Locked in a tightly-contested affair against the reigning champion Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, the Golden State Warriors know the value of every point they put up on the board. Thus, it became all the more heartbreaking for them when referees failed to credit Stephen Curry for a made basket after a blatant goaltending violation from Aaron Gordon, effectively taking away two points from the Dubs in what ended up being a three-point loss.
In the immediate aftermath of the play, Curry and Steve Kerr became enraged, and justifiably so, especially when a made layup during that possession could have tied the game and, in doing so, prevented the Nuggets from going in transition where they scored two points for a painful four-point swing for the Warriors.
Nevertheless, the Warriors head coach, despite seething in his frustrations towards the missed call, gave referees the benefit of the doubt, recognizing the sheer difficulty of making those calls in real time.
“The non-goaltend call, it hurts. But I'm used to it. Honestly, it's a difficult call to make, it happens, bang bang. It seems like, last year four or five of those [non-calls happened to us]. It's gonna happen this year too. So it's part of it. Plenty of calls both ways. That's the way it goes,” Kerr said in his postgame presser, per NBC Sports Bay Area.




"I'm used to it."
Steve Kerr shares his thoughts on the non-goaltend call pic.twitter.com/EvItKfkFE0
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 9, 2023
It's a bitter pill to swallow that referees in the NBA, who should be on top of their game, will inevitably miss these sorts of calls despite being as blatant as they come. But this is a part of the game that Warriors head coach Steve Kerr knows that they cannot control, so it's not like devoting their anger towards the issue will solve the problem. However, calling officials out for failing to do their job properly can, perhaps, ensure that the frequency of their mistakes decreases.
Now, all Stephen Curry and the Warriors can do is look forward to their next game on Saturday, when they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers to try and avenge their defeat to them earlier in the season.