Kerr: Officiating reports throw refs under the bus
OAKLAND, Calif. — Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr was not pleased by the NBA’s acknowledgement of an uncalled Russell Westbrook travel with 17.2 seconds remaining in the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s 108-102 besting of the Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
Asked Tuesday at Golden State’s practice facility whether it mattered to him that the NBA quickly admitted the travel, Kerr sarcastically cheered, “Yes! Yes! Yes! That’s awesome,” as he pumped his fist.
Kerr was asked whether he wanted to hear the NBA’s acknowledgement. He said no, then reiterated his previously stated stance on the NBA’s policy of releasing a two-minute report on late-game officiating.
“I don’t like the practice,” Kerr said. “I appreciate the NBA trying to be transparent, but it’s unfair to the officials. I feel like it throws them under the bus. They have an impossible job. They really do. And there are going to be bad calls both ways, every game. They’re never going to be perfect. They’re doing the best they can. I don’t think there’s any point, personally, in exposing bad calls. It doesn’t serve a purpose to me.”
The Thunder were leading by three points when the play happened. In the sequence, Westbrook dragged his foot just before gesturing for a timeout that was awarded by referee Monty McCutchen. Kerr and others on the Golden State bench gesticulated the travel motion at McCutchen right after the travel occurred.
After the timeout, Westbrook was fouled and made one free throw to make it a two-possession game. The Thunder went on to secure the win.
In a postgame interview Monday night, NBA senior vice president of replay and referee operations Joe Borgia told NBA TV, “It’s an unfortunate miss, but so much going on in the play, the speed of it, and officiating is about getting angles, and sometimes you just can’t get them, and they did not get a great angle on that play.”
Kerr was asked about the play Monday night as well and said, “I thought he walked, but it wasn’t called, so that’s the way it goes.”
Westbrook did not acknowledge in a postgame interview whether a travel occurred.
“I just play until I hear the whistle,” he said.
In Tuesday’s two-minute report, the NBA also noted a missed travel on Warriors star Stephen Curry with 7.8 seconds remaining. It was the only other mistake listed, and it had little impact on the game because Curry missed the shot.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
