It’s time for my ref stat updates. As usual no names, no claims, just the facts and nothing more or less!
This week holds lots of fun facts that you can inspire your friends with.
Total fouls called are still up over last year, with an average of 48.17 in total fouls being called per game (compared to 42.73 last year).
The average number of calls by the 3 veteran officials who call the most total fouls is about 52, while the average of veteran officials who call the least fouls is about 44.
The average number of travels called this year is 2.1. (Thank you NBA for eliminating the “why don’t you call traveling, it’s a bad example” emails!) This compares to 1.52 at the end of last year.
Defensive 3 seconds is called on average .59 times per game. The average number ofcalls by the 3 veteran officials who call def 3 the most is 1.5x per game. The least, 0.18x per game, or a factor of about 8.
Offensive fouls are called on average 5.16 times per game. Theaverage number of calls by the 3 veteran officials who call offensive fouls the most is 7 per game. The least, 3.6 per game. Last years number was 3.9 per game.
There are .724 techs called per game this year compared to .762 per game last year. (His number will obviously be skewed by how many Mavericks games Joey Crawford officiates and Nellie gets vocal in J.) The top and bottom averages are about 1.25 per game vs .33 per game.
Last by not least, is offensive 3 seconds. There are .794 called per game, vs .552 last year. The top and bottom averages are about 1.5 per game vs 0.30 game.
So now you know everything you always wanted to know about officiating statistics but were afraid to ask.
By reading this license agreement you agree to give me 25 pct of any bar bets won with this information.
Well after the plea of guilty by Donaghy for police protection and the agreement for him to name, names. It appears the whole poor officiating argument has gained some legitimacy. I will no longer be called a whining Mavs fan. (Although I have been known to whine). My biggest concern is the possibility of the NBA being classified in the same category as the WWF minus the fighting girlfriends on the sideline….Oh wait….how bout minus a guy getting hit over the head with a folding chair…uhhh …OK we have a problem here!
Who is running this league again?
Comment by Billy -
gr8 post
Comment by Sodhi -
If this isn’t how it’s done then it certainly should be. An independent party scans through games and checks timepoints for questionable calls–sees if the call was right and then said ref either gets good or bad marks which tally at the end of the season. The refs with the good %’s get to ref the playoffs, rookie or vet regardless.
Comment by runescape money -
They last game I was at was Houston (Dirk 53) and the NBA employee was just ripping the officiating crew for that game. He stated that the game had no flow to it and blamed the officiating as well as making note of many blown calls throughout the game……
Comment by wow powerleveling -
Good stuff Mark – someone needs to press the issue of the absolute horrible officiating. We the fans seek a well played fair game where the best team wins. What we seem to get is either a poor ref crew or a biased ref crew skewing the game in favor of one team. Last night’s Pacers-Rockets was just horrible. The night before I saw a T-Wolve palm the ball – meaning stopping and holding it in his hand 4X on the same possession – blatant and no call.
A great example was a game with the 76ers – Iverson would dribble across the half court and the officials would whistle a Rocket for breathing. Iverson was even caught on camera one time saying “That wasn’t a foul!” just before he shot 2.
BTW Yao must have been watching tape of Dirk because he has actually flopped on occasion in the last few weeks. Thanks for Dirk’s great example, Yao is learning. 😉
Comment by Rich -
very good.
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I just added Smartest Guys and War Within to my Netflix queue! I can’t wait! But I too am surprised that Mr. Direct-to-Consumer is suggesting Amazon instead of some downloadable method… ~M
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Comment by cheap phone sex -
So is that more fouls and tighter enforcement?
Comment by Theodore -
One thing I’ve always wondered about–since the refs get playoff bonuses, do the refs with the greater accuracy (I’m assuming the league office does random time-point replay as an accuracy audit of sorts) get preference when it comes to the playoffs or for that matter the finals? If this isn’t how it’s done then it certainly should be. An independent party scans through games and checks timepoints for questionable calls–sees if the call was right and then said ref either gets good or bad marks which tally at the end of the season. The refs with the good %’s get to ref the playoffs, rookie or vet regardless. Oh, and the defensive and offensive key-calls might as well not exist because refs just do not call them. If the league wants more free flowing games, they should eliminate ticky-tack anticipation foul calls and start calling the lane more. I guarantee you players would be moving more, opening up the lane more and this would encourage ball movement and team play. Ticky tack fouls only negatively affect players like Macgrady who need soft face-up guarding to put on the one man show that earns him his contract. The one gripe I always hear from die-hard college-ball fans is how the NBA game isn’t a team game. I could care less, the NBA would still be the reason I get up in the morning even if every other game was a 1 on 5 exhibition between the leading scorer on the solo team. That would be lame but these college fans are right for the most part. If you watch college games, ticky tack fouls do not exist. Players hustle and move the ball and if they don’t they’re left in the dust. I was born a few months before the Mavericks very first game and a cousin of mine used to be a Mav–I know basketball and I can tell you that this would make for one awesome game.
Comment by Eric M. -
I agree with whoever asked about tracking calls for and against the home team.
I think it’d be interesting to try and determine all the “close calls” and rate one way or another whether certain referees tend to call them for the home team or against.
Some NBA referees seem to really enjoy being the bad guy and making pivotal calls against the home team… at least in my opinion.
Comment by Nick -
Who cares… You have nothing better to do than this? This will not have an affect on any outcome of any Maverick game this year and in all honesty does not really matter. All it shows is you have some extra time on your hands.
