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Rick Barry on NBA referees: “Call the damn game according to the rulebook, because players will adjust. Stop the traveling, stop the carrying the ball, stop the moving screens. The players are getting away with murder, and I blame the officials.”



Rick Barry on NBA referees: “Call the damn game according to the rulebook, because players will adjust. Stop the traveling, stop the carrying the ball, stop the moving screens. The players are getting away with murder, and I blame the officials.”

by WhenMachinesCry

33 Comments

  1. Adoree25

    I wouldn’t mind if they at least tried to enforce the rules. It’s gotten so out of hand.

  2. st-xjames

    I agree with what he says at the end bout PNRs lol. Lot of people probably not likely to agree with any of these older generations “complaining” bout new generation but damn. Too much leeway with offense, they really letting them do near anything out there to score.

  3. ReservoirBaws

    Lol, I wish they could factor in dopeness of the play. If a guy like Ja takes 3 steps, but flies over his defender to dunk the ball, it’s legal

  4. Eriosyces

    It’s not going to happen, highlights are what sells and all people want to see now, if everything is called correctly then everyone is probably going to foul out

  5. yearsreeling

    On point, the refs have gotten completely out of control and I have no doubt they are owned by the bookies now. It’s made it hard to watch this season.

  6. lopea182

    Rick Barry is curmudgeon, an asshole and a racist who didn’t get along with many of his NBA peers, but you can’t say he doesn’t respect the purity of the game (for whatever that’s worth).

  7. Cool_Cold_5554

    Old man yells at cloud vibes but I agree. Players are certainly more skilled now than in the past but the offense has also become too easy partly because of the relaxed rules.

  8. Crazy_Employ8617

    Blaming the refs is such a short sighted way of viewing this, clearly this is how the league wants games to be officiated. If you want tighter rules appeal this to the league, not the refs who are just following league orders.

  9. lets_talk_basketball

    He’s 100% correct… players will def take the advantage if it’s there, as they should

  10. frequentflower43

    Unfortunately this is old news lol try and play like an nba player on any local court, you will get called out because what they play is a different type of basketball

  11. horseshoeoverlook

    They did carry and travel. The defense isn’t rewarded anymore. Tbh I don’t like an offensive-centric product

  12. JimmyWasRight

    He’s right. Dudes like Ja and LaMelo carry on every possession.

    It’s nasty to watch.

  13. Eli_TheGolfer7

    The fact is that if you tried to play like an NBA player on any local court you have stuff getting called on you the whole time. The NBA doesn’t abide by its own rules and players have adapted to take advantage of that. It’s lost a lot of fundamentals and gotten out of hand. I think there needs to be a change

  14. Machiniac

    It’s an Embarrassment! Keeping it 100%. We are at a crisis point.

  15. The_Fiji_Water

    A lot of truth to what he is saying but also a lot of “the game is different than when I played.”

    > “Section III—By Screening
    >
    > A player who sets a screen shall not (1) assume a position nearer than a normal step from an opponent, if that opponent is stationary and unaware of the screener’s position, or make illegal contact with an opponent when he assumes a position at the side or front of an opponent, or (3) assume a position so near to a moving opponent that he is not given an opportunity to avoid contact before making illegal contact, or (4) move laterally or toward an opponent being screened, after having assumed a legal position. The screener may move in the same direction and path of the opponent being screened.”

    It is explicitly legal for a screener to claim any ground the screenee gives up in an attempt to get around them by moving (along the same path) into that space and contact that occurred during this dance does not constitute an illegal screen.

  16. cadomyavo

    He’s right. Traveling and carrying been a issue since the late 90’s and more recently I can’t get over the number of moving screens. They’re all moving!

  17. CarBallAlex

    This is an old clip, and it sounds like they listened. Hasn’t everyone been talking about the amount of travels and carries the refs have called this year?

    Sure, it will probably slow down as the year goes on like any year, but it’s definitely been a point to make more of these kinds of calls

  18. ChickenJesus

    Almost every screen is a moving screen nowadays

  19. ElToberino

    I seriously have no idea what traveling even is anymore. Whenever it does get called it’s like… ok yeah that was clearly a travel, but what was different about that one from the 5 other times someone has done that and not gotten called this quarter?

  20. TheSecretofBog

    I’ve watched and played basketball my entire life, and the way players travel (constantly) is irritating. I can’t even imagine how much this must chap Rick’s hide watching today’s game being played and (not) called.

  21. At the very least, if you see a player getting mugged in the paint call the foul. I don’t wanna hear that “Oh this player is so strong the contact doesn’t effect him much so we don’t call it” bullshit. Call what you see.

  22. Mygaffer

    The officials call the game the way they’ve been instructed to by the head of officiating at the direction of the league itself.

  23. gustriandos

    Refs are decent at calling travels but the carries are out of control.

  24. Johny2timez

    Yeah that won’t sell. It’s entertainment for them anything else at this point

  25. lilb1190

    Totally agree, but I dont just blame the refs. I refuse to believe that the refs arent told by the league how to handle this sort of officiating.

  26. AnimalRomano

    He was always hated for speaking the truth

  27. Hotpwnsta

    They tried calling travels and carries but the play was getting interrupted with every trip down the court so I think they stopped it lol.

    Nice try NBA.

  28. galacticpotsmoker

    The moving screens is the most egregious to me. Players have never been better jump shooters, so allowing them to easily get open with the help of these moving screens is the biggest part of the scoring explosion I think. The worst part is the refs call it like 2 times a game, so they know what a moving screen looks like.

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