http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/sports/3431620.htm MATT STEINMETZ: TIMES COLUMNIST Let's call it even: Shaq gets shafted, too NBA notes So, Ralph Nader wants the NBA to review the officiating during Game 6 of the Western Conference finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings? What really should come under scrutiny is Nader's so-called election run in 2000, the one that gave George Bush the presidency. But that's another matter. What's pertinent here is Nader, a consumer advocate and Green Party candidate, said the league needed to look into the officiating during the Lakers' 106-102 victory over the Kings, which forced a deciding seventh game. A game L.A. won. In Game 6, the Lakers shot 27 foul shots in the fourth period and scored 16 of their final 18 points at the foul line. Nader's letter, sent to NBA commissioner David Stern on behalf of the League of Fans, a sports-industry watchdog group, also addressed an incident where Lakers guard Kobe Bryant elbowed Sacramento's Mike Bibby. No foul was called with less than 20 seconds in the game. Now that the particulars are out of the way, let's put the inane claim there also. Maybe the officials didn't do the Kings any favors late in the series. But for anyone to suggest that "perceptions and suspicions would abound" if no review was forthcoming is ludicrous. The obvious implication is that Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal -- and the Lakers, in general -- get the benefit of the doubt from the officials. If anything, O'Neal -- 7-foot-1 and anywhere between 330 and 380 pounds -- is penalized by officials for his physical superiority. As far as low-post banging goes, O'Neal is allowed to do less of it than any other center in the NBA. And yet nobody gets pounded on more than Shaq. Because O'Neal is so big and so imposing, opposing players are allowed to be more physical with him than they are with any other player in the league. Nobody gets pulled down, slapped at or wrapped up more than O'Neal. Here's a common occurrence in the NBA: The ball is fed to the low post, where a big power forward or center has his back to the basket and is being guarded by an opposing player. Almost every time this occurs, the offensive player is allowed to begin backing in and initiating contact with the defensive player. Meanwhile, the defender is given the right to push back and attempt to hold position. There's usually a little give and take on both sides -- all without a whistle from the official -- before the offensive player takes his shot. But when O'Neal begins his normal backing in process, or when he begins to make his move and draws contact, frequently, the defender is backed significantly off his spot, allowing O'Neal some space for an easier shot. This kind of contact often has led to offensive fouls on O'Neal. But why? That is simply his normal move. Just the same as any other player's move in the low post. Just because he's bigger and stronger than everyone else, does that mean he shouldn't be given the same offensive parameters as everyone else? Sacramento Kings coach Rick Adelman was critical of officials, saying he wished they were more consistent game to game. But every game is officiated differently -- a basketball truism -- and it's up to the players involved to adjust accordingly. It's part of the game. As for the so-called foul on Bryant when he inadvertently elbowed Bibby in the face? C'mon. That play occurs time and time again in basketball games from high school to college. First of all, the defender, Bibby is bodying up Bryant, forcing Bryant to make some kind of move to meet the ball. On the way, he hits Bibby, who is pretty much doing his best to initiate some kind of contact. That's a no-call in any league. Purely incidental contact. You start calling that kind of foul on the offensive player -- thereby allowing the defense to hold and grab -- and you may as well call it roller derby.
As I stated in my other post, the offensive player gets the advantage in tight nit games, just as it goes with incidental contact.
