NBA and star-bias

[Statalyzer]

Watching Detroit-Miami right now and it's really obvious there are two rulebooks involved - one for Wade and one for the other 9 guys on the court. That last no-call was correct and Stuckey made a dumb decision going for that shot, and Detroit certainly had their chances to win and blew them. But the double standard makes these games a lot less fun to watch than they would be otherwise.

 

[Goodfellow]

One of a few reasons I quit watching years ago. The college game is getting that way too.

 

[The Greatest]

Stat, i think you posted "if it's a foul with 10 minutes left, it's a foul then" about the gary johnson foul so i don't see how you can say that wasn't a foul on wade at the end. the only way that isn't called is because it's the end of the game because he pretty clearly shoved and body-blocked stuckey on the drive which is why stuckey couldn't get any elevation. wade was getting 2006 finals calls out there today. i like him, but i don't want to go back to that standard.


edit: and even without star bias, the ncaa tournament always reminds me how thankful i should be for nba refs, warts, star bias and all. college refs, i just don't know sometimes.

 

[Statalyzer]

I didn't look at more than one replay but it looked to me like Wade stayed between Stuckey and the rim and Stuckey just tried turning into Wade hoping to get bailed out, and then when that didn't happen Wade got a hand on the ball to block the shot. Maybe I missed it and he actually hacked him but I just honestly thought it was clean.

The real deal-breaker to me was when Wade got fouled on a jump shot because of light body contact (feet getting mutually tangled up) after the ball was released when both players were hitting the ground. Then Wade blocks a 3 in the corner and causes a ton of body contact afterward, and it's clean because his hand got all ball. All of sudden when Wade's the defender, getting the shooter with the body doesn't matter.

 

[sblazer]

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[GRhino]

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[VinceFord]

I don't think the existence of the bias can be seriously questioned. And it comes down from the top.

I didn't see the game, but have recently experienced the bias. I'm an Atlanta Hawks fan and season ticket holder. We lost to Cleveland by a free throw with 1.7 seconds left because of an absurd foul call on Al Horford challenging a Lebron layup very carefully. Seconds earlier the refs refused to blow the whistle despite significant contact when Joe Johnson drove the ball to the hoop.

The worst part of it is... I and everyone in the stadium, after watching the game, knew we had no chance when the game was tied with 9 seconds left and the ball was in Lebrons hands. There were numerous questionable calls when Lebron drove the ball. The most egregious was a phantom call with less than a second in the half and absolutely no contact on a missed layup. What it comes down to is that in games against the Lebrons and the Wades you have to be up by two possessions at the end of the game to have a chance.

Moreover, if the standings remain the same, the hawks will play Wade in the first round. Then if we somehow survive Wade and the refs in the first round we will have to play Lebron and the refs in the second round. But the league will surely require very strict enforcement of the Lebron/Kobe/Wade rule by the refs so as not to put in jeopardy a potential round two Wade/Lebron match up.