The game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Detroit Pistons recently was quite heated. And, this is mainly because of what happened with Giannis Antetokounmpo. In the middle of the game, the Greek Freak received an ejection for a ludicrous reason, and this had First Take‘s Stephen A. Smith fuming.
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Smith called out the poor officiating, as he expressed his confusion over why Giannis had been ejected. Antetokounmpo had just hit a poster dunk and decided to flex on Isaiah Stewart with the tiniest of stare-downs. For some reason, this did not sit well with the referee, who gave the 2021 NBA Champion his second technical foul and ejected him.
Following the game, Stephen A. called out the referee. “Who the hell is paying to see the referee? That is not a reason to eject Giannis Antetokounmpo,” exclaimed Smith. A fair statement, and one that was backed up by Shaquille O’Neal, who shared Stephen A’s comments on his Instagram story.
Shaq shares Stephen A’s views on Giannis getting ejected pic.twitter.com/n6tNEot6rc
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) November 10, 2023
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Even the King, LeBron James couldn’t fathom what he had seen. Using the facepalm emoji, James expressed his own bewilderment at the call on Twitter/X. And, he is just one of the many people who have been left baffled by refereeing decisions lately.
Damian Lillard and Brook Lopez mitigated the loss of Giannis Antetokounmpo against the Pistons
Losing Giannis Antetokounmpo in the third quarter was difficult for the Milwaukee Bucks. Heading into the fourth, the team at one point was down by double-digits, with many believing they could lose the game. However, Damian Lillard and Brook Lopez had other plans.
With 18 fourth-quarter points, Dame brought the Bucks back. Additionally, Lopez hit the dagger three before coming up with a block at the other end of the court, to seal the victory for the Bucks, 120-118. Nevertheless, it was a disappointing end to the game for the Greek Freak, who played just 22 minutes.
Fortunately, he bounced back in the following game. Last night, the Bucks took on the Pacers, and Giannis went off. Dropping 54 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists, he was exceptional. Although, they did end up narrowly losing the game 126-124.
Regardless, it’s clear to see that something needs to be done about the poor officiating in the NBA. We’re barely nine or so games into the NBA season, and the decision-making from the referees is already proving to be a problem. Hopefully, something will be done about it soon.
