How will a referee lockout affect the quality of play on the court?

Actually I was wondering when someone was going to ask this question.

I think that it will work for and against the players. Since the strike is considered imminent and unavoidable, the replacement refs could use it as a showcase for themselves to at least get notice and possibly get a position in the league down the line leading to calls being made by the book.

The rep. ref's may call games tighter, which could mess up the flow of a basketball game, or miss certain calls (I mean more so then what already happens) that require years of experience (charging/blocking, technical fouls, flagrant fouls, etc..). Plus the players and coaches have no history with the replacement ref's. This could lead to less politics and favoritism. Less make up calls. Less star treatment. It may be weird too because every player that's been in the league for 3 or more years most likely knows all the refs. Every coach knows the ref by their first name and how to talk to them.

I believe most seasoned ref's see themselves as cops on the court. You know... "you were going 55 in a 45", but with the right cop you can talk your way out of a ticket. They allow some things to slip by because it's small and doesn't ultimately effect the outcome of the possession or game.

These new sub-ref's may act like the jerk-off cop that won't even listen to you... even if you're in the right. They may call very, very, very small violations because they're trying to audition themselves. They know their time will be limited and by showcasing themselves they could get out of the high school and college ranks and into the pros.

BQ: I think that's always the case. especially with older officials who are wary of being replaced. There could be a couple of stand out referees. Ones that could replace some of the mediocre ones as well out there that have had job security. It would be in the best interest of the NBA to hire the best refs available.

What up mntwins,

i think the players will have to adjust to the new referees. Honestly in basketball you could almost call something every time down the court-- so it's just a matter of refs being consistent.

The replacement officials i think will be decent but i think they too will be making an adjustment (as with every league you move up the quality of play) the speed of the game and just knowing what you can and can't allow is crucial- ultimately you want the players to decide the game, not the officials.

There is almost always some sort of tension between the refs and the "scabs"; but its just simply business. Ultimately i think that if the lockout is prolonged that is when tensions may really arise esp. if some of the replacements are really good. The integrity and quality of the refs in the NBA has been under heavy scrutiny in the past several seasons because of Donaughy-- so it'll be interesting to see how that affects the game- ultimately the players have the responsibility of finding a way to adjust-- and hopefully the replacement refs won't over-ref... watching games where each team shoots 50 free throws makes games hard to watch.

Nickster

Oh yeah. That would be the case in any job... but I feel it won't be as bad or notice able in the NBA cuz of the lead officials. They have the last say and most likely they will be the older vets of the ref world. But that might still cause havoc if the lead Ref is s douche. Most likely, the start of the season will be really fun to watch, they younger refs let the Bigs play more, and miss some plays that the older vet refs seem to call better. 3 sec and such. Lets see what happens!

GO LAKERS!!!

I hope they get a new batch of referees, the refs before are selfish corrupt idiots, note... LOCKOUT.

It be funny when they hire new ones and there stuck sitting at home like dam, i shoulda have accepted there offer. I don't think the players really care.