Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk got ejected on Saturday night against the Utah Jazz after he went off at the referee over a blown call. However, video replays of the play proved his outrage was justified.
Early in the fourth quarter and with the Kings trying to protect their nine-point lead, Monk attacked the rim for the slam. Unfortunately, he was fouled by Kelly Olynyk and missed the shot. The only problem is there was no whistle and the Jazz got the possession. Naturally, the veteran guard was heated and had some words for the referee, earning him a tech that got him thrown out of the game.
Video replays of the incident showed Olynyk clearly hitting Monk's arms, so it's easy to see why Monk was mad.
Malik Monk certainly could have controlled his emotions better, but as a competitor, that is sometimes hard to do. It just goes to show how bad the Kings scorer wants to win.
Sure enough, this latest incident will only further intensify the criticisms on NBA officiating. The common argument is they can't always be perfect and they make mistakes, but in the end, it's mistakes like that which could define the season of a team and perhaps doom them. Basically as much as possible, games should be officiated to perfection. Besides, it's difficult to feel for the referees if they keep whistling for technical fouls and throwing out players for complaining despite the fact that they were the ones who made a mistake.