Basketball is one of the fastest games in the world so sometimes, things can be a blur. The heat of the moment can get players into some compromising positions and the referees have to make sure they catch on to every single thing that goes on. Last night, the Utah Jazz and Toronto Raptors had a perfect example of this. During the Raptors win, OG Anunoby of Toronto was in transition and tangled up with Rudy Gobert of the Jazz. Seemingly out of nowhere, Anunoby threw an elbow in Gobert's direction although it didn't land.
Following the incident, Anunoby and Gobert were both ejected from the game. Gobert was extremely upset by it all and ended up complaining about it after the game. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Gobert felt as though the ref failed at protecting him. In fact, Gobert says he might take matters into his own hands next time.
“(OG Anunoby) tried to elbow me in the face. And the guy who’s getting paid to protect the players didn’t do his job," Gobert said. "We both got ejected when I didn’t do anything back, which I don’t understand. Next time I’ll do justice myself so (they) can eject me for a reason.”
While Gobert's frustration is warranted, there is little he can actually do about the situation. Referees can't just reverse calls on a whim and no matter how much you yell at them, it's not going to make a difference.
Skip Bayless Disses LeBron James During Luka Doncic Rant
Skip Bayless can never let LeBron live.
Skip Bayless has been one of the biggest LeBron James haters in the world over the past decade. Whenever LeBron does something he great, he refuses to acknowledge it. Meanwhile, whenever LeBron does something bad, he makes sure to prop it up and not let it go for weeks on end. This hatred for LeBron has made Bayless a target amongst sports fans and recently, he came through with yet another piece of anti-LeBron propaganda.
During a recent segment, Bayless spoke about Luka Doncic and how he is always blaming the referees for his problems. After Seth Curry compared Doncic to LeBron, Bayless made sure to get in a dig at LeBron saying the only thing that is comparable between the two, is their hatred towards the officials.
“Seth Curry said Luka is 'LeBron-like.' He's LeBron-like after games too because he's learned the fine art of taking the focus off his failure and putting it on the refs," Bayless said. As you can imagine, the take angered his co-host Shannon Sharpe who couldn't believe Skip would take that kind of dig out of nowhere.
We all know Bayless loves the San Antonio Spurs so his dismissal of a Mavericks player shouldn't come as much of a surprise. At this point, neither should the LeBron slander.
Marcus Smart Escorted Off Court After Altercation With Referee
Marcus Smart was irate after some questionable calls late in the game.
Marcus Smart has been one of the best defensive players in the NBA this season and he's been doing it quietly. Guards barely get any defensive respect anymore but Smart is certainly trying to change that. He's a huge part of the Boston Celtics puzzle and could be in contention for defensive player of the year if he keeps this up. While this may be the case, Tuesday night wasn't one of his finest moments. He had some great plays although it all came crashing down at the end of regulation when the game was tied.
Smart was talking to the referees when all of a sudden, he became irate and started calling one of the officials a "pussy." Eventually, Smart had to be held back and was eventually escorted off of the court. The Celtics went on to lose the game in overtime by a score of 129-120.
This isn't the first time a player has been angry at the officials and it certainly won't be the last. Things like this happen all the time as players and officials butt heads over every little thing imaginable. Last night, the refs in the Celtics game were being lambasted on social media so Smart's reaction shouldn't be all that surprising.
If you're the Celtics, you can't be mad at one of your stars being as passionate as Smart was at that moment.
Saints Fans Angrily Throw Debris At Refs Following Wild Card Loss
Who Dat nation in shambles.
New Orleans Saints fans were absolutely crushed yesterday as their beloved team lost to the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round. The Vikings came in as the sixth seed while the Saints were a highly favored 13-3 third seed. Regardless, the Vikings were able to pull off the win as Kirk Cousins connected with Kyle Rudolph in overtime to win the game, 26-20. Saints players and fans were upset by the play as it appeared as though Rudolph committed offensive pass interference. In the end, no penalty was called and the Vikings won the game.
This is the second year in a row that the Saints were eliminated after a missed pass interference call. As you can imagine, the Saints fanbase was distraught over what happened and immediately took their anger out on the referee. In the video below, you can see Saints fans pelting refs with debris as they ran off the field. Some of the refs appear to be ducking and dodging as they head back to the locker room.