After the Pistons' loss to Utah, Saunders paraded his ineptitude before
the press as he whined about technical fouls.
"My comment is that we might as well play 'PlayStation'
if we are going to take the emotion out of it," Saunders said.
Boo hoo. Could
someone bring poor Flip a clean diaper?
Anyone who says T-ing up crybabies is taking the passion out
of basketball is an imbecile, and needs to quit embarrassing himself and watch
more college basketball -- especially in March.
Do those teams (whose league doesn't tolerate whining) seem to lack
passion?
Because I like the Pistons, I was pulling for Flip Saunders
as their coach, but now I think I understand why the Minnesota Timberwolves
choked in every playoffs but one when he coached them. I used to think that Kevin Garnett didn't
have the right players around him, but it is becoming increasingly obvious Flip
Saunders lacks championship mettle.
As we all know (I hope), coaching plays a far bigger role in
the playoffs than the regular season. Because a team plays the same team
several times in a row in the playoffs, there is very in depth analysis and
adjustments that need to be made to get by a team.
It takes much more than a good game plan to win though, it
takes execution. And execution requires
focus (through distraction) and mental toughness (through adversity), and clearly
Flip Saunders and too many other NBA professionals have neither.
Thanks to our 65" high definition television, the
multiple angles the TV broadcasts often gives us, and a DVR that lets me skip
back and step forward at excruciatingly slow motion, I can say with confidence that
the refs certainly do miss calls, but they don't miss as nearly many calls as
get complained about by NBA players and coaches. Time after time reviews show coaches and
players complaining about the right call.
However, speaking of the bigger picture, it doesn't matter if a call
was right or wrong though.
Those of us without multimillion dollar shoe deals have been
taught by life that it isn't always fair.
When injustices happen, and they always will, the winners in life shake
it off and persevere despite the setback, while the losers wear their excuses
like bumper stickers on a totaled, junk yard Lexus.
Once upon a time people used to joke that the NBA stood for
"No Babies Allowed." Now it
must stand for "Nancy Boy Actors."
And overpaid ones at that. These
guys are far too used to the delicate handling society gives celebrities, to
the point that they demand it on the hardwood as well. This disconnection with the real world is
embarrassing them and the league.
The NBA's crackdown on crybabies is LOOOONG overdue. Just like the hand checking rule when it was
new, the teams that care most about winning will quickly adjust, while the others
just end up showing the world their lack of championship mojo by resisting the new
reality.
Interesting post Tom7.I have to somewhat disagree with you though.The NBA officials as most people know is the absolute worst in all of sports hands down.Like I said to someone that had a similar blog;players are not so much concerned with bad calls but the inconsistency of the calls.ex.you can't let Amare set screens and use his hands to hold players in position(which he has done several times)with no illegal screen or foul called and then call a touch/phantom foul in favor of Nash.Even with this 0 tolerance nonsense there are inconsistencies,countless players have been Td-up for hand gestures and a frown while others like Nash,Cassell,Duncan and Haslem last night get away with clearly arguing/questioning calls with officials.Now don't get me wrong I'm one of the biggest NBA junkies there are but this 0 tolerance mess just further instills in my mind as much as I hate to admit but the NBA fixes games and they don't want players complaining about it.The funny thing to me even if you don't have players complaining does the league think that will eliminate peoples 2 eyes and common sense to see teams like Miami who didn't even belong in the same gym as Dallas legitimately beating them?They can't be that crazy.The other thing with this new emphasis on traveling,you are calling travels for palming,carrying,double dribble etc.but you don't call that ridiculous hop-step even when it's not executed correctly.Bottomline if the refs.were consistent with their calls(not perfect)there would be no need for this rule to begin with.If a barber messes up my cut I'm going to complain and
Last edited by lyrikell on November 8th at 7:32 AM.
Cont-he won't get paid.For that matter if the NBA officials messed up in any other profession as much as they make bad calls they would be on the unemployment lines.The other thing is the crowd boos bad officiating more than players complain will the league T.the crowd.Eventually I see the crowd realizing that the officials have been given way too much power and they will start to become more vocal and even start throwing things on the court if they feel the officiating has gotten out of hand like last years finals.
Last edited by lyrikell on November 8th at 7:30 AM.
lyrikell is absolutely right. while i dont like crybaby players, the refs started this ####. Allen Iverson or Steve Nash can run into the pain and crash into defenders and get the shot and the foul. When i lived in Orlando, i saw players slap Shaq in the mouth... no call. Hack-a-shaq is a joke now. but it seems to me that its a flagrant foul and people should be punished. The refs punish the people they dont like and let Tim 'Soft as a baby's ####' Duncan get away with everything. if a ref is gonna call a #### foul for Nash, then he should call it for Stefan Marbury. players are allowed to disagree with calls. if the ref cant handle it, he should go back to college. there's no money on the line in college. but these players make game checks. they get paid performance incentives. every time a ref lets Duncan grab a jersey on a screen, he costs someone money. a lot of money. i've quit watching NBA basketball because of the refs. i dont have money to waste on watching some ref make an #### out of himself and favor teams.
