Any NBA fan will tell you how bad the officiating is, and how many times your team has been screwed on a bad call. You don’t even need to watch more than a quarter without seeing at least one or two questionable calls. Sure, the Tim Donaghy scandal ruined a lot of people’s perception of refs trying to control the outcome of a game, but for the most part I don’t believe that the rest of the refs are purposely making bad calls they just aren’t competent enough to make the right ones. I think it’s time for the league to help the refs out by changing the way the games are covered.

• Adding a fourth ref – How could this hurt? One more pair of eyes to see a crucial call from a different angle in a game changing call?!? The refs keep track of a lot of things including game time, time outs, fouls, shot clock, and the score which is a lot for a 60 year old man (I’ll get back to that) running up and down the court for a 48 minute game. Maybe more so for a Warriors, Knicks, or Suns. I’m not even 30 and I don’t think I can run back and forth with the pros without getting winded, possibly impairing my vision to the point where I think something happened when it didn’t!
• Instant Replay – Even the MLB has instituted the home run replay after years of debate. If the oldest sport in our country can change with technology that’s been around for 15 years, then why can’t the NBA. Too many times you hear a whistle blown and all the refs are looking at each other with their hands in the air as if a fan blew it. If all three refs don’t know who’s ball or who the foul was on why don’t they review it? Or put a ref behind a monitor that can tell them in an earpiece who touched it last? How hard is that?
• Youth Liberation – I have no doubt that many of these refs are in top form for their age, but how scary is it that the top refs in the league (working most of the playoffs/most important games of the year) are late 40’s to pushing 70?!? I have no problem putting my eyesight up against any of these refs.
• Explanation – I think we need to migrate towards the way the NFL makes calls. After every foul, I would like to see them touch a body part or have something other than raising their hand and pointing at someone! Just let the crowd know what kind of foul occurred. For instance a slap on the arm or hip maybe the ref could point to that part of their body. Maybe a flop they could break out with the worm, which would give the NBA even more incentive to get some younger refs in their twenties and thirties which is much closer to a person’s peak physical prime. These small acts towards accountability on calls could make them actually have to go by more than a flop or how the crowd reacted!

After the Tim Donaghy scandal, we were led to believe that drastic changes would be made for the NBA officiating crews, and alas there have been no noticeable changes. It’s the same refs with the same questionable calls game after game and year after year!

Just a reminder of how bad it can be! Sorry Sacto fans this one hurt!