Twitter should ref NBA Finals, not Joey Crawford

The officiating continues to be shaky throughout the NBA Finals, even after the league admitted to some blown calls in overtime of Game 2.

Barely a minute into Game 3, the Warriors’ Draymond Green set a questionable screen on Matthew Dellavedova. As the Cavs guard tried to fight over the top of it, Green dropped him. The feisty Delly, renowned for his knee-diving, took a run at Green, who promptly flopped. All of this action resulted in … nothing.

Now, does it mean refs are getting worse? No. The NBA used three of their best—Ed Malloy, Dan Crawford and Marc Davis —on Game 3 after the controversy in Game 2.

Still, they had several rough moments. How about the debate over the out-of-bounds call late in the fourth quarter? There should not even have been a discussion, as ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy pointed out, the play was reviewable. After taking a look at it, the refs ultimately made the right call.

Not much was made of it at the time, but the circus shot by Dellavedova should have been waved off. Steph Curry grabbed both of Delly’s love handles long before the Cavs guard launched his bank-shot, but no call.

What about the repeated traveling by LeBron James they overlook?

So, what seems to be the problem? Why all the missed calls and second-guessing?

I’ll tell you why—technology and social media. Before the refs can even come to a conclusive decision, the fans in the stands and those viewing at home have seen the play in super slo-mo from 18 different angles ON THEIR PHONES! Millions have watched and weighed in, swaying and forming public opinion on each and every questionable call.

The officiating isn’t getting any worse; the scrutiny is getting better.

Maybe one day, partisanship aside, Twitterverse can ref the game instead of Joey Crawford, who gets the call for Game 4.