Pacers Rise To Victory Despite Injured Starters, Referee Accountability In Question.

Rahj and Preston, the hosts of The Final Word, discussed the recent win by the Indiana Pacers against the Detroit Pistons, despite the Pacers missing several key players. They then discussed the recent incident involving Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors and the referee, Ben Taylor. VanVleet had a dispute with Taylor and went off on him on national TV, which has never been done before. The hosts discussed the implications of this incident and how it could affect the NBA going forward.  Fred VanVleet recently commented on the referees and their behavior during games, expressing that he believed some of them were taking out their personal frustrations on the players. Preston and the speaker both agreed with VanVleet's opinion that referees have been showing favoritism and not making the calls fairly. They also agreed that fans come to watch the players, not the referees, and that the referees are interfering with the game play and taking away from the entertainment. The speaker concluded that the referees have been making it harder for the players to play their game and should focus on making calls based on the situation and not the players involved.  The conversation focused on the favoritism that often takes place in the NBA. Tyler Hallberg mentioned that he didn't get the call he should have at the end of the Rockets game, even though he was fouled. This sparked discussion on how there shouldn't be any favoritism when it comes to calling fouls, regardless of how well a player has played throughout the game. It was also mentioned that Ben Taylor seems to have had many run ins with Fred VanVleet, and he feels like it is personal. Overall, the conversation focused on the unfairness of favoritism in the NBA, and how it should not be taken into consideration when calling fouls.  Preston and the interviewer are discussing what can be done to make referees more accountable for their decisions and ensure that bad calls are not made. They suggest hiring more referees and holding each other accountable. They also suggest that coaches should be held more accountable for challenging plays and the referees should explain their calls more thoroughly. They suggest a head referee to review all plays and that referees should be interviewed after games in order to make them more accountable for their decisions. Ultimately, the goal is to make sure that the referees make correct calls and that no one goes away feeling cheated.

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