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NBA referees have had a poor season, with fans and players calling them out almost after every game. They struck again during the Atlanta Hawks' matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday (Mar. 22).
With less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves were up 117-113. Trae Young came off a quick screen, received the ball, and Jaden McDaniels fouled him as he took a 3-point shot.
Minnesota coach Chris Finch argued with the referee that McDaniels barely made contact with Young. Replays showed that the Hawks superstar sold the minimal contact, which the referee called.
The Timberwolves were lucky that the poor call didn't affect the outcome of the game. They beat the Atlanta Hawks 125-124, with Karl-Anthony Towns hitting the game-winning free throws. Towns, who played his first game since Nov. 28, finished with 22 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Nevertheless, fans called out the NBA referees once again for the foul call on Jaden McDaniels. Trae Young is notorious for foul-baiting, so he did well to convince referee Scott Twardoski to blow the whistle. Some even mocked Young for overselling the call.
It should also be noted that the crew chief for the game is Ben Taylor, who made headlines earlier this month after Fred VanVleet ranted about his officiating. Taylor was reportedly demoted by the NBA but was the crew chief on Wednesday.
One fan said:
"This is getting wild at this point."
Here are some of the comments on Twitter regarding the bad call:
Also Read: Why did Ja Morant get suspended? A complete look back on controversy surrounding Grizzlies star
Do NBA referees get punished for bad calls?
With all the bad calls made by NBA referees this season, fans have been asking if the league are punishing them for it.
According to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, officials are disciplined, and some might even get fined. Silver noted that unlike players, punishment for referees is not publicized.
"We don't publicize discipline for officials," Silver told ESPN's Sage Steele last month. "We don't think that will be appropriate. But their assignments are affected by the quality of their calls, whether or not they progress into the playoffs and then round by round is impacted by the accuracy of their calls and their demeanor on the floor."
He continued:
"So there is a system for overseeing and making those judgements about officials. But more to your earlier point about getting the calls right, that's again not a new issue."
With the playoffs less than a month away, fans want better calls considering what's at stake for teams. It will be interesting to see if NBA referees will be in the limelight during the postseason.
