Mike Brown showed the perfect way to criticize referees after a frustrating game in a five-minute rant after the Kings lost to the Bucks by one point in OT. He brought his laptop to show the plays he thought changed the game with controversial referee calls, respectfully understanding how challenging their jobs are but asking the league to implement consistency across interpretation of rules.
“I just wanted to show you guys why I got kicked out of the game. This was in the third quarter with 1:28 left. You can watch, Fox barely puts his hand on Dame. Incidental contact didn’t push him at all, and they gave him three free throws. At half, we were down 19-5 in free throws. I know that happens sometimes, but it’s very frustrating.”
He went on to explain more contentious calls, including controversial no-calls on Brook Lopez’s aggressive defense for verticality rules, as Lopez didn’t have both his hands up on contests and wasn’t called for fouls. He asked the NBA to clarify the rules because every referee seems to interpret fouls in their way.
He showed many more clips, including another three-point foul on Lillard by Fox and a play where Cameron Payne hooked Fox on a drive and didn’t get called for a foul.
“I’m okay as a coach because the referees are humans and they’re gonna make mistakes. You just hope that A, there is some sort of consistency, and B, there’s some sort of communication between the refs. The refs tonight were great, they communicated with me all night. But in terms of consistency, you saw right here… If you get communication and consistency in the game, you can live with some things… I don’t understand the rule… That’s not what the rule is. We get called on Domas all the time and they tell us he’s gotta have both hands up if you wanna go vertical. That’s why I got kicked out.”
Mike Brown lights into the refereeing tonight in the Kings loss in Milwaukee. Brings out a laptop in his press conference to show film of the non-foul and foul that has him ticked off. Here is the five minute soundbite. pic.twitter.com/Q8InpkFh8B
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 15, 2024
This game had consequences for the Kings, as they’re in a dogfight with the Pelicans and Mavericks for the fifth and sixth seed in the West. The Kings entered tonight as the fifth seed, but a loss has now dropped them half a game behind the Pelicans and only half a game ahead of the Mavericks; thankfully for them, the Pelicans and Mavericks face each other on Monday, where one team has to take a loss. Their record after tonight is 23-16.
Darko Rajakovic Exploded On Referees After Loss Against Lakers
Brown is only the second head coach to dedicate a post-game press conference to complaining about referees in the last week. Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic went on a memorable rant after a close loss to the Lakers.
“How is it possible that Scottie Barnes, who is an All-Star caliber player in this league, he goes every single time to the rim with force without flopping, he gets two free throws for the whole game. How is that possible? How will you explain that to me? They had to win tonight. If that’s the case, just let us know so we don’t show up for the game. That was not fair tonight. It’s not happening for the first time with us. Scottie Barnes is an All-Star and will be the face of the league, what’s happening right now this season, it’s complete crap.”
Rajakovic was fined $25,000 by the NBA for his explosive words. Brown was far more measured in his approach, being respectful of the referees despite his heavy grievances. Hopefully, this leads to some sort of change from the NBA as these disagreements seem to be at an all-time high now.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
