There's the spirit of the law and the letter of the law.
If you don't go by the letter of the law, you have a lot of individual spirits floating out there.
Not good.
Some officials will not call the game by the book, if an advantage is not gained.
I contend you should call every violation, no matter the circumstance.
BULLSHIT! Your line above it was right
Many years ago I was doing youth league games. 3rd and 4th grade kids. I know this is "apples and oranges" but when you call games at that level you let a lot go. You have to. The parents appreciate it as long as you are consistent in what you call. Or don't call. One day we are at halftime and some woman comes to where my partner and I were and said we were doing a terrible job and how we were letting too much go. She said we need to call things and not let them go. I asked her if she wanted us to call everything and she said she did. I told her we would do just that. So if a player stepped on the baseline while inbounding the ball we called it even though the team got a free pass to the 3 point line in the offensive end. A kid traveled or double bringing the ball up court - we called it. Everyone is going bonkers. WTF are we doing they wanted to know. So I told them we were told to call everything we see and not let anything go and I pointed out the woman who said that. Every single parent in the place gave her a dirty look and she got so mad she left. Once she did we went back to calling the game the way we were and everyone was happy with it.
I can't even begin to count the number of times Team A will have the ball around the top of the key in the offensive end. The defensive player will make some contact with the ballhandler. Some times the ball handler will do something like travel or commit a similar ballhandling violation. I will let it go. I will pass by the Team B bench and the coach will ask how come I didn't call a travel on Team A. I will reply, "You mean the one caused by your guy fouling him?" letting the coach know I passed on calling a foul against his kid by not calling anything.
I've said this before and will do so once again. I am the ref down low. Team A has the ball. A Team B player is on the blocks in good rebounding position. Team A player will dislodge him from his spot. A foul. But I hold my whistle unless the kid really shoved him out of the way. If the ball goes in for a basket or the ball bounces completely the other way - NO FOUL is called. I let the Team A player know I saw it and tell him to knock it off but no foul is called. Let the game continue. But if the ball lands where the Team A player is and where the Team B player was dislodged - TWEET! Whistle gets blown and we have a foul and frequently fans and the Team A coach wonder WTF did I do - there was no push. They saw. They are right. The push happened when the ball was on the other side of the court but the push created an Advantage I had to call once there was an Impact on the play.
You all would be floored and stunned at how many rules there are on the books in basketball that NEVER get called by veteran officials and the game is better off because of it. As much as people bitch about officials if they called everything by the LETTER of the law you all would crucify them.
Show me a basketball official who calls things BY THE BOOK and I will show you the worst official out there.
I'll add one more thing. For those of you who think you know the rules.........................YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT!!! I have to take a 100 question closed book test and top officials have to get about 90% right. I am 4-million percent sure NO ONE HERE would get over 75% and that 15% makes a massive difference.
Every single league is always looking for good basketball officials. If you think you are good enough to be one please contact them. They would love to have you join and work for them. Just know that while you think you may be good - if you have never officiated before YOU SUCK! Railbird makes me laugh when he says he could do high level Boys Varsity games despite the fact he has never officiated a game - or HS game. Rail would get chewed up and eaten alive if he tried to go a Girls Freshman game let alone a high level Boys JV game.
So don't be making me laugh saying how officials should work a game if you have never put a whistle in your mouth for any kid of competitive game. Put on stripes and a whistle and do some games and see why calling games BY THE BOOK is a joke and something NOT ONE good official will ever do - and the game is better off because of it