Gobert accuses the umpires of trying to dub, helping Kings beat Wolves originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Rudy Gobert scorched NBA officials Wednesday night over his displeasure with calls the Minnesota Timberwolves received during their current West Coast road trip.
Gobert didn’t mince words in the hours following the Timberwolves’ seven-point loss to the Phoenix Suns at the Footprint Center. The Wolves went to the free-throw line 12 times compared to the Suns’ 27 trips.
“It’s cops – t. bulls – t. That’s not fair. It’s really not fair,” Gobert said passionately [h/t Chris Hine]. “Every night. I’ve been in this league for 10 years and I always try to decide when there is a doubt but I have a hard time believing that they aren’t trying to help [Phoenix] win tonight.”
That was a theme of the road trip for the 7ft 1 center.
“It’s hard for me to believe they didn’t try to help the Warriors win the other day or the Sacramento Kings the other day,” Gobert said. “It’s just so obvious. As a basketball player who’s been in this league for so long, that’s disrespectful and sucks, to be honest.
“We work so hard to compete with the best and we just get manipulated in situations where it just affects the game too much for the other team.”
Minnesota attempted eight more free throw attempts than the Warriors in their 99-96 win Sunday night at the Chase Center. Gobert was visibly upset when his offensive foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 1 in the third quarter.
In the 119-115 win for the Timberwolves against the Kings on Monday, Sacramento attempted six more free throws than Minnesota.
The Wolves share the most personal fouls (1,676) committed in the NBA this season with the Detroit Pistons. The Warriors (1,654) are just behind these two teams, while the Kings have the 10th fewest fouls committed (1,497). (Of course, once the game reaches the final two minutes, it’s a different story since Kings Fans know this all too well.)
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“We understand we’re not the biggest market, and we’re a team that — I think you want to see it [Kevin Durant] in the playoffs, steph [Curry] in the playoffs; you want to see LeBron [James] in the playoffs.
“Timber wolves are not here yet. We have to sit back and keep playing through it and it’s definitely frustrating, especially for me.
The NBA has yet to smear Gobert for his comments slandering officials, but his wallet will likely be a lot lighter when the Timberwolves take on the Los Angeles Lakers at Target Center on Friday.
Source : sports.yahoo.com