My love/hate relationship with the NBA

Last night I was reminded of exactly why I love watching the NBA, and at the same time I was reminded of why I absolutely hate watching the NBA.

The game was Orlando vs. Cleveland, featuring two of the best players in the game and probably two of the best athletes in the world - Lebron James and Dwight Howard.  But they're not the reason I loved watching the game.  At one point, some guy named Kinsey threw down a monstrous put back dunk, that might have been the most athletic play of the game. [bad video here]

Just the general level of play and constant excitement that comes with basketball, embodied in that dunk by Kinsey, a little-known role-player, is one of the reasons NBA games are so much fun to watch.  However, I always come back to hating the NBA.

Why?  The officiating.  On a fast-break drive, Lebron picked up the ball to shoot, was fouled, took a third step and then made a lay-up.  So, because he picked up the ball to shoot, the foul was a shooting foul.  But if he is in the act of shooting when he's fouled, the basket should count and it should be an and-1.  But he traveled on the play, so the basket doesn't count, but it was still a shooting foul, but not an and-1.  However, if he traveled then it would be a turnover, but he was fouled in the act of shooting so he gets two free throws, but they called the travel so he wasn't fouled in the act of shooting, he was fouled in the act of traveling.  In which case, the Cavaliers get to inbound the ball, which probably would've made a lot more sense than sending James to the line.

Not only that, this play happened late in the game, and it was James' first trip to the free throw line.  That's my real problem with the officiating.  In the NBA, the fouls are so arbitrary and the referees so inconsistent that it can become unbearable to watch at times.  Nevertheless, this will always keep me coming back.