Bad Officiating? Do the numbers back that up?

[Greg Kite for Three!]

Sometimes the numbers speak for themselves, and they say something about the officiating during the Magic-Pistons series. During the regular season the Magic attempted the 3rd most free throws per game (27.9), but the Pistons were significantly lower in the 22nd position (24). Both teams are attempting fewer free throws during the series than they did during the regular season, however, the difference is far greater for the Magic. The Magic are attempting only 20.75 attempts per game compared to the Pistons at 22.25 per game. In fact, if the Magic attempted the same amount per game during the regular season it would plummet from its 3rd position all the way down to next to the bottom with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Considering the Pistons stated intent of playing Dwight Howard very physical and denying him any lay ups or dunks, one might assume that Dwight is getting numerous trips to the free throw line. Not so fast.

 

During the regular season Dwight lead the league at 10.9 free throw attempts per game. He attempted 10 or more free throws 48 times and 5 times reached the 20 or over mark. But in the current series he is averaging only 6 attempts per game (in the regular season series with the Pistons they put Dwight on the line 11.5 times per game). He is playing more minutes (37.4 mpg during the regular season compared with 41.8 mpg during the series) and attempting almost the exact same number of shots (11.9 fga during the regular season compared with 11.8 during the series), but his free throw attempts are missing. One might expect a First Team All NBA player to get a few favorable calls during the playoffs, or at least average the same number of free throws attempted per game as they did during the regular season. Of the All NBA First Team, only Kobe and LeBron attempted free throws near the same rate as Dwight. Have they been getting to the line as much in their current series?

 

LeBron averaged 10.3 attempts per game during the regular season and is up to 11.6 per game in the series with Boston. Kobe averaged 9.1 attempts per game during the regular season and is up to 15.5 per game in the series with Utah. Both of them went up in free throw attempts, but Dwight's attempts fell almost in half.

 

Compare Dwight with Rip Hamilton. During the regular season Rip attempted 3.1 free throws per game, but in the series with the Magic he is up to 5.75 per game. In fact, in game 4 he took 9 free throws, which matched his high attempt mark for the entire season. So, Rip Hamilton, who is primarily a jump shooter, is averaging .25 free throw attempts per game less than Dwight. Either the Pistons have figured out a way to play extremely physical without committing any fouls when Dwight is shooting, or, maybe, the refs are missing more than a few calls.

[Greg Kite for Three!]

Sometimes the numbers speak for themselves, and they say something about the officiating during the Magic-Pistons series. During the regular season the Magic attempted the 3rd most free throws per game (27.9), but the Pistons were significantly lower in the 22nd position (24). Both teams are attempting fewer free throws during the series than they did during the regular season, however, the difference is far greater for the Magic. The Magic are attempting only 20.75 attempts per game compared to the Pistons at 22.25 per game. In fact, if the Magic attempted the same amount per game during the regular season it would plummet from its 3rd position all the way down to next to the bottom with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Considering the Pistons stated intent of playing Dwight Howard very physical and denying him any lay ups or dunks, one might assume that Dwight is getting numerous trips to the free throw line. Not so fast.

 

During the regular season Dwight lead the league at 10.9 free throw attempts per game. He attempted 10 or more free throws 48 times and 5 times reached the 20 or over mark. But in the current series he is averaging only 6 attempts per game (in the regular season series with the Pistons they put Dwight on the line 11.5 times per game). He is playing more minutes (37.4 mpg during the regular season compared with 41.8 mpg during the series) and attempting almost the exact same number of shots (11.9 fga during the regular season compared with 11.8 during the series), but his free throw attempts are missing. One might expect a First Team All NBA player to get a few favorable calls during the playoffs, or at least average the same number of free throws attempted per game as they did during the regular season. Of the All NBA First Team, only Kobe and LeBron attempted free throws near the same rate as Dwight. Have they been getting to the line as much in their current series?

 

LeBron averaged 10.3 attempts per game during the regular season and is up to 11.6 per game in the series with Boston. Kobe averaged 9.1 attempts per game during the regular season and is up to 15.5 per game in the series with Utah. Both of them went up in free throw attempts, but Dwight's attempts fell almost in half.

 

Compare Dwight with Rip Hamilton. During the regular season Rip attempted 3.1 free throws per game, but in the series with the Magic he is up to 5.75 per game. In fact, in game 4 he took 9 free throws, which matched his high attempt mark for the entire season. So, Rip Hamilton, who is primarily a jump shooter, is averaging .25 free throw attempts per game less than Dwight. Either the Pistons have figured out a way to play extremely physical without committing any fouls when Dwight is shooting, or, maybe, the refs are missing more than a few calls.

[Crazyhorse81]

nice post backed up by numbers. detroit is just a bigger market than orlando, and notice that the series might be ending in detroit. one last home game for this series to drive up the profits....

[b2theizzo]

Very solid post, and I agree.

 

I got blasted on my site for saying that Orlando was receiving poor officiating, especially in Game 2.

 

The numbers in the series might dictate that Orlando goes to the line more, but that is because Howard gets intenionally fouled several times a game. The fact of that matter is, he could have gone to the line 3-4 more times at least this season, even though he led the league.

 

Here is something about Rip Hamilton. I was watching Game 4 with my dad and his girlfriend, and she doesnt know that much about basketball, but she made the observation that "Hamilton falls on the floor a lot." If she gets, why cant the paid officials? Maybe they dont care.

 

Dwight gonig to the line twice was an attrocity. Dont tell me he wasnt fouled going up to the basket more than once.Now, Diwght wasnt agressve on Saturday, so that played a factor, but for Rip to go to the line 7 more times than Dwight says a lot.

