Sometimes you get the star treatment, sometimes you don't

This was going to be part of my ref bashing post, but this inconsistency deserved its own post. In every sport, the superstar gets the benefit of a close call, but the NBA has gotten carried away. For example, when Jordan missed a shot and there was a defender somewhat near him, it was a foul.

The NBA star treatment is problematic for so many reasons; the biggest reason being that it's just not fair. For now, I just want to mention how it relates to inconsistency and how it affects the behavior of NBA stars. When a ref forgets the star treatment and doesn't give the star the call, the star makes a fool of himself, hence making him and the NBA look bad.

Then there's this problem: what do refs do when there's a play involving two opposing stars? Answer: way, way too much whining. The classic example of this was the 2001 Eastern Finals with Iverson going against Vince Carter. This was three years ago, yet I still remember being annoyed by Carter's and Iverson's constant complaining. It seemed that every play was drive to the basket and look to the ref.

I think that's enough complaining for the day.