Heat Check
NBA Starter
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2021
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Forget the tired complaints about ref X having it in for player Y or team Z. While I'm not saying it's impossible, it's meaningless in the big picture. Players have never been treated equally in the NBA. That's just an integral part of the sports entertainment business.
No, what I'm talking about is an actual epidemic that's spreading, getting worse and worse, and it'll destroy the pro game if nothing is done.
Gaming the rules.
I know, I know. Nothing new, right? Who wants to hear another diatribe against James Harden and Chris Paul? What is this, 2015?
The problem is, it's not just those guys anymore. Literally everyone does it now. Starters, bench players, human victory cigars. Playing for the whistle has become an essential skill, like shooting or perimeter defense. Sometimes, it's the first option. Hell, the terrible rip-through flop is called a "rip-through MOVE" these days. LOL. Refs even have a special hand signal for it when they blow the whistle.
They're not even trying to pretend it's a foul in the act of shooting. Yet you get 2 free throws. Because, hey, why not. After all, the guy executed the rip-through flawlessly. Golf clap.
Think about it. They're rewarding a succesful flop, knowing full well that it is a flop, and they have absolutely no problem with it. This is where we are now.
That, to me, is by far the most serious part. I absolutely hate watching this shit, but I can't blame the players. It's a cut-throat league and you need to use every advantage you can get.
Now, excuse me for being that guy, but I do blame the refs. I blame them for going along with it, for creating a twisted game within a game, a kind of meta level, a shadow basketball where the rules are unwritten and always in flux, but they do exist. The referees have allowed themselves to be drawn into a kind of wink-wink relationship with the players where they act more like American Idol judges than enforcers of the rules of basketball. And they're loving it.
These days, when a team is coming down the floor, I have a sinking feeling. I know the whistle will come soon. And I won't understand why. Then we watch a super slo-mo replay and the announcers come up with a ridiculous explanation.
"His left leg definitely moved an inch".
"He was smart to accentuate the contact".
"That was a veteran play". (laughter)
The game is not for us anymore. It's moved up a level. The referees have finally found a way to be stars in their own little self-created universe, where the goal is not the basket but the almighty whistle. They move above and beyond the official rules, up there where things are less black and white. Where refereeing is art.
It doesn't have to make sense to us.
No, what I'm talking about is an actual epidemic that's spreading, getting worse and worse, and it'll destroy the pro game if nothing is done.
Gaming the rules.
I know, I know. Nothing new, right? Who wants to hear another diatribe against James Harden and Chris Paul? What is this, 2015?
The problem is, it's not just those guys anymore. Literally everyone does it now. Starters, bench players, human victory cigars. Playing for the whistle has become an essential skill, like shooting or perimeter defense. Sometimes, it's the first option. Hell, the terrible rip-through flop is called a "rip-through MOVE" these days. LOL. Refs even have a special hand signal for it when they blow the whistle.
They're not even trying to pretend it's a foul in the act of shooting. Yet you get 2 free throws. Because, hey, why not. After all, the guy executed the rip-through flawlessly. Golf clap.
Think about it. They're rewarding a succesful flop, knowing full well that it is a flop, and they have absolutely no problem with it. This is where we are now.
That, to me, is by far the most serious part. I absolutely hate watching this shit, but I can't blame the players. It's a cut-throat league and you need to use every advantage you can get.
Now, excuse me for being that guy, but I do blame the refs. I blame them for going along with it, for creating a twisted game within a game, a kind of meta level, a shadow basketball where the rules are unwritten and always in flux, but they do exist. The referees have allowed themselves to be drawn into a kind of wink-wink relationship with the players where they act more like American Idol judges than enforcers of the rules of basketball. And they're loving it.
These days, when a team is coming down the floor, I have a sinking feeling. I know the whistle will come soon. And I won't understand why. Then we watch a super slo-mo replay and the announcers come up with a ridiculous explanation.
"His left leg definitely moved an inch".
"He was smart to accentuate the contact".
"That was a veteran play". (laughter)
The game is not for us anymore. It's moved up a level. The referees have finally found a way to be stars in their own little self-created universe, where the goal is not the basket but the almighty whistle. They move above and beyond the official rules, up there where things are less black and white. Where refereeing is art.
It doesn't have to make sense to us.
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