Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart has been frustrated with NBA officiating recently, picking up technical fouls in each of the last two games, the first of which resulted in a $35,000 fine for making an obscene gesture at a referee during the win over the Utah Jazz.
After the Lakers’ loss to the L.A. Clippers on Saturday night, Smart was asked about the officiating and what he would like to see changed, as seen on Spectrum SportsNet:
“It’s just the consistency. We understand that not no one, not the officials, not us, are perfect. We don’t expect you guys to be, we don’t expect them to be. We just expect consistency, and that’s it. That’s the biggest part for I think any player in this league when you’re talking about officiating, is consistency. Because we understand that they can’t see everything, they are human. But it’s the consistent ones where you’re telling us you don’t see this one on this end, but the exact same play, you’re in the exact same spot, you see it on that end. All we want is consistency.”
Part of Smart’s frustration comes from the referees not responding when he tries to talk with them about calls during games:
“You can’t talk to them. You can’t talk to them. You try to, and it’s funny because even in the Utah game, I went up at the beginning of the game to be a captain. The captains should be able to go talk to them, but they still don’t want to hear it. I mean, you control what you can control. If they don’t want to talk then you try and you move on. But it definitely is frustrating when you pour your heart out to this game and the feedback is literally waiving you off, telling you to get out of their face and then give you a tech because you’re asking questions. Hopefully they can get it together, but it’s definitely something that as a whole, we are, as player, frustrated with.”
Since the referees are not responding, Smart took it to the next level with an obscene gesture, a fine that he did not mind receiving:
“Sometimes you gotta take the hit to get your point across. That’s what it is. They’re gonna fine you regardless, and at this point it’s like, what’s the point of us calling them to talk about a situation when you’re just gonna have your mind made up already? So it’s like, why even talk to you guys?”
Smart has always been a fiery player that toes the line with officials, and that isn’t gonna change anytime soon. It’s clear that there is a disconnect between players and referees across the league right now though, which is understandably frustrating when players like Smart feel they are not being heard.
JJ Redick echoes Marcus Smart
Smart isn’t the only one frustrated with the lack of consistency from NBA officiating as Lakers head coach JJ Redick also went on a rant after the loss to the Clippers.
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