OKC Thunder among top teams refs mishandle

FiveThirtyEight’s article outlines which teams get the worst treatment from NBA referees. The OKC Thunder rank among the most maligned, but the OK3 don’t make the individual list.

Russell Westbrook picked up another technical foul in the OKC Thunder loss to Portland last night. Westbrook ranks among the most penalized players in the league with Draymond Green leading the way. At the All-Star Break officials and players sat down to discuss issues between the two groups.

This situation isn’t getting better overnight, but the hope was these initial meetings would help bridge the gap until things can be dealt with more formally. Immediately after the break players continue to complain with LeBron James key among the commenters.

Two minute report offers telling information:

Adding fuel to the player angst is the recent article by Chris Herring and Neil Paine of FiveThirtyEight. The scribes noted the Brooklyn Nets are the mishandled the worst by officials and even cite a game versus the OKC Thunder as an example.

"When the NBA’s biggest names are complaining about something, it’s obviously going to get a lot of attention. But that doesn’t necessarily mean those voices have the biggest reason to complain. That honor belongs to the Brooklyn Nets. Through Wednesday, Brooklyn had seen more blown foul calls than any other club this season, according to our analysis of The Pudding’s compilation of the NBA’s “Last Two Minute” reports. In those, the league evaluates the accuracy of calls and non-calls made by officials at the end of close games.2"

Paul George came out this week to state the OK3 get officiated unfairly and differently than other players.

“It’s tough. We’re so aggressive; we play at the rim constantly. We’re just officiated differently, all three of us. And it’s tough. At least one of us [should] get the benefit of the doubt.” – George

And, while as Thunder fans we may agree with this statement the trio don’t land on the list of twelve players who get a raw deal more often than others.

Top 12 list of players refs mistreat:

As per FiveThirtyEight’s article the following chart by The Pudding showcases which players have the greatest argument to complain.

How these bad/no calls are affecting playoff seeding:

Diving deeper into the list of 12 above, six players have been affected on six occasions or more. Of these perhaps the most interesting is LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan and Will Barton who are all waged in playoff wars for seeding.

Although I can recall a few games where James and Barton didn’t get calls, I can cite precisely all six games DeRozan was affected. This because I’ve debated the subject regarding the Raptors clutch time issues (or lack thereof). Given the fact DeRozan didn’t receive foul calls on blatant fouls, Toronto lost those games. If you check the games the no calls occurred they made the difference in the outcome.

I’m not suggesting teams not in the playoff race don’t have the same rights as James, DeRozan or Barton. Rather, it does carry weight considering what seven extra wins (or a portion thereof) for the Cavs would accomplish. First of all, it would give them distance from the jumbled three through eight seeds they are currently mired in. Additionally, it would place them closer to the Raptors and Celtics who are seeded one and two respectively.

As for Toronto. six (or a portion thereof) extra wins would have a major impact. It would provide a greater cushion over the Celtics who they currently sit 1.5 games ahead.

And for Denver, imagine what 11 extra wins (or portion thereof) would do for their seeding as they currently cling to eighth.

OKC Thunder rank fourth among teams refs wrongly officiate:

Although the OK3 may not make the cut the team does. FiveThirtyEight’s chart showcases bad or non calls made in the final two minutes in games within three points. Of course this data is available because of the Two Minute Report the NBA now makes available.

Like the individual players affected several teams ranked at the top are not in the playoff race. Again, like the individuals mistreated (Barton/DeRozan) the Nuggets and Raptors rank third and eighth respectively for teams improperly adjudicated.

The OKC Thunder rank fourth with a total of 22 bad or no calls made in the final two minutes of games. Diving into the chart 16 teams have between 10 and 15 bad or missed calls. This seems to be a reasonable amount of calls teams could overlook. Assuming the calls were one per game it represents approximately 16 to 24 percent given the February 28th date (ie: I used 62 games as my base).

FiveThirtyEight Chart

The issue lies outside this middle ground. Of the three teams below the norm are the Pistons, Rockets and Magic. No offense to the Pistons or Magic, but they appear lottery bound so getting a better whistle seems odd since the presumption is top teams or squads with respected stars would receive benefit calls. The interesting party in this group is the Rockets who clearly are getting the benefit call.

Of the 11 squads who receive more than their fair share of bad/no calls six squads are mired in the playoff race. They are the Nuggets (24), OKC Thunder (22), Raptors (18) Celtics, Wolves (both with 17) and Heat (16).

To put this in perspective the 22 bad/no calls the OKC Thunder endured represents more than 35 percent of their games. I don’t know about you but that seems like an exceedingly large percent of games for officials to have a hand in deciding.

Moving Forward:

The NBPA and Officials will continue to meet with hopes of finding resolution. From an outsider’s perspective it would seem the officials are taking heat from stars who have grown accustomed to the benefit whistle. While the players are unhappy with the lack of communication or leeway with officials.

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• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

From a fans perspective I think most of us could live with the refs putting their whistles in their pockets and letting teams play tough nosed defense. Perhaps I’m speaking out of turn assuming this is a widespread belief.   My greatest annoyance is when refs aren’t consistent with both sides and worse when they begin a game letting things go and suddenly whistle everything (or the reverse).

Bottom line, like the old saying you can please some of the people some of the time and none of the people all of the time clearly applies here.  In spite of that, one would hope some sort of leeway can be made to accomplish the former part of this equation.

I’ve been on a soapbox for a while stating a coaches challenge is long overdue in the NBA. The fact the only major league sport without one is the NBA speaks volumes.

For those that felt the two minute report was a waste of time because it didn’t change the outcome of games, this article proves the report is useful. Not only does it provide transparency, it establishes the benchmark from which to move forward.

Next: Top all-time OKC scorers

In the interim, perhaps Billy Donovan and the OKC Thunder players should keep this stat handy to coyly (and let me stress this means at a point where the official is open to listening) remind the official(s) they are due a good turn.