Warriors coach Steve Kerr calls watching the NBA ‘disgusting’ after poor officiating vs. Nuggets

It’s rare to see Steve Kerr complain as much as he did on Monday night, after his Warriors lost 120 to 114 against the Nuggets. Even though the head coach let out his frustration after what he considered poor officiating from the referees, he tried to contain himself as best he could. 

The truth is, there was a lot to blame against the reigning champions, as Golden State had a slow offensive game and only made 14 out of their 40 three-point attempts at Ball Arena.

However, Kerr was especially frustrated about the fouling, as his team was called out for 23, compared to Denver‘s 17. The Bay Area trainer took the opportunity to voice out against the way officials have been calling out fouls throughout the season.

Do y’all agree with Steve Kerr’s take on NBA defense today? pic.twitter.com/TLxBDeaDjX

— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) December 25, 2023

“I have no problem with the officials themselves. All across the league we have really good officials,” he told reporters postgame. “I have a problem with the way we are legislating defense out of the game. That’s what we’re doing in the NBA. The way we’re teaching officials, we’re just enabling players to BS their way to the foul line.”

Kerr put himself in fan’s shoes, as he believes this takes away from the entertainment. “If I were a fan, I wouldn’t have wanted to watch the second half of that game. It was disgusting. It was just baiting refs into calls. But the refs have to make those calls because that’s how they’re taught,” he added.

“The players are really smart in this league. For over the last decade or so, they’ve gotten smarter and smarter. And we have enabled the players, and they are taking full advantage. It’s a parade to the free-throw line, and it was disgusting to watch,” the coach concluded.

We’ve witnessed the NBA rule book change drastically in the past years, as officiating has become a more debatable topic due to the way offensive plays are being protected. This has made defensive plays very difficult to execute without committing fouls and players have been taking advantage of this.

Warriors players agree with their coach as they assure that the officiating cut off their rhythm on both ends

Even rookie Brandin Podziemski was outspoken over how the referees directly affected their game, as the team lost their rhythm throughout the contest due to the constant calls for foul. “I think collectively we did a good job as a team, but it’s kind of hard to get into a rhythm when it’s free throws after free throws.

“Every time the clock stops and we got to take it out the net, and they get a set defense, it just makes it tougher for us. We just got to play without fouling. It’s hard with the rules. Players are good at selling fouls. Jokic is 4 for 12, which we love, but he shoots 18 free throws,” said the young guard.

Nikola Jokic took advantage of the situation as he had only 4-of-12 shooting from the field, but made all of his 18 attempts from the foul line.

“It does cater to the guys that can sell calls,” Steph Curry argued after their defeat. “When there’s physicality, it’s tough because it’s inconsistent at times on either side. And from game to game, it changes — that’s the nature of basketball. But a night like tonight where you feel like there’s physicality at one side and then kind of ticky-tack on the other, then they get into the bonus, it changes the complexity of the game.”