I understand where you and the gentlemen who commented above are both coming from. The NBA officials are bad at treating everyone equally. I recently watched a Knicks game where Eddy Curry was called for some silly offensive fouls early on. Then Isiah Thomas had a chat with the refs, and in the second half, I witnessed Curry bulldozing people over and not drawing a whistle. That's retarded. I remember both Sheed and Artest getting some really cheesy technicals all because of their reputations. This clearly needs to be improved upon. If it will, I don't know... probably not.
I have to admit I like what Stern is doing. I'm not one of these conservative types who gets bothered by showboating, etc. I think it's all part of the show, and I'm smart enough to separate the actual game and the show. I don't necessarily have a problem with the way the players dress, but I do think Stern is sending a positive message to kids everywhere by telling these players to look professional. The same with the zero tolerance policy on whining. Is it without flaws? Of course not. But does it ultimately promote the right message? I think so.
Flip has always been overrated (not as much as Larry Brown though). I think Rick Carlisle is a coach.
Hey - you're a Pistons fan. What do you think about Big Ben leaving? I'm trying to tell people that Ben wasn't as valuable as people think. Agree? I see Pistons winning division again.
Last edited by TrainOntheBall on November 8th at 7:36 AM.
Tom, as always, you pick great topics for discussion. Perhaps I can bring a different perspective. I don't think this technical #### is a war between the refs and the players. I don't think Stern came up with the idea because he wants to help the refs.
They don't need protection and sympathy. The refs get paid lots of money for doing something most of us would do for free. Stern is doing this to send a message to the red-state sports fans, "we got these hip-hop rappers with corn rows under control, so watch us once in a while." He did the same thing with the dress code last year, and he will continue to do similar things until the NBA is not just for urban-America.
In other words, he doesn't really care if the whining stops or not, he just cares that people in the suburb THINK the whining is going to stop. Like what I've always said, in sports, image is more important than essence. Stern doesn't really care about the actual game, he doesn't know basketball! He just cares about the image of the league.
Most sports fans are casual fans. They are going to watch a sport sometimes just because they like the guys playing it, and vice versa. Thus Stern is just trying to make the average NBA baller more likable. And for that purpose, he is getting there.
Last edited by bbing168 on November 8th at 11:13 AM.
Personally, I think none of these really matters. I like basketball for basketball. Whether it's college, NBA, or international. Hoops rule! I don't really care what kind of people are playing.
And I actually kind of like these new ultra-sensitive refs. It kind of brings a new element to the game. Of course I will have no problem until my team loses a game because its superstar get t-up.
I actually agree with bbing 168.The one problem with that is Stern is trying to apease people that only watch certain matchups and attend certain games instead of the die-hard fans like myself that may not be able to purchase season tickets but will watch every televised game possible.So while Stern is jumping through hoops to please individuals that will not watch a clippers-bucks finals matchup so to speak(through these retarted policies and fixed games)he is short-changing the real fans.My solution:bring ticket prices down so the common man can afford to attend and that will A)put more people in the gym then the few thousand corporate clowns and the gym would look full for a change B)have people that care about the game and not what the athletes are wearing(as long as you don't look like you slept in a box) and c)you wouldn't have to manipulate games to apease corporate america(casual fan).Bottomline it's stupid to cater to people that will only watch once in a blue moon regardless of what Stern does.Also the NBA has never been for Urban America not as far as crowd attentance;that like saying the people of N.O.is somehow benefiting from the saints season(which is the dumbest thing I've heard in a while)when you look around the stadium and it doesn't look like too many Katrina victims are at these games.Matter of fact I'm willing to bet most attending Saints games are from out of town but that's another story.Once again upper-middle class to upper class folks are not the only people that matter and for that matter you need to be showing the players that the fans are not s
Last edited by lyrikell on November 8th at 12:11 PM.
Cont-so impotant that players have to endure racial slurs and having beers thrown in their face.That's not urban america that's the corporate idiots Stern is trying to please.
Last edited by lyrikell on November 8th at 12:12 PM.
Basketball is a strange sport you cry because someone touched you or, you get your face broke or your eye put out. There has to be a limit. The rule is no touching. So I guess those against crying want to see the forementioned. I suffer from two shoulder seperations from playing that sport on the street. An elbow to the nose or head doesn't feel good. Slaps on the hand become closed fist blows to the face. Touching, painfully, becomes fighting. So cry and cry aloud because if you don't the hospital is waiting. And yes, your cries should carry equal weight. The ref's in the NBA call the cheap ones and the flagrant ones alike and when your definition of charging is not met then that is as far as rough play in the NBA will be tolerated. Remember the rule is, no touching!!, and respect for the officiating which no real fan should ever have.
