Every game matters as the Washington Wizards battle for playoff seeding, and All-Star guard John Wall thinks poor officiating cost them one on Friday.
After the Wizards lost 95-88 to the Utah Jazz, Wall unloaded on the referees.
“For one, I haven’t been saying nothing to the refs lately because I know what situation I’ve been in but the way they’ve been officiating today doesn’t make no sense,” said Wall, according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. “To shoot 31 free throws to 16. We’re an aggressive team that attacks the basket, that don’t make no sense.
“I had to get [my arm] bandaged up because I’m bleeding and the ref told me, ‘That’s not a foul,’” continued the former No. 1 overall pick. “It’s getting out of hand. If you want us to compete at a high level like we’ve been doing – we didn’t lose this game. The refs made us lose this game. We fought hard, we gave ourselves a chance but you don’t shoot no 31 free throws to 16 the way we attack the basket as a team. That’s how I feel about it.”
Wall shot just 6-for-22 on Friday (his lowest mark from the field since the All-Star break) and finished with only 16 points and five assists. While the Jazz are an elite defense (third in the NBA this season in defensive efficiency and first in points allowed per game, via ESPN), the famously outspoken Wall clearly believes the officiating played a hand in the Wizards’ subpar showing and can probably expect a fine coming his way from the league office.
