The Houston Rockets feel they were on the wrong end of at least a few non-calls during their Game 1 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, but Steve Kerr says any talk of the officiating being tilted in his team’s favor is nonsense.
To demonstrate that point, Kerr began his media availability on Monday by flopping out of his chair and then calling a foul on a nearby reporter.
Steve Kerr enters his presser, flops on a reporter and jokes it should be a foul. He then discusses the noise coming out of the Rockets camp at length. pic.twitter.com/KS0PC8DmvE
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 29, 2019
Of course, reporters then began to ask Kerr how he feels about the Rockets complaining about non-calls and implying they were cheated by Sunday’s officiating crew. He said the talk is “disappointing” and overshadows the way both teams played.
“It’s disappointing, because the focus should be on two teams that played extremely hard. Both teams really got after it and competed,” Kerr said. “We just watched the tape upstairs. You don’t think there were 10 calls that we feel we got fouled? This is how it goes.”
The Rockets felt they were fouled on a number of three-point attempts throughout the game, and Chris Paul was ejected for arguing over non-calls on two separate occasions. Interestingly enough, the NBA admitted in its Last Two Minute Report from Game 1 that the officials missed a key foul with seconds remaining in the game, but it had nothing to do with a player being bumped while attempting a three-pointer.
James Harden and the Rockets have a reputation for flopping, and it almost seemed like the referees from Sunday’s game were prepared for that going in. If that trend continues and they don’t start getting some of those calls going forward, it could be a short series.
