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With the 2018 NBA All-Star Game officially in the books, players must now shift gears toward getting ready to finish the 2017-18 NBA season on a strong note. Unfortunately, it also means they must go back to walking on eggshells with NBA referees — something that hasn't been a rosy endeavor.
The tension has dominated the storylines due to the rash of technical fouls that have been handed out thus far. Among the many casualties is Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant.
Despite his frustration with officials this season, he alluded that the NBA front office may actually be responsible, per a video by Golden State of Mind:
Article Continues Below“For some reason it feels like they’re a little bit more on edge,” Durant said. “I don’t know what’s going on when they go back and watch film, or go back and get evaluated, but something is a little different. I don’t think it’s the players, I don’t think it’s the refs, it’s somebody else that’s probably in the middle of the relationship that’s kind of making it worse. Y’all can figure that out on your own. But I think the players and the refs want to have a great relationship but somebody’s in the way.”
Durant has been on the receiving end of the referees' backlash almost more than any NBA player.
The superstar small forward currently ranks third in the entire league with 11 technical fouls and has been ejected from a number of games already this regular season.
Part of the players' frustration is not the calls themselves, rather they do not have the benefit of opening a dialogue with officials without getting called for a technical. Whatever the case may be, Durant feels that the refs are not the ones pulling the strings behind their strict protocol.
It seems a bit far-fetched that the NBA would promote such rigidity, especially when the league office has supported players' voicing of personal opinions off the court. However, it is clear that something needs to change and the NBA brass may be the only ones that can fix it at this point.
