When I saw that foul calls had dropped significantly across the league, Don Vaden was one of the first people I called.
Vaden and referee Shelley Russi — the folks behind Third Side Coaching — regularly consult with NBA teams and players on how to interpret officiating rules and use them to their advantage. They also work with professional referees at all levels. Needless to say, this year, with the moving target that is NBA officiating, it has been a challenge to keep up.
I asked him about all the officiating stuff I’ve been covering this season.
Topics that we hit:
The time he blew a call involving Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Charles Barkley
How a referee manager can influence calls without a written memo
What he thinks about the NBA’s sudden play for physicality
The importance of changing the ‘face’ of rule changes/adjustments
How playoff officials get selected and promoted
The impact of experienced vs. inexperienced referees on the game;
The limits of physicality and the role of referees in player safety
