Referees play a crucial role in the success of an athletic organization’s future. Playoff games are often decided by specific calls that affect game outcomes; a good or bad call may jeopardize the most significant moments in a game.
Recently, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers were the subjects of the poor officiating by NBA referees, and both franchises were fighting for a spot in the next round of the playoffs; they desperately needed to win close games, but the officiating prevented them from doing so. In Game 2 of the Lakers versus Nuggets series, the referee made a contentious call toward the end.
With 39 seconds left in a tied game, the referees reversed a call they made, claiming there was no foul against the Nuggets after they had originally called one. It ultimately allowed the Nuggets to emerge victorious. This event resulted in a controversial post-game discussion when star players like LeBron James spoke on the current matter of horrible NBA officiating accuracy. “[Point Guard D’Angelo Russell] got hit in the face driving to the hoop,” James said. Consequently, the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs, even though it was later confirmed by the NBA that it should have been a foul in favor of the Lakers.
Similarly, in Game 2 of the Philadelphia 76ers versus New York Knicks series, another issue surrounded the ending of Game 2. In the closing seconds, Sixers guard Kyle Lowry inbounded the ball to another guard, Tyrese Maxey. On the play, Maxey was clearly held, from his jersey, by a Knicks player and fell to the ground with the ball as a result. No call was made by the officials. To avoid a turnover, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse called a timeout while they still maintained possession.
However, through all of the chaos, the referees allowed the game to continue, ignoring not only the blatant foul against the Knicks, but also Nurse’s pleas for a timeout. The Knicks stole the ball back, and in the closing seconds, their guard, Donte DiVincenzo, scored a game-winning three-pointer; it was an abysmal performance from the referee crew.
The Sixers filed a grievance to the NBA following the game, and it was later decided that they were robbed because of the referees’ missed calls.
Though there are around 200 possessions for each team during an NBA game, the most important possessions evidently come at the end of games. If referees are able to continue getting away with poor officiating, then the results of such basketball games will neither be accurate nor fair. This raises questions about whether artificial intelligence will replace current referees or not, or if they will alter certain rules, backed by the unfair game-endings to teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers, who deserved to win their games.
