NBA Updates 9 — Charger Press

Feb 7

Feb 7 NBA Updates 9

Photo from NBA.

Adu Reghuram

The Danger Of Missed-Calls

Streetball (an informal type of basketball played outside, especially in urban areas) is a style that many NBA fans play. Streetball is when a group of people pick up a basketball and play a pick up game. When playing streetball, you are free of pressure, hate, and expectations. To sum it all up, you are having fun. Fun is a word that is always associated with sports. What is the point of playing a sport if you cannot have fun? How do you strip away fun from any sport?

In any game of organized basketball you will have a referee. But that ladies and gentlemen is how you strip fun away from a sport. Although it may be a necessity to have a referee in an important game of basketball, how does it feel when a call is missed that impacts the Game 7 of a NBA Finals?

A missed call can be one of the most vexatious aspects of sports. From a call that could potentially close out the game to a call that could turn a game around, the missed call has been around ever since the 1900’s.

Let's see an example, Game Four of the 2021 NBA Finals: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Phoenix Suns. A highly anticipated game heavily reliant on their superstars.

As you may have heard the commentator, Devin Booker could have potentially got his sixth foul which would have caused him to foul out. Even though Giannis saved the Bucks with that last minute bucket, how could the ref miss that call? On top of that, the ref was literally staring right at Devin Booker. Could this be a case of favoritism or did he just miss it?

The National Basketball Association; the most prestigious basketball league in the world. Can the NBA afford to have refs who miss calls like these? The reason I am addressing this situation is because we are playing with NBA players' reputations. The amount of hours, work, and dedication players put in just to win a singular ring is fanatical. Missed calls can make players go crazy.

This is the Lakers' LeBron James. Arguably one of the greatest players of time. The amount of pressure that James has at his age is undefinable. From noticing James's reaction, we can see how important that call was for him. A potential game winner against a powerhouse team, was stripped from his hands. Why? Because of our generation of referees.

I am not saying referees don't go through an immense amount of pressure as well. If anything, referees go through the same amount of pressure if not more than certain players. These calls and missed-calls have been a part of our league for a long time. So what can the NBA do to stop this?

This Week’s Segment

Hello basketball fans, welcome back to another weekly update on the NBA! In this week's segment, we will talk about news regarding Kyrie Irving’s trade, All-Star news, and end off with our matchups of the week.

Kyrie Irving Traded?

The Brooklyn Nets have officially announced and agreed to trade Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks, the team announced Monday. The Nets receive Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and future draft picks in the deal. Kyrie's offensive and defensive skills speak for itself. He is a once in a generation talent who influenced the game heavily. Even though he is a highly valued player on the court, his off the court antics are sketchy. After being fined multiple times for his actions, can he be trusted? Nevertheless, we will all be rooting for Kyrie Irving.

All-Star News Incoming

Throughout the next few weeks, I may talk about more news regarding the All-Star games. I would like to explain how the drafts work, the format for the All-Star game, and how impactful it is to the community.

The process for drafting NBA All-Star reserves starts with the captains. All-Star reserves are picked by the coaches and their team will be dependent on captain Giannis Antetokounmpo (east) and captain LeBron James (west). Team LeBron will get the first pick since he was the overall leading vote-getter in the All-star balloting process. The captains take turns drafting players. First, they will select from the All-Star starters and finally finish off the draft drafting the reserves.

The format for the All-Star game is unique but has remained the same for quite a few years. The biggest difference from a “normal” game is that there will be a target score. Each All-Star team will compete to win each of the first three quarters. When the fourth quarter approaches, the game clock will be turned off and a final target score will be set.

Every quarter of the NBA All-Star game will count toward supporting two community-based organizations of Utah. Team LeBron will play for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah. Team Antetokounmpo will play for Raise The Future. A total of $750,000 will be contributed to the two organizations.