JJ Redick Blasts Referees During Kings vs Warriors Series
In what may be the most surprising statement of the last decade, JJ Redick believes NBA referees have been favoring the Sacramento Kings over the Golden State Warriors too much during the playoffs.
Redick was a guest on ESPN's First Take where he revealed the controversial opinion.
“[The officials] have allowed too much in this series, Redick said. "They have allowed too much. I have no problem with physical play in the playoffs. But if Steph Curry is not allowed to move off the ball…if you’re preventing players from running down the court and you’re allowing that to happen…there was a play late in Game 2 where Kevon Looney is underneath the rim ready for a rebound and Sabonis crashes in, pushes him in the back. They don’t call the foul. That’s a foul."
The irony of his statement is that the Kings have always been linked as the small market team who were robbed by referees in the 2002 playoffs against the Lakers. Even in this series against the Warriors, it's been a battle of David vs Goliath. Regardless, Redick believes the Warriors have been getting robbed by the referees.
“The referees have dictated too much in the Kings’ favor in the series," Redick said. "I really believe that, and I don’t know if it’s the home crowd or whatever. I rarely complain about the referees. In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever complained about the referees. I think they’re great. But if [the Warriors] are going to come back in the series, they’ve gotta call the game the way the game is supposed to be called.”
Regardless of what NBA fans may think of the referees, the Golden State Warriors just have to play better. They've been historically bad on the road all season, and now it's all eyes to see if they can win at home for Game 3. At the end of the day, no one is having this conversation if Andrew Wiggins hits the corner three at the end of Game 1.