Last edited by coach Hunter on November 8th at 12:59 PM.
The officials in the NBA have a very odd interpretation of the rules. Some terrible inconsistencies as well...such as traveling violations, foul calls, etc. But for the most part, at least they are consistent. If you are a superstar on an isolation play, and drive to the hoop...odds are, you are going to draw a foul call with minimal contact. If you aren't a superstar, then you may or may not get that call consistently.
At the end of the game...all those rules seem to go out the door. Officials simply don't want to call a last second foul, and have the game come down to free throws.
I think basketball lends itself to very subjective officiating. What's a foul, what isn't? Just wishe they would be consistent.
But over the last several years, the complaining and whining has become ridiculous. Almost every single foul call is disputed by an anger player. It's almost like being inside a prison yard, everyone is innocent! Or if they did do it, they didn't mean to.
Last year in the playoffs, Gary Payton was arguing a non-call during play on a turnover...and the other team got an easy lay-up because of it. Arguing during actual play! That sort of thing should be inexcusable, especially for a veteran.
Shut up and play the game! If whining actually made a difference, then maybe I'd be all for it. But it doesn't. And pushing the envelope and getting a technical foul puts your team in jeopardy. Players AND coaches...
Once again Tom7 very good post.this topic alone makes me want to actually start my own blog.I'm not real big on blogging etiquette so forgive me if I seem to be responding to comments posted on your blog(If that is consider a blogging sin)but everyone here has made valid points.With that said shooter also made valid points but I will say one thing you said is the main reason for this 0 tolerance which goes back to the inconsistencies of the official.ShooterB,you stated that the officials don't like to call last second fouls; which is true especially if it's a non-star that might not get that call to begin with but I must remind people that Wade won 2 if not 3 finals games off free-throws and 1 of those bail out calls came after Wade pushed Terry into the Dallas bench with no call then continues to drive the lane in the exact same play and ends up shooting free-throws.This is exactly the type of double-talking NBA officials do in regards to inconsistent calls.If a non-star gets fouled on potentially a game winning play(especially against a favor team)you might as well forget it;no call game over.Now if Wade,Lebron etc.drives to the basket for a game-winning shot they don't even have to be touch to be bailed out with BS calls.Now when asked why the no call for the non-star you get the we don't want late fouls deciding the game,then when asked why the last second foul call for a star you get when the game is in the balance and someone gets fouled you have to make that call.Basically the call/non-call will be made based on whether that player/team fits in the league's agenda.
Last edited by lyrikell on November 8th at 3:11 PM.
Tom, Don't get me wrong, I like the new rule, but not as much as I did at first. I now think a middle ground should be reached so it doesn't seem so ridiculous (zero tolerance is pretty extreme, especially if a player feels he has a legitimate beef). Either that, or I didn't realize how out of hand the disrespectful complaining had gotten. I see what I see, but then again, I'm not on the court like the refs are.
Ironically, Saunders would have you believe there is no emotion involved while playing PlayStation, which leads me to believe he's never played it.
Sorry for the slow response, my home router went toe up. There is nothing like being forced off the Internet for 2 days to make you realize how much you've come to need it.
Thanks for the comments, guys. As I read through them though, I started to realize that I may have led you guys to believe I was saying something I didn't mean to say.
The only point I was trying to make is that I want players and coaches to quit whining so much. That's it.
I sure didn't mean to appear to be defending the NBA refs, because I think they are frustratingly inconsistent. I didn't mean to sound like I was worried about the NBA's image, I was just using that as yet another reason to quite whining.
In fact I completely agree with pretty much everything you guys wrote, I was just saying that, calling whining "passion" is just shameless spin. Despite the injustice of all the bad and inconsistent calls, players and coaches need to suck it up and play. That's their job.
With each new rule comes a period of adjustment for players and coaches. The "zero tolerance" for whining rule seems different in that the referees are having as hard a time adjusting as the players.
Thanks to NBA League Pass, I watch a lot of basketball -- too much probably -- and I get the sense that some of the refs, particularly the older ones, aren't as zealous at enforcing the rule as the younger ones.
I don't know for sure that is the case, but I do know that the rule is NOT being enforced equally. I watched Pistons throw down the ball in frustration against the base of the basketball standard and get T'ed up for it, but Suns and Lakers not. I've seen someone get T'd for raising one hand into the air, and Sam Cassell really get animated and nothing.
The one thing that is consistent is that if you have earned yourself a bad reputation as a whiner, you will find the refs have a quicker trigger than if you have a reputation as a good guy with them.
I like pretty much all sports, but to make time for the more important things in life, I have chosen to follow just one: basketball.
I have more blog posts at Basketballog y.com.
