NBA: Is the league officiating in need of an overhaul?

Has the NBA officiating system kept up with the evolution of the game? It may be time for sweeping changes to the way the game is called

During the 2018-19 NBA season, I noticed more complaints about officiating than any season I can remember. And it wasn’t just limited to arguments on the floor from the handful of players we’ve come to expect it from. You know who they are. No, it was a much broader spectrum of players and coaches and the complaints seemed to be the public type that resulted in fines more often than in previous seasons

As a Toronto Raptors fan, I have come to expect an unbalanced whistle. Then again, I’m sure every fan feels that their team gets the wrong end of a bad whistle more often than their opponents. It’s just part of the game.

But when Kawhi Leonard took the floor for the Raptors last year, I couldn’t help but be aggravated with the lack of calls he got, especially in the paint. With Nick Nurse going so far as to deliberately take a financial hit by publically commenting on the lack of calls for Kawhi in December it led me to question if the NBA game has evolved beyond the current officiating system.

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The fact of the matter is, the game moves a lot faster than it did even five years ago let alone 10 or 15 and some of the calls the refs are required to make are simply more complicated.

An example would be James Harden‘s is it or isn’t it a travel step-back jump shot. I’ve watched that move in a slow-motion replay and I can’t decide but the refs are expected to make a call one way or another it in seconds. And while it’s been established at this point that when he does it right it’s not traveling, what about when he’s not exactly precise? There’s no way a borderline move like that falls on the right side of the rules every time.

Or how about whether a foul was committed in the act of shooting or on the floor? The way that was called last season was inconsistent at the best times and yell at the TV, throw your hands in the air maddening at the worst. It seemed like the same situation was called in different ways all season long. Even within the same game, it was impossible to predict whether a similar foul would be called in the act of shooting from one possession to another.

Some calls have to be more specifically observed to be called correctly, therefore, taking more time and focus away from other things that could be happening on the floor. Screens are a much bigger part of the game than ever before and I can’t count the number of illegal screens that I personally witnessed the refs miss calling last season. And I’m only specifically following one team out of 30.

As frustrating as it is to be a fan watching these calls, I can only imagine how aggravating it must be as a player. Something that Leo Rautins says regularly is that as a player, you’re just looking for consistency. If it’s a foul on one end you want it to be a foul on the other. If it was in the act of shooting one time down the floor, you should be able to expect it to be the same the next time you take that shot. Sounds reasonable, right? So, what is the league doing to address officiating issues?

On July 9th, the NBA Board of Governors approved the addition of a coaches challenge to initiate instant replay from the replay center. It seems like a step in the right direction but I’m not convinced that this will have any real impact on modern challenges to officiating the game.

First of all, only one challenge per game? I don’t think that’s enough. What if a coach decides to challenge one call and later in the game, an equally or even more egregious mistake is made by the refs? What then? Once again, in what could be a pivotal moment, the team has no recourse.

Secondly, although the new rules had been tested in the G League prior to being approved for NBA play, the circumstances for initiating a coaches challenge are not as straight-forward as I’d like to see and don’t cover missed calls against the opposing team. Personally, I’ve always found that the things that the other team gets away with are way more frustrating than the incorrect calls against your own.

For instance during one playoff game between Golden State and Houston, at least four times someone was standing in James Harden’s landing space after attempting a 3-point shot. Had those been called, that would have been 12 more free throws for a player who shot 87.9 percent from the line on the season. Houston lost that game by less than 12 points.

On the other hand, I completely understand how allowing coaches challenges on any and every play would slow down the game way too much. There has to be a feasible limit to how much the coaches are involved in officiating for obvious reasons.

Another problem I saw last season was how quick some of the less senior officials were to call technical fouls because a player was questioning their call. Players, veteran players especially, have come to have an idea of how much they can say before the cross that line. But it seemed like last season that line was picked up and moved way, way back. These are the best basketball players in the world. They should be able to have a little bit of a say.

So, what’s the solution? I’ve been thinking about this for a while and the conclusion I’ve come to is that the way the NBA is officiated does indeed need a complete overhaul. Specifically, I believe that three sets of eyes are simply no longer enough to keep reasonable track of what is happening on the floor.

My solution calls for a fourth officiant, a junior member of the team if you will. Their job would be the little things that are easier to pay attention to and inherently involve less personal judgment than making foul calls. Did a player step out of bounds running along the baseline? Was there a lane violation on a free throw? Was there a three-second offensive or defensive violation? Did the ball get inbounds in five seconds?

To me, this would accomplish two things. First, officiants that were new to the NBA level would be exposed to the caliber and temperament of these high-level players. It seems like a lot of the quick technical foul calls last season were the result of newer refs trying to assert their authority. If they spent some time on the floor with NBA players while not being in a position to have to make foul calls, I think it would acclimate them and help them understand that a player questioning their call is not the same as disrespect.

Secondly, that fourth set of eyes would simply elevate the level of officiating overall. The NBA game is better now than ever. There is more scoring, more intricate offensive play, all kinds of switches on defense, and a higher overall level of talent. But the officiating system has not risen with the level of play. Other than the addition of the replay center and for next season the coaches challenge, the officiating is fundamentally the same as it was back in the ’90s when I first started watching basketball.

I’m not talking about changes to the rules. I know there have been many rule changes. I’m also not saying that the refs aren’t doing the best job they can. I believe that they are. They’re people just like all of us who have made mistakes on the job.

What I am saying is I believe it’s time that the league takes a long hard look at the way the game is officiated and admit that it’s not up to the level it should be. The addition of the replay center and coaches challenge are steps in the right direction but ultimately are half measures. It won’t be enough, in my opinion, to address the issues in a meaningful way.