MVN - Most Valuable Network

Enough Orlando, Dry Up Already

What is it with Orlando fans and writers?

For years, the Detroit Pistons have had to battle adversity and officiating in their quest to become one of the elite teams in the NBA. During the 1980s, it was Larry Bird in the Celtics that could do no wrong and seem to get the benefit of every whistle an official blew. Once that mountain was conquered, the 1990s rung in a new challenge, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

This “so-called” benefit of the whistle that Orlando fans and writers seem to believe Detroit is receiving is a illusion. The NBA is a league of stars, not a league of “teams”. Look at their marketing strategy. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and yes, Dwight Howard, are featured prominently in many ads. Look at the publicity Chris Paul is receiving right now. Why? Because people identify with stars, not teams.

What makes Orlando fans and writers believe they are entitled to a series when without earning it? Shouldn’t they have to go through the same trials and tribulations that the Pistons did throughout the 80s and 90s? Did they not have to surpass the Celtics and the Bulls? Even the casual basketball fan would have to believe that if there was such a thing as a “whistle benefit”, that Bird and Jordan would be on the receiving end?

Orlando was still a young team in many ways. Although their average age is one year or less than Detroit’s, it is their history that is also young. The Pistons fought the Celtics in many classic playoff battles before finally surpassing them and winning their first two titles in the late 1980s. And it was the young Chicago Bulls whom with Michael Jordan had to battle the established Pistons. The officiating became so prominent in their series’ with the Bulls, that the Pistons devised “the Jordan rules”.

Although those rules were designed to make Jordan earn every basket and discourage him from driving the lane, it was also because the Pistons knew that if Michael was going to get the call, he would earn that also. Over at Believing in Magic here at MVN, our friend Brendan goes on and on about the officiating as as as if it is the only factor in the series. Although he pays lip service to the other important aspects of the game, he reverts back to the, what he describes as, the benefit of the whistle to those darlings of the NBA, the Pistons.

The columnists at the Orlando Sentinel seem to have a more objective view but it is the fans that read those columns that seem to have the same problem. They blame strictly the officiating. Yes you will see a scant few that recognize that poor play, turnovers, missed shots, and lost composure have also played a large role in their being down three games to one. They ignore the numbers that say they have been to the will follow line more often. They also ignore that Howard led the NBA in foul shot attempts with 897, which is more than 100 over the second-place finisher. But because he shoots less than 60%, the Magic cannot capitalize. Is that the officials? Some of his shots look like bricks and his offensive repertoire consists mainly of dunks. Again, officials?

Howard shot three for 12 and somehow that’s the official’s fault. Orlando fans wanted to see a blocking foul called on Hedo Turkoglu’s final drive to the basket, when that could have been viewed as a charge also. Lindsey Hunter grabbed the offensive rebound, not Dwight Howard. Yes, we all know that Chauncey Billups’ three-pointer shouldn’t have counted. And yet even though the magic still had a lead in the fourth quarter, that one call cost them the game and most likely the series. As if nothing else happened after that.

I guess what this article is about is not about the officiating, although in my lifetime I have complained,is about the fans incessant complaining about the officiating. We all have taken a step back in our so-called devotion to the officials in the NBA due to the gambling scandal and the plane ticket scandal a few years ago. Veteran official Joey Crawford has had his moments when he ejected Tim Duncan from San Antonio’s bench as he made himself a larger part of the game than he should have been. And as I’ve said, the “Bad Boys” ere I was one of many whistles against them and for league and media darlings Larry Bird and Michael Jordan.

The point is each officiating crew calls again different. Just as baseball umpires, football officials, and hockey officials. I’m not saying they are all perfect. I recognize that some are good and some are bad, and also have good and bad games. But when the Pistons are plagued with turnovers, miss shots, make poor decisions, lose their composure and run their mouths which result in technical fouls, I fully expect them to lose and know why they did, not try to mask it under being treated unfairly. The fact is, the more the Pistons, or any team, cries about the officials, it makes things worse on a team. But as the hated Bill Laimbeer once said, you have to play through it. The emotion, the officiating, and the crowd when on the road.

I’ve been a fan of the NBA for a little over 30 years so I have seen plenty of games and plenty of bad calls. I’ve been to the Palace of Auburn Hills during Michael Jordan’s first retirement tour. I’m not about to sit here and try to convince you that I have never complained about the officials, because I have. EVERY team flops and tries to sell calls. Yes, both Detroit and Orlando.

But I will have to say, I don’t know that I’ve ever blamed an entire playoff series loss on them, or a coach like Van Gundy fuel it by being less than professional and crying about the refs as well. All that is doing is pushing them farther out. Part of becoming an elite team involves playing through adversity the matter what it may be. And right now, the Orlando Magic feel they are entitled to the treasure without the tribulations of the hunt.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at 12:29 pm and is filed under Hedo Turkoglu, Chauncey Billups, Lindsey Hunter, Dwight Howard, Basketball, NBA, Orlando Magic, Blogroll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.