Steve Kerr Calls Out ‘Disgusting’ Refereeing In Warriors-Nuggets Game

Steve Kerr was bereft of holiday cheer following the Warriors-Nuggets Christmas Day contest at Ball Arena.

Kerr was irate about the officiating in Monday night’s matchup between two of the Western Conference’s better teams. Nikola Jokic was a major beneficiary of the excess whistles, as the Denver superstar attempted a career-high 18 free throws in the nationally televised contest. Jokic made all of them, which helped the reigning NBA champions secure a 120-114 win.

The foul calls against Jokic weren’t the particular point of Kerr’s postgame ire, but they seemingly played a hand in the Warriors coach teeing off on the refs.

“I have a problem with how we are legislating the defense out of the game,” Kerr told reporters, per ESPN. “We are enabling players to B.S. their way to the foul line. 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 … the players are really smart in this league. For the last decade, they’ve gotten smarter and smarter. We have enabled the players, and they are taking full advantage.

“It’s a parade to the free throw line, and it’s disgusting to watch.”

Warriors franchise cornerstone Stephen Curry wasn’t nearly as blatantly critical about the officiating as his head coach, but the two-time NBA MVP did express a desire for “consistency” from the refs.

Golden State will hope for a less frustrating outing Thursday night when it hosts the reigning Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat.