There have been a lot of intriguing technical fouls and ejections this season. Players arguing questionable calls get automatic technicals. Players initiating passable physical contact get suspicious ejections. LeBron James even got his first ejection of his NBA career this season.

It's easy to conclude that the players and referees are not on good terms. But if last night's games are any indication, the relationship between the players and referees is worse than we think.

According to Tom Haberstroh of ESPN, the referees have issued 21 technicals and five ejections last night. Look at his tweet:

To be fair, being an NBA referee is a hard job. You have to consider all the little rules that are being added into the game constantly, like the rule where players taking free throws are not allowed to walk beyond the 3-point line anymore for game pacing issues.

Add in the fact that an NBA referee has to run up and down the court and has to deal with overly competitive big men who are frustrated with how he facilitates the game.

But no matter how hard the job is, an NBA referee should remain logical and not let emotion get the best of him. Remember the time when Warriors player Shaun Livingston and NBA referee Courtney Kirkland bumped heads because of an argument? Both of them ended up getting suspended.

It's good to know that the players union and the referee association will meet to try and fix the problem. If the problem is not fixed, we may only see it get worse. It may even end up affecting the outcome of games, which some argue is happening already.