Year in Review: Officiating

['89 Kings Fan]

Something else to discuss before I finish Carl Landry. The Average Personal Fouls and Average Free Throws Attempted are just for the Kings. When I decided to put this together, I didn't realize how many officials there were in the league (61). Also I am not sure what's more impressive, Ron Garretson's 4-0 or Lauren Holtkamp's 0-6 (since that includes a Sixers game). Interestingly, it doesn't look like FTA or PF correlates with Winning %, but it will be interesting to see next years games added to this to see if there are some outliers.

Official	        Wins	Losses	WIN%	AVG PF	AVG FTA
Ron Garretson	        4	0	1	17	29
James Williams	        2	0	1	20	32
Kevin Scott	        3	1	0.75	24	24
Leon Wood	        4	2	0.67	22	33
Eric Lewis	        2	1	0.67	21	35
Haywoode Workman	2	1	0.67	17	27
Pat Fraher	        2	1	0.67	18	29
Scott Twardoski	        3	2	0.6	19	32
Zach Zarba	        3	2	0.6	20	29
Dedric Taylor	        2	2	0.5	15	29
Derek Richardson	2	2	0.5	22	27
James Capers	        2	2	0.5	20	33
Leroy Richardson	2	2	0.5	18	26
Sean Wright	        2	2	0.5	25	31
Brent Barnaky	        1	1	0.5	26	31
Curtis Blair	        1	1	0.5	25	35
Eric Dalen	        1	1	0.5	17	26
Joe Crawford	        1	1	0.5	26	37
Sean Corbin	        1	1	0.5	20	31
Violet Palmer	        1	1	0.5	19	35
Josh Tiven	        3	4	0.43	20	34
Monty McCutchen	        3	4	0.43	21	28
Bennie Adams	        2	3	0.4	22	25
Dan Crawford	        2	3	0.4	20	28
David Guthrie	        2	3	0.4	19	24
Derrick Collins	        2	3	0.4	19	23
John Goble	        2	3	0.4	23	36
JT Orr	                2	3	0.4	19	31
Justin Van Duyne	2	3	0.4	24	28
Marat Kogut	        2	3	0.4	20	28
Scott Foster	        2	3	0.4	23	34
Bill Spooner	        2	4	0.33	20	29
Kane Fitzgerald	        2	4	0.33	22	26
Steven Anderson	        2	4	0.33	19	29
Ben Taylor	        1	2	0.33	22	35
David Jones	        1	2	0.33	15	29
Gary Zienlinski	        1	2	0.33	19	24
Jason Phillips	        1	2	0.33	18	30
Tony Brothers	        1	2	0.33	24	27
Mark Ayotte	        2	5	0.29	20	28
Bill Kennedy	        1	3	0.25	21	27
Derrick Stafford	1	3	0.25	18	24
Marc Davis        	1	3	0.25	23	25
Tony Brown	        1	3	0.25	18	32
Brian Forte	        1	4	0.2	17	29
Matt Boland	        1	4	0.2	20	33
Scott Wall	        1	4	0.2	23	28
Tom Washington	        1	4	0.2	17	28
Tre Maddox	        1	4	0.2	21	29
Nick Buchert	        0	1	0	22	16
Bennett Salvatore	0	2	0	16	27
Courtney Kirkland	0	2	0	20	28
Ed Malloy	        0	2	0	15	32
Michael Smith	        0	2	0	29	26
Karl Lane	        0	3	0	18	33
Eli Roe	                0	4	0	19	25
Ken Mauer	        0	4	0	21	22
Mark Lindsay	        0	4	0	16	29
Mike Callahan	        0	4	0	22	23
Kevin Cutler	        0	5	0	21	28
Lauren Holtkamp	        0	6	0	22	30

 

[IfAt1st]

Lauren Holtkamp had the worst season I can remember an official having.

She blatantly anticipates the action on the court, and reacts to players exaggerating contact WAY too much.
Throw in her absurd inability to communicate with players or allow them to have any reaction(s), and you get an embarrassing season that she must improve on greatly, or be let go.

I'd be really interested in seeing this list for the past 15 years. LOL
I bet Joey Crawford has a pretty dismal record for us.

 

[Iced Espresso]

Was Lauren the one who called the number 6 on Cousins from the Chandler flop?

If so, get her out of here.

 

[ESP47]

Doesn't surprise me that Joey Crawford calls just about more fouls than anyone. He makes the game about himself so we're forced to watch free throws and ticky tack fouls anytime he's on the court.

 

[Letsgokings13]

Was Lauren the one who called the number 6 on Cousins from the Chandler flop?

If so, get her out of here.

Yes, that was her

 

[KingMilz]

To often in threads it was the same old blame the officials story and how we don't get enough foul calls despite being right up there in terms of FTA in the NBA. Basketball is impossible to officiate nearly and that's at a lower level let alone when your dealing with the strongest/fastest/biggest/skilled human beings at it in the World.

I just don't think people realize how hard it actually is in particular when you add in flopping.

 

[Iced Espresso]

To often in threads it was the same old blame the officials story and how we don't get enough foul calls despite being right up there in terms of FTA in the NBA. Basketball is impossible to officiate nearly and that's at a lower level let alone when your dealing with the strongest/fastest/biggest/skilled human beings at it in the World.

I just don't think people realize how hard it actually is in particular when you add in flopping.

The older I get, the more I enjoy a simple point the finger and say bs. Not just about refs, but about anything I feel like calling bs.

