NBA Rumor: Officiating Complaints

1,693 rumors in this storyline

De'Aaron Fox rips officiating after loss to Jazz

16 hours ago – via Sacramento Bee
Fox seethed over the officiating after the game, saying it was “god-awful” and “f—— terrible.” Fox was frustrated after he was awarded only six free throws while Mitchell went to the free-throw line 17 times. “S— was god awful,” Fox said. “Mine wasn’t even about me getting there and things like that. It was about the calls they were getting on the other end. If you’re going to call something on one end, call it on the other end.

, , Top Rumors

, , , , ,

More Rumors in this Storyline

3 weeks ago – via Duane Rankin @ Arizona Republic

Suns (27-13) proceeded to win, 113-101, in the second of a back-to-back before 3,124 fans, but not before Williams made an early exit for the first time as their head coach. “It was crazy to see, but sometimes you got to do things to kind of get your guys into the game a little bit more,” Suns guard Cameron Payne said. “So I kind of look at it that way. He kind of gave us some energy cause it’s like, we know Coach Mont and for you all to throw him out, it’s kind of crazy so we had to group together as a team and find a way to win that game.”
4 weeks ago – via Ohm Youngmisuk @ ESPN

Paul George very upset with officiating

LA Clippers All-Star Paul George, whose frustration has been building this season over not getting foul calls despite drawing contact in the paint, said the NBA has to look into the lack of calls for the Clippers on Wednesday night at the Dallas Mavericks. George said he felt the Clippers physically attacked the rim, only to go to the line 11 times in a 105-89 loss at American Airlines Arena. He said he wants the Clippers to send in video for the league to study. “We’re putting a lot of pressure at the rim,” George said after the loss. “It’s insane that we’re not getting these calls. But it is what it is. It’s nothing new to me. Hopefully, we’ll send a bunch of clips in. League’s gotta take a look at this.”
4 weeks ago – via Brad Townsend @ Dallas Morning News

On a night in which they shot a franchise-record-low-tying five free throws, the Mavericks certainly couldn’t have counted on attacking the Clippers’ interior more aggressively in the closing minutes and getting the benefit of foul calls. Dallas attempted two fourth-quarter free throws. “I’m not going to say anything,” Luka Doncic said when asked about Dallas’ paltry free throw total. “I’m not trying to get fined. That’s how they called it today; hopefully they call better next game.”
4 weeks ago – via Marc Berman @ New York Post

All-Star Julius Randle needed to be repeatedly restrained from going after referee Scott Foster following the Knicks’ 117-112 loss to the Nets on Monday at Barclays Center. Randle, who had been called for a traveling violation in the final seconds, had calmed down 40 minutes after the game. “It was a conversation — it’s best I don’t comment on the situation,’’ Randle said. “There was a lot of frustration behind it for both sides. I’ll let it be in the past and move onto the next game.’’
4 weeks ago – via Marc Berman @ New York Post

Foster told a pool reporter he stood by his call that Irving did touch the ball but didn’t dislodge it, and Randle came down on his feet with possession. That’s the rule. “It’s an emotional game, he calmed down right away,’’ Thibodeau said. “It was a hard-fought game for both teams. Sometimes it goes your way with whistles, sometimes it doesn’t. I thought Julius played a terrific game. He played the 5, was switching. It didn’t go our way at the end.’’
4 weeks ago – via NeilDalal96

Neil Dalal: Russell Westbrook and Scott Brooks both wanted a foul call on Khris Middleton on this potential game-tying layup. NBA’s Last Two Minute Report says it was the correct no call because it was only “marginal” contact. L2M does say Deni Avdija fouled Giannis before he passed back. pic.twitter.com/OZqhW4eOfF

