NBA's Problem is Subjectivity

by Notthatgood4

The allegations of an official possibly manipulating outcomes of NBA games have come as a surprise to most people. The truth is each NBA game's outcome rests upon the shoulders of its officials more than in virtually any other sport that is not judged.

As soon as the NBA permitted offensive players to initiate contact, the game became a free for all. When an offensive player begins to back into a defender, the defender is expected to oblige or else be called for a foul. Technically, if the defensive player holds his ground the foul should be offensive, but this is often not the case. The call often becomes subjective, and an official could easily get away with calling it either way. If the NBA is to avoid permitting officials to favor one team over another, it needs to clearly outlaw the initiating of contact from an offensive player.

The charge vs block call is another call that can go either way the majority of the time. The official rules in regard to this are so vague that it is impossible to set a standard rule. According to the rules, if the defender is in "legal guarding position," then the foul is offensive. Unfortunately, there is no definition of legal guarding position, so the call is entirely subjective. There are times in which the defender is dead still for a good 2 or 3 seconds and the foul is still called on him. The rule needs to clearly state that if a defender holds his position prior to the offensive players initial move, then it is defensive. Likewise, if the offensive player makes his initial move and then the defender assumes his position, the foul is defensive. This would reduce the amount of subjectivity tremendously.

The NBA is known to favor stars, but if it wants to maintain its integrity it needs to clarify its rules. In virtually every NBA game there are multiple calls that are highly questionable. The problem is there is no authority to turn to that dictates whether the calls are indeed correct. The NBA needs to make the rulebook definitive, not merely suggestive. Otherwise, accusations of tampering with results will persist well beyond Tim Donaghy.