Refs do get a pass for difficulty, but not for agendas, bad timing, not being in the proper rotational space, calling something they did not have the angle on etc.

Plenty of bs to go round and round from the refs.

And they/league will not improve if people are not criticized when they need to be.

I don't know about you, but I don't toss down a bill to watch Joey parade around at a game on an ego trip.

 

[BonziFan]

I have to say before I became an official, I looked at them the way most do around here. Like incompetent fools that have no clue whatsoever how to officiate. Then all of a sudden I realized I was the idiot. I had no idea that what they were doing was nothing short of great. Do they make mistakes? Absolutely! Players miss shots and referees miss calls. It's part of the game. But I will tell you this; having been around the game now for 10 years as an official I've learned A LOT about how the game is officiated at all levels. The NBA is officiated completely for entertainment and nothing more. So when you get upset at how they do this or that......it's because they are told to. I say all this because the biggest problem with the NBA is the lack of education for fans in regards to rules and how the game is supposed to be called. They are getting better. NBA TV and NBA.com are implementing some great things in regards to officiating. You should take a look because I think you'll see they are definitely right far more than they are wrong.

 

[IfAt1st]

I have to say before I became an official, I looked at them the way most do around here. Like incompetent fools that have no clue whatsoever how to officiate.

Well, that's a bit of a strawman, since I doubt most people REALLY think they're incompetent - they're using the term in the exaggerated sense.
I, for one, have huge respect for their abilities, and I would never ref a game because of how impossible it is to catch so much action going on at such speed.
See, that's why I am so critical of the refs when they blatantly blow it.
I see them make correct, procedural calls countless times, when I would have been watching the action on the court. Things like foot placement and parts barely touching the line, 3 second calls, travelling, etc - that kind of stuff would be impossible for me to see when I am focusing on the flailing arms and bodies of fast aggressive players.

But when there is only one thing going on - a player isolated with the ball - and they miss obvious in real time calls, it calls into question their integrity. Especially when it more often than not favors to more-in-league-favor player or team.

Furthermore, their lack of consistency is even more damning - it's fairly impossible for a skilled/knowledgeable person to be as inconsistent in enforcing rules as many of these refs are. There are obviously other criteria going on influencing the calls.

But I will tell you this; having been around the game now for 10 years as an official I've learned A LOT about how the game is officiated at all levels. The NBA is officiated completely for entertainment and nothing more. So when you get upset at how they do this or that......it's because they are told to.

Can you explain this more? I'm very interested.
What do you mean "entertainment and nothing more"?
Are you suggesting that they are told to favor certain popular players/teams? That they have agendas that match up with what the league thinks will lead to the more entertaining outcome?

If so, then until Demarcus gets off the most-hated-lists, and the Kings become desirable in the national eye again, apparently we're guaranteed to continue to be screwed by the officiating. Hope none of the games next year are close enough for the refs to make a difference.

 

[BonziFan]

Well, that's a bit of a strawman, since I doubt most people REALLY think they're incompetent - they're using the term in the exaggerated sense.
I, for one, have huge respect for their abilities, and I would never ref a game because of how impossible it is to catch so much action going on at such speed.
See, that's why I am so critical of the refs when they blatantly blow it.
I see them make correct, procedural calls countless times, when I would have been watching the action on the court. Things like foot placement and parts barely touching the line, 3 second calls, travelling, etc - that kind of stuff would be impossible for me to see when I am focusing on the flailing arms and bodies of fast aggressive players.

But when there is only one thing going on - a player isolated with the ball - and they miss obvious in real time calls, it calls into question their integrity. Especially when it more often than not favors to more-in-league-favor player or team.

Furthermore, their lack of consistency is even more damning - it's fairly impossible for a skilled/knowledgeable person to be as inconsistent in enforcing rules as many of these refs are. There are obviously other criteria going on influencing the calls.
Can you explain this more? I'm very interested.
What do you mean "entertainment and nothing more"?
Are you suggesting that they are told to favor certain popular players/teams? That they have agendas that match up with what the league thinks will lead to the more entertaining outcome?

If so, then until Demarcus gets off the most-hated-lists, and the Kings become desirable in the national eye again, apparently we're guaranteed to continue to be screwed by the officiating. Hope none of the games next year are close enough for the refs to make a difference.

They don't blatantly miss calls, at least not on purpose. One thing we are taught at all levels is to NEVER GUESS. I know it's hard with all the technology and angles that cameras get, but sometimes we (even though we always try to be in a proper position) get horrible angles and/or we get screened out by other players on the court. It looks like we might be looking straight at something in particular, but at just the right moment we are blocked or a play shifts just out of our view.

As far as the entertainment comment; it's not that they are involved in some conspiracy or want to have certain teams get favorable calls over others (if that was the case the Kings would not have been one of the top teams in FT attempts for the year). What I mean is that the game is called in a way that will bring the highest entertainment possible for each game. For example, the NBA has FAR more and 1's than any other level. Why? Because it is exciting for fans. We are taught to keep the gane moving at lower levels. I am not saying we dont call fouls; we are just more selective so as not to create unnecessary and 1's on contact that had no bearing on a play.

Continuation in the NBA is also very different than other levels because they want to give the highest opportunity for a score. Have you ever seen a play and said to yourself "THAT'S CONTINUATION!!??" That's some of what I mean. The rules are made for the highest probability for scoring and high drama. That is NBA only.