Atlanta Hawks: 3 Takeaways from 111-104 Defeat to the Spurs
By Dallin Duffy
NBA Refs Vs. The Atlanta Hawks
The state of referees has been a hot topic around the league for a few years now, but the Hawks haven’t had any run-ins until recently.
First there was a few blown calls in the OT win over Minnesota last week, then Trae Young got ridiculously ejected for looking at someone.
Tonight was all sorts of bad, with Taurean Prince getting two techs in about as many seconds. This time courtesy of Scott Foster, one of the more notorious refs in the league.
After the game Lloyd Pierce cited TP’s ejection for “a poor choice of words” but unless it was something truly sinister, he shouldn’t have been thrown out.
That was just the first offense of the night, as later on, living legend Vince Carter got run into (hard) and drew a no-call on a crucial possession.
He was thrust into playing the 4 spot for much of the night due to Dedmon’s injury, and was in foul trouble all night with Aldridge, so the one time Aldridge fouled him, I’m sure he was looking for a call.
Once again the ref had an insanely quick finger on the tech-trigger, giving him one for complaining.
The Hawks average the 2nd-most personal fouls a game, so the other team doesn’t need any additional help on ticky-tacky fouls and techs.
On a final bright note, the Hawks out-shot the opponent on free throws tonight, which hasn’t happened much this season.