The Thunder Fan Who Baited Luka Doncic Into Getting Ejected Is A Hero, But It Was Also The Latest Example Of Why NBA Refs Are The Absolute Worst

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Now this is a tough one for me. On one hand, I am absolutely in favor of anything and everything that could potentially lead to a Lakers loss. As a Day 1 pure blood Lakers hater, few things in life bring me more joy. Their misery helps fuel my soul. Always has and always will. 

At the same time, nothing infuriates me more than the incompetence of NBA refs, who every single night seem to find a way to ruin the game and the product that I love. They are truly the worst. It's by FAR Adam Silver's biggest problem that he continues to ignore, and last night was a great example of this disaster and how frequently these bozos are impacting games while being completely wrong. 

OK a few things here. For starters, that OKC fan is a hero. In a close game in the 4th quarter, it's on everyone to do their part to help their team win. His role was baiting Luka into a tech, which ended up being pretty significant when it came to the outcome of this game. Given that OKC just got waxed by the Lakers in their last meeting, this was an important get right game for them and that fan did it part. It sounds like he wasn't an asshole or went over the line, so in that regard he did his job.

But outside of that, this is Example #2384768234756 of why NBA refs are the worst. What the hell are you doing here? This is a mistake that frankly, cannot happen. Not just because it was Luka either, this shouldn't happen with ANY player, yet you see it all the time. The refs misinterpret what's happening, they respond why throwing techs around left and right, and then everyone realizes it was a mistake but there's no going back. Hate the Lakers or not, you cannot deny that this boneheaded move impacted the game, which is the exact opposite of what a ref should be doing in a close game in the 4th quarter. 

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My question is, how are these things not reviewable? Why can't you go to the monitor and get it right? In no world should Luka deserve a tech in that spot, and I can't stand the guy. If fans are going to talk shit, players should be allowed to talk shit back. That's competition! To ruin a game like that all because you got in your feelings because you thought Luka was talking to you when he wasn't is insane to me. Meanwhile, nothing will happen as a result of this action for the ref, no fine, no penalty, no nothing. Just business as usual and THAT is the problem the NBA is facing.

Now, to be fair, Luka did put himself in this position by already having a tech. Given his reputation for being a gigantic baby and crying/complaining to the refs after every single play, he opened the door for something like this to happen. In a close game, one the Lakers desperately needed, Luka shouldn't even be putting himself in these spots to begin with. You have to know that NBA refs are braindead for the most part, so while this may have been an unfortunate ending, the hater in me says Luka brought it on himself.

So even though JJ Redick was right to be pissed in his postgame presser

and he did make some solid points, all while doing his best to avoid being fined. Sadly it doesn't change the reality that Luka partially has himself to blame for this whole thing. As a leader of the team, you can't put yourself in that position, especially down the stretch in the 4th quarter while you already have 1 tech. I get it, sometimes competition can get the best of you, but when you lose your focus and you allow the refs to have an opportunity to fuck things up, I promise you they will do just that. Pick a ref, it doesn't matter. They can't help it. 

I'm not sure what it's going to take to get Adam Silver to wake the hell up and finally address his officiating problem, because the fact that he hasn't done anything about it by now is insane. Does a ref need to screw up a playoff game or something? Because guess what, that's coming. Somehow their worst refs continue to get the nod for the postseason year after year after year, so it's only a matter of time. I just don't know how Silver can watch this stuff unfold every single night and sit back and think nothing needs to be done. Stop ruining your own product!

So while I think the Lakers and their fans have a legit argument here, as I said their misery does bring me joy, so it has me in a bit of a pickle. I sure as shit I know I would be losing my mind if this happened to my favorite team so I'm definitely being a bit hypocritical here, but oh well. It's fuck the Lakers forever as far as I'm concerned. The problem is NBA refs are also the worst, so I can't fully support this action as a basketball fan. I wanted to see Luka on the court for the finish of what was a great game, but I guess as a fan that's too much to ask nowadays.