WWNBA: 2013 Playoffs Showcase the NBA's Protected Teams and Players!

     Since America is in the middle of the NBA playoffs I thought it would be fitting to write a few comments on the state of the league.  In the past 25 years the NBA has evolved into the second leading sport in America behind our pastime football, and David Stern has played a major part in this rise to glory, but it hasn't all been good.  As the years go by it seems as is the league is turning into more of a WWE type sport, where whoever is the most popular team, with the best players, will be handled by referees differently.  This has been claimed since the infamous book Jordan Rules.

     If a fan honestly watches a game they will admit that when a player such as Reggie Evans goes to the hole and gets hammered they are far more unlikely to get a foul call then a player, such as, Lebron James.  Even great players like Carmelo Anthony are unable to get the same calls as the great 'King James' or Kevin Durant.  You see the replays and you ask yourself 'How did they miss that?', but you also find yourself asking that numerous times a game.  

     There seems to be a rhythm to the art the is 'refereeing' a basketball game.  You will find that the top teams are called for the least amount of fouls, such as the Spurs being the least penalized for almost a decade, and when they are called for a foul it tends to be on an insignificant player.  I go back to the playoffs between the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs in 2007 where the NBA's darling, Tim Duncan, was called for 1 foul in 4 games.  When you watched the games it was apparent that there were far more fouls committed by this gifted player.  So why is it that when a team gets a reputation for being a good defensive team, they tend to be called for less fouls?  The reality is that the better defensive teams commit more fouls as they're constantly reaching and slapping wrists, but the NBA turns their heads to protect the teams image.

     The sad reality is that the refs in the NBA are just human and whether they're instructed, which I hope is not the case, or they just get caught up in the emotion of the crowd, David 'the Dictator' Stern needs to clamp down on what is really a foul and what is not.  He said that he was going to fine players for their first flop in the playoffs, but I for one have seen so many flops that have not been called that those are just empty words.  In closing I hope the new commissioner will clean up the NBA and save the sport from the mega star teams and unbalanced calls.

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee