The morning after Kevin Durant was ejected on double techs in the Warriors’ 116-102 win over the Nuggets on Tuesday night, Jeff Van Gundy, the ESPN analyst and former longtime NBA head coach, joined “Joe, Lo & Dibs” and discussed the ongoing antagonism between Golden State and the league’s officials.
The ending was truly wild:
The ending of Warriors-Timberwolves was the most ridiculous thing you'll see this regular season... pic.twitter.com/40tV0xWncY
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 30, 2019Here’s how Van Gundy broke it all down:
“Great officials make great decisions at the moment of truth — just like great players make great decisions at the moment of truth. Both of those calls, I couldn’t agree more with the Warriors.”
“Now that being said, I thought, I have never in my life, I’ve seen players MF officials. I’ve seen them scream and yell. I’ve never seen a group of players taunt officials in the heat of the battle. I’ve just never seen it.”
“I’ve never seen them point at them. I’ve never seen them point at them, gesture to them and all the stuff that happened after Curry’s shot. And I was disappointed in the NBA’s officials, that crew for not T’ing them up.”
“I think what Leon Wood did with the Durant call at the end to get Towns the free throw was to get back at them for the taunting of Marat Kogut. And so, I would rather them have T’d him up and said, ‘Hey, the way you guys acted was inappropriate. It’s a technical foul.’”
“And I was completely disappointed with the officiating crew that they didn’t stand up for themselves during that time.”
Van Gundy thinks simmering animosity between the refs and the players (all around the NBA) will be a narrative to watch with the postseason looming.
“I do think the Warriors right now feel as they’re being picked upon,” Van Gundy said. “And I think the NBA officials think that they’re being attacked — not just by the Warriors — but throughout the league.”
