After what seemed like 40 years of bad basketball for the Boston Celtics, the boys are back in town. You all know the story. The new Big Three, some exciting youngsters, a couple of cagey vets, a coach who finally has a chance, and the best record in the NBA.
It all sounds so good, doesn't it? Well, it is. But there is one problem that's getting under my skin that must be digging at others too. I've been watching just about all of the games this year, something I haven't been able to say since the original Big Three dominated the parquet back in the 80's. I have no problem watching us lose or play badly, but I never realized that these days there's another element in the game that is out of the player's control. Sometimes it snatches games away from teams at the most unexpected moments. Other times it happens over and over again throughout the game. What am I talking about? I'm talking about the inconsistent and terrible, referees.
Man, I know it's tough to ref a game, considering the guys are 6'12 or taller, fast, athletic and able to jump out of the building. But most of the refs these days blow their whistles about as effectively as an undercover prostitute in the park with emphysema. I know it doesn't conjure up the best picture, but either do clueless referees who would have better careers whistling Dixie somewhere outside NBA arenas.
I'm not even going to bother going into specifics on a particular play or call. I saw a hundred of them in the Denver/Celts game last week and maybe only 99 during the Golden State/Celts game the following night. Don't even get me started on whether a call should be an offensive foul or a blocking foul. I swear the pinstripers get it right about as often as Pat Riley changes hair styles. Wiith that being said, I'll just keep it simple and general. In today's game there are like 4 different kinds of games that the refs find a way to blow.
1. Calling fouls on every bump possible (often happens)
2. Calling very few fouls, even when guys get decked (rarely happens)
3. Calling tic-tac fouls but not the absolute hack jobs (seen plenty of them)
4. Calling and not calling a combination of the above
In the first case, where they call everything, the refs seem like they are running a website add. They think they'll get paid for every whistle they blow. In these games each team shoots 30 something foul shots and you pretty much know who has the sweatiest armpits by the end of the game. There's no flow and the only excitement is when the coaches and players blast the refs after every awful call. Denver fans know all about this kind of game, They shoot a league best 30.7 free throws per game.
The second case is where the shy refs don't call anything. This game happening is about as likely as Shaq hitting two foul shots in a row. I like these kinds of games when lucky enough to get one though. The first three quarters of most NBA games don't mean squat. It really just comes down to the fourth quarter. As long as the blatant fouls aren't missed late in a game, I'd say the refs are doing a good job. But a missed calls can be monumental and change or even end games. So refs have to use good discretion out there and not be afraid to pull that shiny sucker out of their pocket.
The third case is the most annoying. It's when the refs call the tic-tacs (weak fouls) but not the altoids(strong ones). Somehow players get whistled for bad breath in these games while elbows to the mug and forearms to the throat, just go flagrantly unnoticed. It's comical sometimes, but these guessing games tell you which refs grew up with Guess Genes.
And finally, there's the ref combo special. This is where all of the crap above happens in one game. This is usually the case because you have 3 Clueless Refs together. Talk about out of control Zebra's. They're lucky they don't bump into each other and call fouls. It will happen one day. Probably while I'm at the game.
In light of everything that I'm complaining about, there are a few refs that can still get it done. My hat goes off to them, it probably is a very difficult job. All I can hope is that when the Celts take on the Lakers in the NBA finals, the refs will be right on call.
The moral of the story is that some of the refs just blow, and the others always suck.
Keywords: Celtics, lakers, referees, the big three
