The Jeff Van Gundy saga has come to its conclusion for now with Van Gundy retreating from earlier statements about playoff officiating. In his contrite explanation, he says that he never meant to imply that a NBA referee told him the officials were looking more closely at Yao Ming in response to complaints by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
Instead, he was "purposefully vague" and was referring to a league official, but not a referee. In response, the NBA said the investigation is closed. Commissioner David Stern's threat of banishment from the game has been satiated with the Houston Rockets' loss to the Dallas Mavericks in seven games.
But did Van Gundy have a legitimate point? Is there a discrepancy in how games or players are officiated, especially in the playoffs? Rumors of bias or outright conspiracy have been swirling around the league for years. Most notably from the fans of smaller-market teams. A large number of these complaints surround the past success of the Shaq-led Los Angeles Lakers. But the whispers have been around since Michael Jordan's day when he seemed to get away with push-offs to free himself up for last second shots. In watching the video, there isn't much doubt that he used his arm and not his legs to create the separation between himself and Bryon Russell in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals versus the Utah Jazz.
Since then, the focus on biased officiating has fallen on the big men. Shaq has long been regarded as receiving favorable treatment in the playoffs, in no large part because he played for one of the largest media markets in the country. This argument was repeated over and over by fans of the Sacramento Kings and the Portland Trailblazers who watched year after year as their team lost to the Lakers in the playoffs. Remember the Blazers/Lakers Western Conference championship Game 7 in 2000?
And while they were correct in noting the inconsistency of playoff officiating, they were not correct about a systematic bias. I used to believe in the large-market bias, but have come to the conclusion that no professional sports league can survive while being biased. There are just too many replays and too many fans for it to be possible.
Van Gundy did, however, bring up a valid point that the NBA needs to address to put the bias rumors to rest for good. There is no consistent set of rules for officiating the really big centers in the league. Fouls outside the paint are set in stone. Players know when they can and can't use their hands, and how much contact will be allowed. On the inside, what constitutes a foul has varied from game to game, changing in response to coaches' complaints and fan outrage.
On some days, Shaq was called for fouls with minimal contact against defenders, and defenders then exploited the Hack-a-Shaq defense. Other times, Shaq was able to shoulder, elbow, and force defenders out of his way towards the basket. With more years of experience, the variability in officiating Shaq has faded, and instead there do seem to be some rules for his inside play.
Yao Ming's foul trouble mirrors the early problems with Shaq in that the league's on court officials are still learning what is legal and illegal for the 7-6 center. Unlike Shaq, Yao is not the inside presence, but instead extends his game out past the free throw line. This tendency to play outside of the paint has resulted in Yao getting fouls called on him that are appropriate for guards, but not for centers. Part of this is because he has a tendency to reach in instead of using his feet, but you also don't see a lot of centers getting the ticky tack foul calls that Yao picks up.
It's easy to see where Van Gundy's frustration came from. In a couple of years, the NBA will probably be comfortable with Yao's style of play and thus be able to officiate him better. Which is good for Yao, but what happens to the next real big center who comes into the league? Will he also go through a similar process as the league tries to figure out what is a foul for him?
What the NBA needs to do is not base its fouls on an individual player, but instead come to a consensus about what is a foul for all centers. Let the fans know, call the games accordingly, and these rumors of bias won't have any legs to stand on. As more taller and wider players come to the NBA, officials will have to know how to call the game. Or else these rumors will continue to plague the league until they correct their big men inconsistency.
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