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There are a few refs out there that act as if they think that if there's a foul, it tends to goes 70-30 against the Spurs. (not naming any names...)
Game 3, there were at least two times I counted where Ben Wallace and Prince took at least three steps before making the shot during a drive. Not called because "the ref's view was blocked", but it resulted in 4 points against the Spurs...
Part of the problem refs have with the Spurs is the subtle difference between American play and European play when it comes to approaching the ball and the shot. Europeans tend to play a lot more physically - partially because in Europe, they have to dodge bottles and cell phones hurled at them by the fans...
That's something I've noticed a lot with these refs; when a player reacts to the foul against him, he's going to draw the foul because the refs never saw the initial foul.
Another problem I have is the rule that a defender can jump "set" himself in front of an player who is in mid-shot and draw the foul when the shooter in mid-air can't avoid the collision. I always thought that was incidental contact, myself.
As for flops that many people claim is prevalent in the game - hey, sometimes you need to if you're going to save yourself a strain on a calf or groin muscle by trying to catch yourself during a physical game. I've also noticed that "flops" aren't drawing as many fouls as they used to three-four years ago.
Yeah, there are some refs out there who play favorites with players and teams - especially with players like Shaq or KG, who tend to get away with flagrants at a higher rate than the average player. It's a celebrity thing, from what I can tell.
Doesn't help that many of the announcers/color guys (is there recent network announcer with a name where the first letter begins with "H"?) are former coaches who may be thinking of getting back into the game and are acting as if the refs can do no wrong to protect themselves when they are trying to cover for their players during calls. So if the ref screws up a call that the announcer (and viewers) can easily see was not what the ref said it was, the announcer goes on about how great a call it was.
Of course everyone's going to think the refs are harder on their team more than the other. You notice what happens to your guys more than what they inflict on the other guys.
Especially when you have two very good, hard playing defensive teams like the Pistons and the Spurs.
Haele
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