FanHouse Nba Referees

NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson took time with FanHouse this week to address some postseason issues regarding officiating and punishment.

Question: How did this year's postseason flagrant foul numbers compare with other years?

Jackson: In terms of flagrant fouls called this year in the playoffs, there were 17, which was one less than last year. That was more flagrant fouls than were called in 2006-07, but less than 2005-06. So, it was basically consistent with the last four or five years.

Objectively speaking, the referees haven't been much of a factor in this series, and that's how it's supposed to be.

I'm sure some fans in Orlando will disagree -- what about Pau's goaltending? Or Kobe's elbow? Those are two isolated incidents that might have warranted a whistle, but for the most part, the Lakers have gone up 3-1 despite the referees, not because of them.

Consider: the Magic attempted 18 free throws in the fourth quarter and overtime in Game 4 before the Lakers attempted one -- and the only reason the Lakers made a single trip to the line was because Mickael Pietrus committed a flagrant foul in the final seconds.

Many coaches hate the NBA mandate they participate in on-court, mid-game interviews for all nationally-televised affairs. And you can usually tell how much they hate it based on their icy glares and snarky, one-word responses. Phil Jackson is, unsurprisingly, one of these obviously displeased coaches.

But during Game 4, Jackson focused his anger elsewhere, calling first quarter foul calls against his big men "bogus" in his intermission chat with ABC's Doris Burke. Wait, is that public criticism of the referees? A-yep. And for his trouble, Jackson today got hit with a $25,000 fine from the league. As Howard Beck of the New York Time notes, the league forces the coaches to do these interviews ... and then fined the first one to say something interesting. I'll be honest: the whole feature adds almost nothing to the game. If it leads to public criticism of the refs when everyone is watching, something the NBA hates, isn't it hurting?

That's Mickael Pietrus, going with two hands in the back to Pau Gasol as he throws down a dunk near the end of the Lakers' overtime victory in Game 4. The game had already been decided by then, so there was really no reason other than frustration for the hard foul.

The play was ruled a flagrant at the time, and after review, the league has determined that no further action will be taken against Pietrus. And really, that's the correct decision.

Tim Donaghy, the former NBA referee who had been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for betting on basketball, is scheduled to be released on June 17. But it's not because he's served his sentence; it's because of a medical condition Donaghy now has after being attacked by a fellow inmate back in November of 2008.

The Daily News had the original report, which cited a source close to Donaghy who gave them the story. But the follow-up reporting done by Deadspin turned up some details that were far more interesting.

Despite what a few desperate Orlando Magic fans might try to tell you, these Finals have really been free of any controversies surrounding the officiating. (You want goaltending? Please. This, my friends, is what goaltending looks like.) But that all might change in Game 3, if you go by the reputations of the crew that's been assigned to work this one.

Your referees for tonight: Joey Crawford, Derrick Stafford, and Mark Wunderlich. If something is going to go terribly wrong with one or more calls in this series, well, Tuesday night is going to be the night.

The officials were a non-factor in Game 1 of the Finals, and frankly, that's just how we like it. But that was largely because the Lakers were able to get out to a big lead and never look back, and there's no guarantee that the same thing is going to happen in Game 2.

Tonight's officials: Steve Javie, Monty McCutchen, and Tom Washington. For the Orlando Magic, this crew is about as good as it gets.

It's a post-game tradition among NBA fans to talk about the officiating -- but why wait until the game is over? Before each game of the NBA Finals, we'll take a close look at the crew assigned to the game to see if there's any trends that bear watching. Tonight's crew: Dan Crawford (pictured, talking with Stan Van Gundy), Joe DeRosa and Ken Mauer.

At first glance, having Crawford and Mauer on the floor is a good omen for the Lakers: over the course of the regular season, those two rank among the top 11 most homer-friendly refs in the league. DeRosa may even things out for the Magic, though; only one other referee favored the road team more than him.

That right there was how Dwight Howard picked up his sixth technical foul of the post-season, on a play where he was tackled around the neck by Anderson Varejao, but somehow managed to score anyway. This was cause for concern, because one more would get him a one-game suspension, which his Magic could ill-afford to have happen at this late stage of the playoffs.

Bloggers knee-jerking on the phone + roundtable style = RoundCast.

Orlando now leads Cleveland 2-1. And while it was a great game in terms of excitement and actual basketball, it was a touch irritating to see 4,000 free throws/per quarter*. Just like it was a touch irritating to see our boy Flopsy try and incite Dwight Howard into a technical foul spree.

But, whatever, the Magic won -- despite a poor game from Hedo Turkoglu -- and the Cavaliers, despite another monster game from LeBron James appear to be in a pretty big hole. Moore gloats while Brett and I discuss whether or not the referees are doing their job, whether Cleveland can salvage this series and what will happen tonight between Denver and Los Angeles.

*approximate