvious call because...he isn't a superstar. Those things should be questioned.

[Magicalltheway]

though bad officiating can cause a couple of baskets here or there, but at the end it comes down to which team played better. last night Dwight went 3-10 on the line. Tell me what has officiating got to do with dwight doing that poorly. had he scored 2 or 3 more we would have won. Or had we not underestimated the Nets in the 3rd and played as hard as we did in the first half we wouldnt be talking about the refs now.

[aleZ]

Tell me what has officiating got to do with dwight doing that poorly.

It has a lot to do with Magic players getting hacked on the perimeter, losing the ball or having to put up bad shots in tight situations. It's just an example of a double (if not triple) standard being in use.

Dwight has been a poor FT shooter all his career, anyway.

[MagicMadness]

On another note, last night Lewis (again) scored less than his average, and also Nelson had a really bad night.

We have to take more than just the refs into consideration.

[otownflava21]

i hate when the refs take control of the game. LET THE PLAYERS PLAY!!!

[Max Power]

I agree that the players have got to play better, but the officials have been doing a piss poor job in our games all year, I refuse to beleive that every time we go to the paint the other team just makes spectacular slaps at the ball every single time, and thats what's been happening. The players have to get more saavy around the basket to avoid those non calls. Dwight has been getting mugged all year though, and there is no excuse for that. The refs need to make those calls correctly.

[taruky1]

I think Typhoon hit the nail right on the head. I don't believe the refs or the NBA are out to screw the Magic. I think it's an issue of how "star" players are treated. Referees do not base calls solely on what they see, they base them on what they expect to happen, or what should happen. For instance, I remember a Lakers game where Kobe shot a three falling out of bounds at the end of a quarter (can't remember who they were playing) and got the foul call. Not one atom on the defender touched him at any point (before, during, or after the shot). Clearly, because it was Kobe Bryant, the ref had the whistle in mouth and lungs expanded before the shot, and I'd bet that after he blew the whistle he knew he screwed up.

Perhaps there is a sense among refs that if they miss a foul against a star player there will be more scrutiny than if they incorrectly call a foul. And this business of a player having to earn calls is garbage. A rookie should get the same treatment as 7 year veteran, and vice versa.

[MagicMadness]

That is something that I, and most, will definitely agree with. The NBA allows refs to give stars the benefit of the doubt when it comes to fouls, and both the media and us fans haven't really made a big fuss over it. It really does cheapen the game, when you sit back and think about it. Even some of us Magic fans get pissed off when the refs don't "reward" Dwight with foul calls...but really, they shouldn't be rewarding anyone. If a player fouls, call it. Don't rely on whether or not the shooter is a marquee name or just another average player.

[Max Power]

Madness, I agree wholeheartedly. There are these little unwritten rules in the NBA I cannot stand. The superstar rule is one of them. Just because Lebron James is a megastar doesn't mean he's perfect every time he does something out there. Same with that damned continuation rule.