Steve Kerr is unhappy with Nikola Jokic receiving 18 free throw attempts in just one game. However, he’s not calling out the player but rather the rules of the NBA. This is after the Golden State Warrior‘s Christmas game against the Denver Nuggets.
According to Steve Kerr, Nikola Jokic’s fouls were “BS.”
He begins by discussing his opinions of the officials in the game, stating that he has no issues with them.
“I don’t have a problem with the officials themselves; they are excellent throughout the league.”
Steve Kerr
He does, however, have serious concerns about the way the league handles player contact.
The fact that the Nuggets were awarded 32 free throws in that particular game further emphasizes this. Furthermore, Jokic makes a staggering 18 free throws, more than half of the team’s total.
Kerr puts himself into a fan’s shoes and thinks he wouldn’t want to watch a game that heavily relies on baiting fouls for free throws.
“I have a problem with the way we are legislating defense out of the game. The way we’re teaching the officials, we’re just enabling players to BS their way to the foul line. If I were a fan, I wouldn’t want to watch the second half of that game. It was disgusting. It was just baiting refs into calls.”
Steve Kerr
Meanwhile, he appreciates how players have grown and adapted to the game. He posits that they’ve learned to take full advantage of fouls by familiarizing themselves with the contact rules.
“In this league, the guys are extremely intelligent. They have advanced in intelligence over the course of the last 10 or so years. It’s awful to watch as the players, who we have enabled, are taking full advantage of the situation and putting on a parade to the free throw line.
Steve Kerr
Did The Free Throws Make A Difference?
Short answer? Yes. It did make a difference in the end. Considering the Nuggets made 26 of their 32 attempts, it helped widen the gap between the scoreline of 114-120.
Missed free throws or, better, no foul calls would have helped the Warriors keep the game close.
However, it’s also important to note that Kerr’s Warriors garnered 23 free throw attempts, making 20 of those.
Ultimately, it’s a lost game, and fans can only speculate. Furthermore, Draymond Green is still indefinitely suspended, which could also be a factor.
There’s also the question of “bad” referee calls that the league’s been observing recently. However, that’s for the league itself to deal with.
Meanwhile, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s stellar defense against Stephen Curry might also be a huge factor in their win.
Do you think Kerr has a point about how many fouls and free throws the Nuggets received?
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