1 month ago – via Tim Bontemps @ ESPN

Donovan Mitchell blasts officiating

After Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell was hit with technical fouls on two separate plays in the final minute of overtime and was ejected with 30.5 seconds to go in Utah’s 131-123 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, the All-Star said he’s tired of the Jazz being “screwed” by the referees, calling the way his team’s games are officiated “f—ing ridiculous.” “First off, you know, give the 76ers credit. They played a hard game. Joel [Embiid] did what he does, and at the end of the day, they’re a good team. We competed. But it’s tough. It’s tough to go out there and see how we fight and compete, and to have a game like that taken from us,” Mitchell said Wednesday night.
1 month ago – via Tim Bontemps @ ESPN

“We have a whole second half of the season to go and get ready for, and I’m sick of it, to be honest with you,” Mitchell said. “We all are. This is something that just it eats me. It eats at me, man. “Y’all know what it is. We all know what it is. But it’s really getting out of hand. It’s really, really, really getting out of hand. And the league needs to do something about this. “I want to see the last two-minute report. I want to see it. But it’s getting out of hand.”
1 month ago – via Tim Bontemps @ ESPN

That disparity also drew the ire of Gobert, Utah’s other All-Star — who, like Mitchell, also earned himself a certain fine from the NBA sometime Thursday after repeatedly calling out the officials during his own postgame media session. “Our guys are not able to get calls everybody else in the f—ing league gets,” Gobert said. “We know we are the Utah Jazz, and maybe some people don’t want to see us go as far as we can go, but it’s disappointing. “Three times in a row, Mike Conley is going to the rim, and they’re grabbing him right in front of the officials and there’s no calls. And, on the other end, there are calls that are invisible that are being made.
1 month ago – via Tim Bontemps @ ESPN

Gobert went on to say he believed the Jazz were being treated unfairly because they play in a small market. “I don’t want to say that,” Gobert said, “but I really believe it. After playing in this league for eight years, it’s a little harder [to be in a small market], and that’s one of the things that we’ve got to overcome. That’s why I told the guys, ‘When you’re a small market, you’ve got to be better than just better. You’ve got to be elite, and you’ve got to control what you can control.’
1 month ago – via Matt Eppers @ USA Today Sports

After the game, crew chief Marc Davis told a pool reporter that Booker’s first technical was for “continuous complaining” and the second was for “directing profane language at a game official.” Suns forward Jae Crowder said he tried to get between Booker and the referees to deescalate the tense situation but was too late. “Devin was disputing his first technical,” Crowder said. “He didn’t like the first technical that was given to him and he voiced his opinion about it. The second ref heard him voice his opinion and decided to give him another one.”
1 month ago – via Dave McMenamin @ ESPN

“I think Jae Crowder said it best: We got better tonight,” said Suns coach Monty Williams after the game. “You gain confidence when a guy like Book doesn’t play or gets tossed and you’re able to pull a game out on the road at the end of a trip. That’s a recipe for mailing it in, and this group has shown a lot of resiliency. But that was a big-time character win, and we got better. “I think we played good tonight, but we probably got more confidence that we can pull a game out without Devin or Chris [Paul] saving the day.”
2 months ago – via Royce Young @ ESPN

Young hit the Brooklyn Nets with the move on Dec. 30. Nets head coach Steve Nash was not a fan. “That’s not basketball!” Nash yelled at the officials. Nash’s criticism went viral, and Young and the Hawks defended the star guard’s tactic while others debated and discussed its fairness. “I learned a lot about drawing fouls from [Nash],” Young told reporters in early January. “If he says it’s not basketball, he must’ve been saying it about himself because he’s done it a couple of times throughout his career and was so successful.”
2 months ago – via Royce Young @ ESPN

Paul said he hears assistant coaches screaming at defenders to be ready for it, to get their hands back. Milwaukee Bucks guard Donte DiVincenzo was a recent victim, and as coaches yelled at him to be aware, DiVicenzo said, “What?” “By the time he heard it,” Paul said, “it was too late.” If there’s a player that seeks those advantages within the rules of the game McCutchen talked about, it’s The Point God. “They’re not annoying. If you watch enough games every night, you know what to expect. There’s a skill to that,” Paul countered. “That stuff James [Harden] does where he puts the ball out, that’s a skill. DeMar DeRozan is great at it. That’s a skill.”
2 months ago – via Royce Young @ ESPN

