I am 100% behind Devin Booker here. Last night was not a good look for our league. Let me be clear, we didn’t lose because of officiating, but that doesn’t make last night any less important. If the referees are going to demand respect from the players - as they should - then the players should demand respect from the referees. When a referee is missing calls and clearly disrespecting the players, almost mocking them, they must be held accountable. Nobody who loves this game enjoyed watching that last night. They want to see the players compete at the highest level. The league needs be far more aggressive about this kind of thing. All players and all fans deserve it.
Devin Booker WENT OFF in his postgame interview about the officiating in tonight’s game vs OKC:
"It's definitely something that has to be looked into. I heard Caruso tell them to call the tech and he ended up doing it. In my 11 years, I haven't called a ref out by name, but James [Williams] was terrible tonight, through and through. It's bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport. People are going to start viewing this as the WWE if they're not held responsible."
"I know I haven't won a championship in this league but I have been in it for 11 years now, so to get to this point to be treated like that, for me to even be saying something out loud... It's bad.
"It's my first time in 11 years but it's needed. Whatever, I get fined for it, everybody can pull the clips and see where the frustration comes from."