I thought that .3 was a tip in or no basket. But the calls were pretty questionable all night. NBA officiating is probably the toughest job in the world, officiating wise. Everything moves SO FAST that these older Ref's make you think that they are not able to contend with the speed of the game and calls sometimes are made by guessing that contact was made, not actually SEEING contact being made. I think that the NBA Refs should be younger, and more able to keep up with the speed of the game. I am sure these Ref's all get physicals before the beginning of the season, but there are 2 or 3 Ref's that are WAY TOO OLD to still be in the league ref'ing games. You cant tell me that Dick Bavetta is still able to effectively referee games at his advanced age. He is the greatest example of how the NBA is not policing their refs and making sure they are physically able to perform their jobs. The NBA is the one sport that likes to keep their OLD officials around WAY past their prime. Even Baseball, which is a much slower sport has a good policy and retirement incentives for their older Refs. It is high time to weed out the Mummies in the NBA.
We need young refs with good eyesight and mobility to keep up with the ever increasing speed of the game. Until then, refs like Joe Crawford, who has been refereeing games for as long as I can remember (and I am 43) will still be ref'ing games poorly forever. I do not believe the Commissioner David Stern is concerned with the quality of the referees in the NBA. He has shown a total lack of regard for the obvious mistakes that have been made in games that have been critical. Even playoff games have been decided by poor calls in endgame situations. It is just not right to allow the refs to decide a game after 48 minutes of play. Until the Commissioner is replaced or retires, the problem will remain. If you believe Donaghy's book, the problem is not age, it's company loyalty.