The other thing to try, Ayton said: Get in front of it. Talk to the ref before the game and tell them to be on the lookout for these cheeky plays. “In the post, I’ll tell the refs, when I know it’s a center that likes to bang, like Jokic, I’ll tell the ref, ‘Hey, just watch my hands,'” Ayton said. “Showing my hands when I’m taking contact, so don’t call a foul. Just reminding the ref, ‘Yo, we bangin’ but my hands aren’t in there, I’m straight up.'”
2 months ago – via Royce Young @ ESPN

There are plays like Reggie Miller’s scissorkick, where he’d cleverly leave one leg hanging out on a jumper for a defender to potentially clip. It was irritating, and in 2012, seven years after Miller retired the league implemented, you guessed it, “The Reggie Miller Rule,” that made it an offensive foul to leave a leg out. By next season, we might be talking about “The Trae Young Rule.” But until the league legislates it out of the game, it’s fair play. And it’s up to the players to discover counters.
2 months ago – via Royce Young @ ESPN

The pump-and-jump is one of the eye-rolliest plays in the game, but to an official, it’s more straightforward than it appears. It’s the more subtle ones, like an offensive player throwing their head back to draw attention to contact, or a big man disguising a moving screen as roll to the basket, or a big man giving a slight nudge to clear space. “It’s called the Black Tornado,” Shaquille O’Neal said of his savvy veteran and very legal move. “Bump, spin, bump, get you off balance and then dunk in your face. Just to let you know that you ain’t strong enough and you ain’t ready.”
2 months ago – via Ohm Youngmisuk @ ESPN

At the start of the drive, Leonard appeared to try to shake Harden from grabbing his left arm. Then as Leonard gathered and went up for the layup, his left forearm made contact with Harden’s torso, and the referees called the foul. “My take from it is if we gonna pretty much play bully ball at the end of the game, let both sides play it,” Leonard said. “But they didn’t call it, so good defense. I got grabbed early, but like I said, no call, so great defense.”
2 months ago – via Chris Burkhardt @ NBC Sports

Damian Lillard frustrated with officiating

At this point, it’s getting old and Lillard appears to be tired of it. “For me, it’s just frustrating how physical people can be when defending me in certain situations. In our last road trip, I had back-to-back games with five fouls, about to foul out just playing normal defense,” said Lillard after the game. “I’m going to the rim getting smacked in the head. I’m getting grabbed. Getting slapped on the arms. Getting pushed in the back. I mean, that’s the frustrating thing for me. I’m not out here flopping and trying to trick the referees or things like that. I’m trying to score and getting hit in the head.”
2 months ago – via Chris Burkhardt @ NBC Sports

Portland was down by seven with under a minute to play. A Lillard three could have made it a four-point game and made the Wizard sweat a little. Instead, Hachimura was fouled, made two from the line and made it a nine-point game. That is basically a five-point swing, and Lillard knows it. The reason the foul wasn’t called. The ref didn’t see it, or so he said. “‘I didn’t see that’ was literally the answer,” Lillard said of when he asked the ref about the no-call. “I stole the ball and he ran into my back. I didn’t see that? C’mon, man. To me that’s a slick comment when that’s your response. ‘I didn’t see that,’ when the whole arena saw that. So, it’s just those moments that’s frustrating when it comes to the physicality.”
2 months ago – via Sacramento Bee

Kings baffled by NBA ruling

The Kings were baffled by the NBA’s ruling after general manager Monte McNair discussed the incident with the league office earlier this week. Game officials gave Valanciunas a technical foul but determined no flagrant foul had occurred. After reviewing the altercation, league officials concurred, an NBA spokesman told The Sacramento Bee. “In-game, the referees ruled the act to be a dead ball physical taunt and assessed an unsportsmanlike technical foul,” the spokesman said. “Upon league office review, we agree with how it was adjudicated on court.”
2 months ago – via Sacramento Bee

