The relationship between the NBA’s officials and its players is at its lowest point in over a decade. Not since the summers of the Tim Donaghy scandal and Dwayne Wade’s 97 free-throw Finals have the league’s officials come under such scrutiny for their actions or lack thereof.
It is a tiresome saga. The NBA’s star players, who many believe receive the lion’s share of favorable foul calls due to the fact that they are star players, are apparently fed up that they aren’t getting enough foul calls. The Warriors’ win over the Rockets in Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals, a series that, to all intents and purposes, is serving as the Western Conference Finals was marred by controversy. Officials appeared to miss a bunch of fouls on James Harden. Houston coach Mike D’Antoni estimated the refs failed to give at least 12 free throws. Game 2, which was won by the Warriors to give them a 2-0 series lead, was no different. The whinging and whining from the sport’s top two whinging and whining teams were incessant.
In the blue corner: Draymond Green, Steve Kerr, and Steph Curry, whose diminutive stature (for an NBA player) and fresh-faced looks seem to inoculate him from the same criticisms his teammates face. In the red corner: Harden, D’Antoni, and first-ballot Hall of Fame moaner Chris Paul, who along with Blake Griffin and Doc Rivers made the blah Clippers of 2011 to 2017 borderline unwatchable. Somehow Paul has got even worse.
Paul was up to his antics throughout Tuesday night’s Game 2. Harden didn’t receive his first three-point foul call – a staple of his game – until the dwindling seconds of the third quarter. Paul responded with a championship-worthy celebration:
Complex Sports
(@ComplexSports)Chris Paul celebrating the Rockets getting a foul call in front of the ref. PETTY 😂 pic.twitter.com/QLIjWjtyCL
The stage was set for this act of pettiness pre-game. Houston followed up their Game 1 meltdown with an all-time great leak: ESPN magically got its hands on a report made by the Rockets that details 81 questionable calls in Game 7 of last year’s Western Conference Finals, when the Rockets missed a record 27-straight three-pointers and crashed out of the playoffs.
“Referees likely changed the eventual NBA champion,” the memo says. “There can be no worse result for the NBA.”
Great timing, huh? The NBA’s head office replied by announcing Scott Foster as the official for Game 2 of this year’s series – a decision made prior to the start of the series but released with chef’s Kkss timing. The Rockets have a long-running feud with Foster, and they take the controversy personally. Houston are 0-9 in games officiated by Foster since 2017 and all three of their home playoffs losses in 2018 were called by Foster’s crew.
Houston’s offensive game is built on artistry and deception. Everything runs through Harden and Paul, who indulge in fits of genius and witchcraft in equal measure. They flop and they push off. They draw fouls and initiate contact. If they didn’t deceive the officials on this trip down the court, they will on the next one.
That becomes harder to do in the playoffs. The Rockets’ style gets easier to defend the more you see it. Officials have more time to hone in on a player’s idiosyncratic tricks. Opponents know their way around them. If the Rockets are looking to someone to blame for their lack of calls, it’s best to look in the mirror. There are only so many times you can con an official before they say enough.
“People in positions of privilege don’t like being refereed fairly,” author Michael Lewis recently said on the Bill Simmons Podcast. “[NBA] stars are evermore star-like. They’re global franchises. They’re used to a lot of unfairness coming their way.”
The NBA has spent more on its officials – the fresh replay command center (which sounds like a first-draft rejection from Star Wars) and a revamped official’s program – than any of its player development program: the G-league or any of the league’s overseas programs.
Roughly $15m was spent on the league’s new replay facility in New Jersey. The running costs are unknown. With 20 stations running every night and an individual assigned to each one, it’s safe to assume it’s not cheap.
There is, of course, a bigger motive. Legalized gambling is coming to American sports. NBA commissioner Adam Silver wants to be a pioneer. He understands that to have a burgeoning gambling league, he must have a officiating core calling games as accurately as possible. To hell with James Harden’s feelings, there are billions of dollars on the line.
This is a case of the haves not quite realizing how good they have it. When something comes in to readdress the order, they get discombobulated. Players like Paul and Harden have been used to calls going their way due to the fact they’re playing at home or are faces of a franchise. Now that the league is prioritizing accuracy above all else, they’re playing the victim.
The same is true for the Warriors, who moan just as much. Green is the worst offender. Curry isn’t much better, though his pettiness comes with a wink and a nod and a smile. The only one of their star players who doesn’t get caught up in all the antics is reigning finals MVP, Kevin Durant, who stands off in the corner somewhere sulking about something else.
Basketball is hugely graceful. It is America’s most global sport. It is laced with stars and drama and action. It is a joy to watch. And yet here we are, two games into a series full of tactical intrigue, discussing the officials rather than the brilliant players.
Focusing on the officials at this time of the year is a shame. Warriors-Rockets is the best rivalry we currently have in the sport. Whoever comes out of this series will be the favorite to win the title.
Houston should focus more on the fact Clint Capella is minus-36 in 60 minutes across two games. Chris Paul is 5-for-13 from three-point range. PJ Tucker is averaging 40-minutes a game. And he didn’t make a bucket in Game 1. Addressing those three concerns are far more important than whatever the officials call.