Officiating: Is the NHL doing it right or is the NBA, or neither/both

[Whale Mingo]

I guess the answer probably depends on what team you root for, or root against maybe, but I'm curious what other posters think. Mostly those that don't have a dog in the fight of Anaheim/Pittsburgh/Nashville/Ottawa.

It seems, at least to me that NHL games are officiated to keep the games/series close. Insomuch that anyone can win, maybe that parity is what the NHL wants. We came very close to a Final featuring the #12 and #16 seed. I can't think that's good for business/ratings outside of the respective towns. Obviously if you are a fan of one of those teams you love that your team is in or came a bounce away, I get it. Big picture though, is it good for the NHL to push THAT much parity so much of the skill is removed?

Compare it to the NBA where, in October, barring major injuries, it was going to come down to Cleveland and GS, again. Nobody can argue that the two best teams aren't in the finals. I don't watch enough NBA to know if they officiate the games that way or not, but it is what it is, the two best teams are in the finals, again. However, so many teams just never had a chance to win their conference that it takes much of the fun out of the season and playoffs.

Which is better in your opinion:

1. Reffing so anyone can win and much of the skill is removed.
2. So much skill on teams that all the parity is removed and even the third best team has no chance.

Click to read more...

 

[jw2]

no cap. Let them play.

Scoring up, viewership up, more (has th level) competitive teams, more exciting sport.

 

[ThatSaid]

Which is better in your opinion:

1. Reffing so anyone can win and much of the skill is removed.
2. So much skill on teams that all the parity is removed and even the third best team has no chance.

Two. Two. Two. This isn't AYSO, its the NHL. But I kind of reject the premise. Hockey is very much a game of high variance. Good teams get beat by bad teams all the time, even when the refs are calling it according to the book.

The NBA, in my opinion, has the best officiating out of all the major leagues in the U.S. For the most part, at least for the last decade or so, "let them play" has gone by the wayside, and they call the game by the book.

If you're going to have a separate rule book for the postseason and regular season, at least publish it and be consistent. Taking skill out of the game is exactly what happens when you don't call penalties. Totally bush-league.

 

[Whale Mingo]

T

The NBA, in my opinion, has the best officiating out of all the major leagues in the U.S. For the most part, at least for the last decade or so, "let them play" has gone by the wayside, and they call the game by the book.

I obviously didn't KNOW that, but I would have expected it to be the case given the results.


I absolutely think the NHL playoffs are officiated to keep things as close as possible. I'm not saying it always works out that way, but couple that premise with the ridiculous playoff format and you certainly have a recipe to never have the two best teams in the Final.

 

[JPeeper]

The NBA is trash. There is no parity, nothing is exciting until the finals because the eastern conference is such trash and no one can touch GS.

The NHL shouldn't follow them in anything. And u wot m8 @ the guy above me, the NBA has the best officiating of the 4 major league sports? The NBA has by far the worst officiating in any of the 4 major sports.

 

[McBaevid]

The NBA is a joke. When you and your dog can predict the final accurately each and every year there is nothing to watch until said Final.

 

[Whale Mingo]

The NBA is a joke. When you and your dog can predict the final accurately each and every year there is nothing to watch until said Final.

I get it, and tend to agree with you. Isn't there at least something to be said for the best teams making the final each year, though?

It make things sort of anticlimactic, for sure, but why assemble the best team if a team 15 seeds lower than you wins the title?

I'm not even sure there is a happy medium to find. I mean, there are 16 teams in the NHL playoffs so it wouldn't be reasonable to say the 16 seed can never win. If that were the case then why let them in?


I certainly lean towards whichever camp best fits the more skilled/better team winning, but I also want enough parity that more than two teams have a chance each year.

 

[Epsilon]

The NBA's problem, ironically, is having a salary cap. Or at least, having a cap on the size of individual player salaries.

 

[McBaevid]

I get it, and tend to agree with you. Isn't there at least something to be said for the best teams making the final each year, though?

It make things sort of anticlimactic, for sure, but why assemble the best team if a team 15 seeds lower than you wins the title?

I'm not even sure there is a happy medium to find. I mean, there are 16 teams in the NHL playoffs so it wouldn't be reasonable to say the 16 seed can never win. If that were the case then why let them in?


I certainly lean towards whichever camp best fits the more skilled/better team winning, but I also want enough parity that more than two teams have a chance each year.

The thing is, Golden State and Cleveland are so much better than any other team there really is no point or any reason to focus on any of the playoff series and ultimately any of the other teams. Ever since Lebron ruined the NBA by introducing "The Big 3" era there is no team that can compete unless they have at least 3 of the top players in the league, and I don't see this changing anytime soon

The NBA's problem, ironically, is having a salary cap. Or at least, having a cap on the size of individual player salaries.

Soft Caps are useless, might as well not even have one.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

The NBA's officiating is even worse than the NHL.

 

[Epsilon]

The thing is, Golden State and Cleveland are so much better than any other team there really is no point or any reason to focus on any of the playoff series and ultimately any of the other teams. Ever since Lebron ruined the NBA by introducing "The Big 3" era there is no team that can compete unless they have at least 3 of the top players in the league, and I don't see this changing anytime soon



Soft Caps are useless, might as well not even have one.

It's not that so much as the cap on top player salaries leads to the formation of super-teams. If guys like LeBron, Curry, Durant, Westbrook, etc. were paid what they are worth, no team could possibly afford more than one at a time.

 

[Gnashville]

The NBA got caught fixing series to get big market teams into the Finals, they are 100% not the example to follow.