Walton said he was disappointed in the league’s response, saying the NBA would have imposed harsher penalties if LeBron James or another star player had been thrown to the floor under similar circumstances. “I don’t think that’s much of a question,” Walton said. “I feel like that’s a certainty more than anything else. It’s player safety. That’s what this league is all about now. It’s come a long way since the 80s, but I think anyone who saw that play knows that it would be different if it was someone else hanging on the rim trying to land safely.”
2 months ago – via Anthony Slater @ The Athletic

Most of Saturday’s whistles were legit. But, quick tangent, Doncic did get a few pump-fake lean-in calls that had the Warriors bench erupting. Here was the worst of them. After the game, Andrew Wiggins said it was a “bogus call” and Kerr had some extended thoughts on the general tactic, which has spread like wildfire in recent seasons among star perimeter scorers. “I don’t fault the officials,” Kerr said. “I fault the league for basically gifting those calls to all of our players. Our guys get them, too. To me, it’s not a basketball play. If you jump three feet forward, I don’t think you deserve a foul when all you’re doing is looking for a foul. I think the league has done a great job helping find a really good place for the offense players to shine, the athleticism to be on display for fans.
2 months ago – via Ohm Youngmisuk @ ESPN

Paul George: 'Disrespectful' to get only one free-throw attempt vs. Nets

But during the Nets’ 124-120 win over the visiting LA Clippers in a contest that lived up to the pregame hype, the Clippers’ star duo could not keep up with Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, especially at the foul line. Brooklyn’s star trio combined to go 16-for-16 from the line. Leonard was 8-for-9 at the stripe, but George went to the line only one time in 36 minutes. “I mean, I think it was disrespectful that I had one free throw attempt today,” said George, who registered 26 points and six assists. “I am going to leave it at that.”
2 months ago – via James Ham @ NBC Sports

Kings upset with refs after loss to Heat

In a back-and-forth game, the Kings shot just 5-of-11 from the free throw line. They certainly could have hit more than five, but let’s get back to those 11 attempts. The Heat’s Jimmy Butler hit 14-of-16 from the stripe on his own. Overall, the Heat outshot the Kings 26-11 at the line … in a one point game. “One player on their team made more free throws than our whole team shot,” coach Luke Walton said. “It’s going to be hard to win when that’s happening. We stayed in attack mode, that’s all we can do.”
3 months ago – via Nick Friedell @ ESPN

On his way back down the floor, Green’s voice boomed through a near-empty Chase Center as he appeared to air out his frustration at the rookie. When the whistle was blown and Green was assessed his second technical, Kerr and several members of his staff tried to explain to the officiating crew that Green’s ire was directed at the rookie center. But after listening to Green bark at various points throughout the night, hearing his frustration one more time apparently was enough, in the officials’ minds at the time, to warrant an ejection. “At halftime Ben Taylor came out and told me that it was a mistake,” Kerr said. “That John Butler didn’t realize that Draymond was yelling at his teammate. He thought he was yelling at him.”
3 months ago – via Sporting News

“There’s a lot of things that I like and enjoy about it, and there’s a lot of things that I hate about it,” Duncan said. “I hate the way the game’s being officiated at times, how they’ve underpowered the effect of a post player so that you’re allowed to beat the crap out of a post player. You’re allowed to take him off his spot. You’re allowed to hit him, bump him while they’re shooting. But if you turn and face and go out to the 3-point line, and you shoot the ball and fall down, all of a sudden, the whistle is blown. “So they’re protecting the shooters away from the basket. It overpowers some of the players that are away from the basket, and it underpowers post players who use their bodies and their physicality around the basket.”
More HoopsHype Rumors
April 11, 2021 | 9:03 pm EDT Update