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Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague
In the NBA, there is no well-known set of rules like that, for the most part. There are a few things - for example, referees will be hesitant to give a 2nd tech in most cases to avoid tossing a guy out of the game - but for the most part, it's just up to the referee in question what particular thing they have a bee in their bonnet about on a given night. In some games, an official will apparently decide, "I'm going to be really strict about traveling here". In others, they might give defenses a lot of leeway to be physical. In others, they might decide that they're going to only be strict about that physical defense when it's the team's "star player" getting hacked. As a result, officiating is incredibly random game to game.
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My impression is that the NBA likes the fact that referees have predictable tendencies... this referee is more likely to call 50/50 calls in favour of the hometeam in certain situations. That referee is more likely to call travel on sloppy timing when starting a dribble. This referee tends to call 50/50 calls in favour of the trailing team. That referee has a really good relationship with star players, while this referee really gets under the skin of a certain type of player and isn't afraid to call a tech. Sometimes the consistency is inconsistency: call a physical game most of the night, and then tighten up the whistle late? The NBA will figure out which teams they think that benefits.
There are so many 50/50 calls in basketball, and knowing how a referee is likely to make those calls gives them a way to put their finger on the scale just a little in the playoffs, just through what referee is assigned to what game. Want to give the trailing team a leg up? Get Foster on the court. Want to tone down the physicality of a series? Guthrie's your guy. What's more, I think referees know that this is the nature of the game, and the regular season is essentially an audition for how they can be useful in the playoffs. Making bad calls isn't good for your reffing career, but having consistent tendencies that differ from other refs is.