- May 11, 2005
- 922
- 10
The whole reason why observers of the NBA merely ask for a fair shake in the officiating is because people that know basketball know that those 3 refs haveincredible power to dictate the game. They can call all contact. They could call little contact. All people ask is consistency. The Lakers were taking noticeof those early calls. The crew was calling MOST contact. Fine. Adjust.
However, if you don't call MOST contact on both ends you clearly hand one team the aggressive boomstick and the other team gets a chopstick. And guesswhat? As the game goes on that will show up IN THE DEFENSIVE INTENSITY. The team getting called for everything now has a shorter bench. They have to ease offon the pressure.
Players notice the trend. It's like tilt in poker. You start seeing the calls. None are going against you. So you start taking more aggressive chances.Over time it adds up to a huge advantage.
You can acknowledge these things and still defend the Celtics win.
However, if you don't call MOST contact on both ends you clearly hand one team the aggressive boomstick and the other team gets a chopstick. And guesswhat? As the game goes on that will show up IN THE DEFENSIVE INTENSITY. The team getting called for everything now has a shorter bench. They have to ease offon the pressure.
Players notice the trend. It's like tilt in poker. You start seeing the calls. None are going against you. So you start taking more aggressive chances.Over time it adds up to a huge advantage.
You can acknowledge these things and still defend the Celtics win.