nba_foul_bias.md 1.0 KB
title: "NBA Foul Bias Analysis" author: "George Privon, Kelly Hondula" date: 2019-03-09
status: in progress
In an online discussion about game fixing by NBA referee Tim Donaghy there was discussion of whether the NBA actively encourages/pushes referees to adjust their calling to keep games interesting. In that thread, the following comment was made:
If you've watched any NBA in the past decade you can see a trend of calling fouls against teams that are winning too heavily against favorites. It's not hard.
– drenvuk, 20 February 2019
This seemed like something that should be straightforward to test, given available statistical data. Fortunately the website Eight Thirty Four has datasets of play-by-play information for NBA seasons beginning in 2000.