Comment by scott -
By day I own and run an Internet company but by night I’m a junior college basketball coach. I wish that I was able to have access to the same type of stats on the refs for junior college basketball as you do for the NBA. I swear that some refs are just stealing money when ever they cash their pay checks, because there are always a percentage of refs on all levels that just flat out suck. But for the refs out there that actually take pride in calling a good game, then I give them a standing ovation. As much as the refs don’t want to admit it, they do play a role in the out come of the game the majority of the time but more so on levels lower then the NBA and Division 1 College.
Comment by Shaun Cronrath -
If anyone needs to be called for travelling its Dirk Nowitzki. Twice I’ve seen him in Houston get away with travelling, on top of getting away with offensive fouls. You’re such a god damned hypocrate.
Comment by Slavinko -
(Because I’m cynical) How about refs stats vs the spread? And because I believe in the principle that there are no new good ideas, someone has already done this. Like some quant in Nevada or at the intergalactic NBA headquarters?
I’m sure there’s a non-zero correlation somewhere in the analysis. Not that I think there’s anything conscious on the part of refs (paid well, etc), but there’s nothing perfectly random.
Comment by S18R4S8 -
I gotta agree with D to the ac…that was an awfully quick ejection, even for Joey Crawford…I was wondering the same thing as far as Avery’s concerned.
25 percent huh? Might be a deal worth taking…
Comment by Steve Estep -
Would be interesting to see the breakdown for the offical’s stats by team, league, month, etc…..
Comment by Josh -
If a coach knows a ref is light on the def 3, that gives a player an extra second in the paint. A stop here and there adds up.
Hell, I’d be charting the hell out of the refs!
Obviously, the NBA also does this to track performance by referee. It is interesting that the “veteran” refs are the statistical outliers. The refs probably feel that they know how the games should be “played” not the league, coaches or fans. Very arrogant.
Comment by S18R4S8 -
Actually,
The stat I want to know is..
What percentage of fouls are called on the home team vs. away and the trends of the officials. And is this trend in line with the win-loss record of the teams.
Then, I can predict the games outcome (straight bet) and place my bar bet against my buddies PRIOR to getting to the bar. Thus allowing for numerous emails and comments usually resulting in embarrassing stories involving a cousin’s wedding, a wife, lineoluem, single wides and something about shaving a girls back.
Comment by Crofoot -
Hey Mark –
Your check is in the mail!!
MCM
Comment by MCM -
Mark- nice stats, I was wondering if you get any of your info from the NBA. Reason I ask is….I have season tickets and the seats next to us belong to an employee of NBA, the same guy is at every game keeping stats and grading each of the officials.
They last game I was at was Houston (Dirk 53) and the NBA employee was just ripping the officiating crew for that game. He stated that the game had no flow to it and blamed the officiating as well as making note of many blown calls throughout the game……
Do all NBA cities have these critics watching there games or does the NBA just watch the MAVS games because you make such an issue about the officiating?
*Keep up everything you do….
Comment by Todd -
Very interesting stats!
Comment by Glenn -
Traveling calls may be up, but the officials are still missing a lot. Here is one of my biggest pet peeves that sometimes causes so much angst I have to turn a game off completely: the number of players who change pivot feet without being called for traveling. You see guys do it in the post or on the perimeter. They catch the ball and establish a pivot foot, then suddenly their other foot is the pivot foot, and then maybe they switch back. And no call is made. I can understand if a 10 year old does this, after all, he or she is still learning the game. But NBA players are some of the best in the world, they should be able to comply with the rule.
Comment by Kevin -
Mark,
I love the NBA Ref stats that you present. The variation from the vet officials at the high end and low end is interesting. However, it would be more compelling to understand whether or not this sort of variation exists in other sports leagues such as the NFL, NHL or even major college basketball.
Doug
Comment by Doug Kaczmarek -
Mark, where are the statistics about the changes to the population that most directly impacts these statistics?
The referees.
Comment by J from Fear Always Remains -
Just 25%? Just on bar bets? Hmm. Time to call the bookie.
Comment by Tor -
“Defensive 3 seconds is called on average .59 times per game. The average number of calls by the 3 veteran officials who call def 3 the most is 1.5x per game. The least, 0.18x per game, or a factor of about 8.”
The league should use this information to respectfully confront the refs not doing their job on defensive 3 seconds.
Comment by lindsay -
Mark,
Tell me the truth – Nellie got himself tossed early so you guys could give Avery another shot at lead without having to hear about it on talk radio again, right? Right? C’mon, you know I’m right 🙂
Did he do like in that Hoosiers movie and ask Joey ahead of time to toss him?
Comment by D to the ac -
It’s awesome that you post these stats online. I had never thought about referee differences until I read this post. Great job bringing to light an issue that the NBA needs to work on to normalize.
Comment by Jeramey Jannene -
I do think, in the games I’ve seen this year, that most offenses are flowing better – whether ref stats is a factor or not. I’m glad to see offensive 3 seconds calls up: no more camping in the lane, Shaq!
Comment by Seth Anderson -
Ah… I see you’ve posted again after waiting for your last post to gather as much comments as possible… Misspelled “ref” up top…
Oh. About your actual post. Good things to know…Some more interesting facts might be how many refs there are, average years of experience, or how many games they do a year.
Comment by Al -
“As usual no names, no claims, just the facts and nothing more or less !”
No names… except for Joey Crawford. Heh heh.
Comment by rone -
A few other impressive changes this year in the NBA:
1) The number of seconds into a game it takes Joe Crawford to give Don Nelson 2 technicals is down from last year…
2) More impressive is the difference the Mav defensive FG% from last year is. They are now 4th in the league, at .424% compared to last year when there were only 2 teams worse than the Mavs when they were allowing .459% (only better than Clippers and Orlando). Congrats to your staff!
Comment by greg -
mark,
great stuff. where do you get these stats?
david
Comment by David -