2 super teams vs 28 nobodies is awful. What is the point of the last 3 seasons for the other 28 teams and their fans? Then to make it worse when one of the 2 relevant teams visit they rest all their stars that people paid to see.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Two. Two. Two. This isn't AYSO, its the NHL. But I kind of reject the premise. Hockey is very much a game of high variance. Good teams get beat by bad teams all the time, even when the refs are calling it according to the book.

Yeah, I agree with this. The premise of the thread doesn't take into account the natural differences between the sports.

Taking skill out of the game is exactly what happens when you don't call penalties. Totally bush-league.

The NHL has got to get their head around this concept and address it. We have had about 2-4 seasons in the past 20 years where the balance of skill and grit was calibrated correctly.

 

[Reality Check]

So much whining about the NBA yet it continues to dwarf the NHL in ratings. Sad!

In addition, outside Durant(who was obtained because they had the capspace), a team like Golden State has been built through the draft and wise acquisitions.

The only thing to hate about them is that they're doing what your team can't do.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

The NBA is a joke. Some of the worst officiating of any major sport, at times, even rigged. Add on to that the fact that only a few teams make it to the finals every year and you've got a predictable, boring league. Parity is needed in sports and with how the NBA's cap works, it doesn't stop super teams from forming.

 

[weastern bias]

Both leagues have serious problems with their officiating for wildly different reasons

NBA refs are blatantly and obviously managing games to manufacture tight games, create artificial parity, and extend the length of series to maximise league income; if you watch a game that is starting to get out of hand the calls will go in favor of the losing team like 75% of the time

NHL refs try to officiate fairly but are trash awful atrocious at their jobs, they ****ing suck and their continual and increasing incompetence is a big part of why NHL hockey games have such a random outcome on a night to night basis

I hate both

 

[jw2]

Two. Two. Two. This isn't AYSO, its the NHL. But I kind of reject the premise. Hockey is very much a game of high variance. Good teams get beat by bad teams all the time, even when the refs are calling it according to the book.

The NBA, in my opinion, has the best officiating out of all the major leagues in the U.S. For the most part, at least for the last decade or so, "let them play" has gone by the wayside, and they call the game by the book.

If you're going to have a separate rule book for the postseason and regular season, at least publish it and be consistent. Taking skill out of the game is exactly what happens when you don't call penalties. Totally bush-league.

I assume you are young, as the NBA officiating is far from "by the book". You do know the NBA rules call for no contact, right? Imagine if they called fouls every time players of opposing teams touched each other (body, hands).

 

[jw2]

Salary cap is extremely different when comparing a "5 person team" with a few subs and 18 players.

The NHL had dominant teams in the past - it helped the game in every way the HF posters complain about.

 

[Ducks in a row]

Basketball reffing is terrible. NHL is also terrible but it is also harder to officiate as well.

So much whining about the NBA yet it continues to dwarf the NHL in ratings. Sad!

In addition, outside Durant(who was obtained because they had the capspace), a team like Golden State has been built through the draft and wise acquisitions.

The only thing to hate about them is that they're doing what your team can't do.

Well it is because it is easier to follow Basketball games then faster hockey action. Also hockey is more of a rich person game to get to play and when you have harder time to be able to play something you will tend to have less interest in watching others do it.

 

[LeafsNation75]

The NBA is a joke. Some of the worst officiating of any major sport, at times, even rigged. Add on to that the fact that only a few teams make it to the finals every year and you've got a predictable, boring league. Parity is needed in sports and with how the NBA's cap works, it doesn't stop super teams from forming.

That's exactly on point. How many times do you see players like LeBron James get away with a lot of fouls, where as other players who aren't stars are called for the exact same thing.

The odd time when LeBron is called for a foul he has this look on his face like what did I do and how dare you call a foul on me.

 

[Hynh]

From left to right: MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL.

Basketball's issues for me go deeper than any other sport. The very basis of the sport is flawed in a way that no other major sport is.

The NHL could easily fix their officiating by A) going Napoleon on the rulebook and B) telling the refs to follow it. But they won't because the people that run the NHL are shortsighted and only concerned the current season and how the rules will affect them then.

 

[Soundwave]

NHL has become worse than the NBA. It officially crossed streams this season I'd say.

NBA was worse 4-5 years ago, but they actually did something about it and hold officials accountable and review calls and will actually tell fans when a ref has blown an important call down the stretch.

NHL has become a total joke. No accountability, no consistency, nothing. On top of that being able to drape yourself all over a more skilled player has come back into style in the NHL.

 

[mouser]

NHL has become worse than the NBA. It officially crossed streams this season I'd say.

NBA was worse 4-5 years ago, but they actually did something about it and hold officials accountable and review calls and will actually tell fans when a ref has blown an important call down the stretch.

NHL has become a total joke. No accountability, no consistency, nothing.

NBA officials systematically make or don't make foul calls to benefit the elite players.

For all the NHL ref foibles it's nowhere near as systematically biased as the NBA officiating.

 

[Ducks in a row]

NBA reffing is so bad that star players get benefit of calls as does home teams and it is obvious. It is crazy how good teams can win so much at home and reffing is a big reason why.

 

[molon labe]

Well, one of the two mentioned leagues has had officials come out and state that the league is rigged towards certain teams/markets/players.

Really don't want to spend much time on this - but for the love of everything and anything, NOBODY should try and imitate the NBA on any level. Next we'll have players removing 6 t-shirts, 4 towels, and a second pair of skates before every line change...and collapsing over each other on every single decent pass.

This is from a guy who used to watch the NBA more than anyone on this board (I used to gamble on it as well). The league is a croc and it's pathetic to watch. It's ENTIRELY based off of officiating. Do some research, if anything - look into why the owners of the Vegas franchise had troubles whilst in the NBA. Those early 2000's Sacramento teams were deadly, until the refs decided they weren't.