NBA referees have not had the most envious of jobs lately. They have been in the center of some controversies over some questionable calls recently, and officiating games has continued to be more difficult to call, especially given the rule changes, and how the game is played today.
Even a simple toss of the ball during jump balls is not as easy as it looks, which was clearly seen during the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic game on Wednesday night. The referee threw what could possibly be one of the worst jump balls in recent memory, as it was very low, and was favoring the side of Enes Kanter. The Turkish big man even looked surprised with it, and so was the game official, who couldn’t do anything about it anymore.
https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/928415214692859904
The good news is that the rest of the game did not include any questionable calls anymore, that caused a lot of complaints from both teams. The Magic won on the night, 112-99, and improved their record to 7-4 for the season. The Knicks on the other hand saw their three-game winning streak end, and now have a 6-5 win-loss slate.
During the offseason, the NBA made it known that they are investing in more training for referees, as well as adding more technology to help them officiate games more accurately. It may not be a bad idea for them to practice their jump ball tosses though, as what happened on Wednesday can be considered hilarious, and even an embarrassing one for the game official.