About this episode

The episode discusses the inconsistencies in officiating and rules between regular season and playoffs in the NBA and NHL.

The simultaneous NBA and NFL playoffs, known as the second season, can be almost as exhausting and frustrating for the fans as it is for the players. For Avs and Nuggets fans, this year was especially disappointing, even though we knew that 15 of the 16 teams in the playoff bracket are fated to lose their last game. It’s an alleged truism that the NBA and NHL playoffs require a different kind of play than in the regular season. I think that’s a falseism. The leagues don’t change the rules for the playoffs, they change the way refs officiate. Openly changing the rules invites public controversy and requires negotiation with the players’ union on the CBA. I’m biased because the Avs and Nuggets are skill teams more than overly physical and dirty ones. The Avs won the Presidents’ Trophy having the best regular season record in the NHL over 82 games. It’s senseless to make teams play under one set of rules in the first six months of the season and different unwritten ones in the last two. Blowing the whistle The NBA has the bigger problem. Officiating is more difficult than in other sports. Play is so fast and congested in the paint and under the rim that officials routinely make an…

Topics covered

• NBA playoffs
• NHL playoffs
• officiating
• sports rules
• fan experience

Keywords

• NBA
• NHL
• playoffs
• officiating
• sports rules

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NBA, NHL, Avs, Nuggets, Presidents’ Trophy, CBA

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