 

As Greg Kite for Three said, The NBA caters to guards for whatever reason. Seeing their free throw attempts increase in the playoffs validates my thoughts on Orlando not receiving enough love.

 

All this being said, officiating has realy only changed one game for Orlando and that was Game 2. This past game, Orlando didnt go to the line much and they didnt make their free throws so we cant blame it on officiating, but the fact is still there...the Pistons are indeed getting the benefit of the call, and only retarted Pistons fans could debate that.

 

Again, excellent post, please keep it up.

 

P.S, check your PM box.

[fishybashi]

Great post!

[fan for too long]

Greg Kite for Three: Please email your post to David Stern, ESPN, TNT, and any other sports outlet involved with the NBA. It is a clear case of the biased officiating in this series. You did a great job. Even though it pisses me off even more seeing what I already thought in writing.

[acslatz]

quote:

Originally posted by b2theizzo:

...the Pistons are indeed getting the benefit of the call, and only retarted Pistons fans could debate that.

 

 

Oh, the irony.

[b2theizzo]

quote:

Originally posted by acslatz:

quote:

Originally posted by b2theizzo:

...the Pistons are indeed getting the benefit of the call, and only retarted Pistons fans could debate that.

 

 

Oh, the irony.

 

Case in point...

[acslatz]

quote:

Originally posted by b2theizzo:

quote:

Originally posted by acslatz:

quote:

Originally posted by b2theizzo:

...the Pistons are indeed getting the benefit of the call, and only retarted Pistons fans could debate that.

 

 

Oh, the irony.

 

Case in point...

 

Wow. You still don't see it, do you? Don't worry, it will come to you. I'll give you a hint. Look at how you attempted to spell the word "RETARDED", then get back to me. I'm sure the irony wasn't lost on 99% of the posters here who are not "retarted".

[b2theizzo]

Sorry, not used to throwing that word around, only use it when I really mean it.

[Captain Hi-Top]

quote:

Originally posted by Greg Kite for Three!:

Sometimes the numbers speak for themselves, and they say something about the officiating during the Magic-Pistons series. During the regular season the Magic attempted the 3rd most free throws per game (27.9), but the Pistons were significantly lower in the 22nd position (24). Both teams are attempting fewer free throws during the series than they did during the regular season, however, the difference is far greater for the Magic. The Magic are attempting only 20.75 attempts per game compared to the Pistons at 22.25 per game. In fact, if the Magic attempted the same amount per game during the regular season it would plummet from its 3rd position all the way down to next to the bottom with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Considering the Pistons stated intent of playing Dwight Howard very physical and denying him any lay ups or dunks, one might assume that Dwight is getting numerous trips to the free throw line. Not so fast.

 

During the regular season Dwight lead the league at 10.9 free throw attempts per game. He attempted 10 or more free throws 48 times and 5 times reached the 20 or over mark. But in the current series he is averaging only 6 attempts per game (in the regular season series with the Pistons they put Dwight on the line 11.5 times per game). He is playing more minutes (37.4 mpg during the regular season compared with 41.8 mpg during the series) and attempting almost the exact same number of shots (11.9 fga during the regular season compared with 11.8 during the series), but his free throw attempts are missing. One might expect a First Team All NBA player to get a few favorable calls during the playoffs, or at least average the same number of free throws attempted per game as they did during the regular season. Of the All NBA First Team, only Kobe and LeBron attempted free throws near the same rate as Dwight. Have they been getting to the line as much in their current series?

 

LeBron averaged 10.3 attempts per game during the regular season and is up to 11.6 per game in the series with Boston. Kobe averaged 9.1 attempts per game during the regular season and is up to 15.5 per game in the series with Utah. Both of them went up in free throw attempts, but Dwight's attempts fell almost in half.

 

Compare Dwight with Rip Hamilton. During the regular season Rip attempted 3.1 free throws per game, but in the series with the Magic he is up to 5.75 per game. In fact, in game 4 he took 9 free throws, which matched his high attempt mark for the entire season. So, Rip Hamilton, who is primarily a jump shooter, is averaging .25 free throw attempts per game less than Dwight. Either the Pistons have figured out a way to play extremely physical without committing any fouls when Dwight is shooting, or, maybe, the refs are missing more than a few calls.

 

Well, you also need to take into account the difference between playoff basketball and regular season basketball.

 

Perhaps a comparison between average number of calls on all playoff teams in regular season vs. playoff games over the course of the past few years?

 

Granted, this is more along the lines of making your point valid in a national media outlet versus an internet message board, but if someone had the taime for that detailed type of analysis, I think it would be interesting.

[Mr. T]

Well for anyone who cares I found the regular season averages head to head. I included 3pt attempts to try and give an idea of how many times each settled for the jumpshot or drove to the rim. Its not a clear picture, but its a rough outline. For instance Rip makes his living taking jumpshots, but not necessarily from beyond 3 pt range.

 

Free Throws:

 

Magic - 132/4 = 33 attempts per game

Detroit - 102/4 = 25.5 attempts per game

 

3pts:

 

Magic - 74/4 = 18.5 attempts per game

Detroit - 55/4 = 13.75 attempts per game

 

 

Now for the Playoffs(Games 1-4):

 

Free Throws:

 

Magic - 83/4 = 20.75 attempts per game

Detroit - 89/4 = 22.25 attempts per game

 

3pts:

 

Magic - 83/4 = 20.75 attempts per game

Detroit - 43/4 = 10.75 attempts per game

 

 

I have provided the stats but will refrain from posting my analysis as of right now. I really don't even know how much we can conclude from these stats.

 

Please, post your opinions. I pulled these numbers from NBA.com box scores, so if you find any errors, please inform me.