NBA Players Have Had Enough

Finally the players have formally filed a complaint against Stern and the NBA. Actually two complaints; 1-they don't like the new Spalding basketball being used (it gets slippery when wet and bounces funny for rebounds, etc). 2-They do not like the new "zero tolerance technicals" policy, which limits players from being emotional during a game.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Last night, during an interview at the Mavs game, Jerry Stackhouse said he feels these are issues which affect their work, and the players were never really consulted. Stackhouse said they were just handed a new ball and told to use it. He makes a good point. Instituting a new ball out of nowhere, and I'm not sure why it was done. There was a rumor that some animal rights groups didn't like the use of leather to manufacture basketballs, so Mr. Stern was making this game more politically correct by using synthetic materials.

I've heard commentators say the technical calling has eased off and refs are giving the players more leeway. Still the refs hold the whistle like a cop holds a gun and have the ability to make bad decisions under duress. Players get emotional during the course of play, its part of the game. No they shouldn't abuse refs either. But refs can also misinterpret players' responses.

Another interesting idea....Has anyone considered more extensive instant replay for the NBA? Here is how it might work: Make it like the NFL, except in the NBA give each team 2 challenges (that's 1 per half). It would be a good experiment and wouldn't interrupt game flow as much. The other idea would be to use instant replays for questionable calls/plays/shots during the last 2 minutes of any game. There can be some crucial calls made in the final minutes that really affect the outcomes of games. Players and fans should expect the best results possible. I know many people questioned Dirk Nowitski/Manu Ginobli play from last year's playoffs and think the Spurs might be champions now if that had gone differently. It's good that they have it now for the final play of a quarter as the buzzer sounds, but why not have it for important moments that can decide games, in the closing minutes?

All that said, it will be interesting to see how far things go with the players' union complaints.