Furious Doc Rivers: “Referees Can’t Lose Their Composure”

The Golden State Warriors opened their series against the Los Angeles Clippers very convincingly. The reigning champs defeated the guests 121-104, making the first step towards their third straight title successful.

As expected the entire game was filled with intense and tough plays, which is something usual for the playoffs, especially in the first game. At certain points, that intensity went beyond the limits of allowed, and the referees had to react.

But according to Clippers coach Doc Rivers, while doing that, the officials didn’t have the same criteria, and they made several bad decisions which damaged his team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHkKihbfsXQ

It is not the first time that the Warriors have been labeled to receive help from the refs. Over the past two years, more and more voices are emerging, saying that the champs have too much credit among the officials in the NBA, and that sometimes they have a strong wind in the back.

Rivers got a tech at the halftime, after addressing to the referees because of another technical foul which Danilo Gallinari got earlier during the second quarter.

“My tech, and you can read my lips, I said ‘All I want is consistency.’ That’s what I got a tech for at halftime,” he said.

Clippers’ coach stated after the game that he just wanted to talk about that situation, and stress out that his player didn’t disrespect the refs like the Warriors’ players did, and yet, Gallinari got a tech.

“I was really upset at Gal’s tech. It really bothered me because all Gal said was, ‘Where was the foul?,” Doc began explaining, saying that few GSW’s guys behaved much worse than Gallinari did, but the refs didn’t act the same.

“Without me saying any names, if one of our guys are going to get a tech for saying that, after what I witnessed in the first half from at least — let me just say two of their guys, — that was disgusting.”

Clippers' Doc Rivers calls for consistent officiating after Game 1 loss to Warriors. Said technical on Danilo Gallinari was "disgusting" & "just not right" because he didn't swear. Added that multiple Golden State players were "cussing, swearing, pointing, yelling" w/ no tech. pic.twitter.com/nMEOx5wlfE

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 14, 2019

Rivers’ didn’t want to mention the situation at 4:41 before the end when Partick Beverly and Kevin Durant got ejected after double technicals, which were their second of the game and had to go out.

In those moments, Beverly and Durant clashed and Warriors’ forward pushed Beverly to the ground. It was an obvious foul, and the Clippers’ guard quickly stood up and started trash talking with KD. The officials didn’t want to wait, but instead ejected both guys.

Still, that wasn’t the subject of Rivers’ post-game conference. He was furious with the way his team and himself, were treated in last night’s contest.

He also didn’t want to be one of those coaches who are explicitly focused on their team and doesn’t want to comment on the rivals’ behavior.

Rivers compared Gallinari’s situation and the way Golden State’s players talked to the officials, saying that it simply isn’t right for the refs to have that kind of criteria. The winner of the 2008 NBA championship, openly accused them of having double standards.

“I saw a couple guys on the other team cussing, swearing, pointing, yelling, and nothing? It’s just not right. We have to be consistent.”

Clippers finished this game with 4 technical fouls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkt776Iq87I&t=145s

Still, Doc didn’t want to diminish the victory of the home team, who completely outplayed his team, which he admitted. According to his words, too many simple mistakes were the reason Clippers lost this one. But also there is a significant part of other factors which made it even more difficult for his team to maintain the balance in the game, among which are the mistakes of the officials.

Besides all other things, Clippers’ coach stated that sometimes players and coaches could lose their stability during the game, but the guys who are in charge of umpiring, can’t allow that for themselves.

“It’s an emotional game, but just like players can lose their composure, coaches do it all the time, officials cant.”

The next game between these two sides is scheduled for Monday, and there is no doubt that we haven’t seen all here. Knowing Clippers and their players, they will not go down without a huge fight.