I don't read a lot other team's forums, but I suspect that Suns fans have as deep seeded dislike of the refs as any fans in the NBA. Some of this is similar to that of all fans, but some is due to the way the Suns play.
The simple truth is that the Suns have always been an offense oriented team. The Colangelos always wanted an up tempo, free flowing, high scoring style of basketball to the point where JC even helped to change the rules. The Colangelos hated the 90's grab and hold, half court dump in and kick style that most teams played and built his team accordingly.
The problem with having an offense oriented team is that it is dependent on the refs doing their jobs. When the refs decide that enforcing the RULES AS WRITTEN is too hard, the Suns get penalized more than a grab and hold team like the Spurs on both ends of the court.
Some fans (or anti-fans as the case may be) recommend that the Suns go over to the dark side and hire a bunch of goons so they can respond to this style of officiating. It hasn't helped the other teams that tried to solve the Spurs, but they are prepared to let the refs off the hook rather than keep pushing for the enforcement of the rules.
It is not really likely that the refs are deliberately trying to destroy the Suns. That is just a byproduct of just refusing to do their jobs in the playoffs. Somehow they do that without announcing, "We plan to change the rules during the playoffs but we won't tell you what the new rules are or how they will be enforced". Besides, its your fault in thinking that the rules should be enforced.
Except for the rule about leaving the bench...that's the only rule that will be enforced. Everything else is left to the whims of the referees.
The betting scandal is just reopening the deep hostility that most Suns fans have with the refs. Whether it is changing the rules, uneven application of the rules, or just plain blown calls; there is a lot of reason why Suns fans don't like the way games are being officiated.
It doesn't make Suns fans feel better when being told "it's all your fault if you are so naive to think the games should be well officiated. But rest assured, while you are getting screwed, you should know it's not personal."
The simple truth is that the Suns have always been an offense oriented team. The Colangelos always wanted an up tempo, free flowing, high scoring style of basketball to the point where JC even helped to change the rules. The Colangelos hated the 90's grab and hold, half court dump in and kick style that most teams played and built his team accordingly.
The problem with having an offense oriented team is that it is dependent on the refs doing their jobs. When the refs decide that enforcing the RULES AS WRITTEN is too hard, the Suns get penalized more than a grab and hold team like the Spurs on both ends of the court.
Some fans (or anti-fans as the case may be) recommend that the Suns go over to the dark side and hire a bunch of goons so they can respond to this style of officiating. It hasn't helped the other teams that tried to solve the Spurs, but they are prepared to let the refs off the hook rather than keep pushing for the enforcement of the rules.
It is not really likely that the refs are deliberately trying to destroy the Suns. That is just a byproduct of just refusing to do their jobs in the playoffs. Somehow they do that without announcing, "We plan to change the rules during the playoffs but we won't tell you what the new rules are or how they will be enforced". Besides, its your fault in thinking that the rules should be enforced.
Except for the rule about leaving the bench...that's the only rule that will be enforced. Everything else is left to the whims of the referees.
The betting scandal is just reopening the deep hostility that most Suns fans have with the refs. Whether it is changing the rules, uneven application of the rules, or just plain blown calls; there is a lot of reason why Suns fans don't like the way games are being officiated.
It doesn't make Suns fans feel better when being told "it's all your fault if you are so naive to think the games should be well officiated. But rest assured, while you are getting screwed, you should know it's not personal."
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