Re: Basketball or Baseball? Which refs/umps have the harder job?
Although calling the strike zone is much harder than any individual call an NBA ref has to make, it has to be much harder to ref an entire basketball game.
In baseball, there is one pitch at a time and nothing else going on really. You might have an obstruction here or there, but you pretty much just have to watch the ball.
In the NBA you have freaks of nature running and jumping around at full speed. You have to watch the ball to make sure the guy doesn't double dribble, travel or carry the ball. You have to watch the guy defending him to make sure he doesn't hand check. Gotta make sure the posts aren't in the lane for more than 3 seconds. Have to be aware of the players off the ball trying to get position. Need to make sure the defense isn't in the key for 3 seconds without being an arm's length away from an offensive player . . . All that while running up and down the court yourself trying not to get in the way. There are just so many things to be aware of even though there are three refs to a game.
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