Hard to blame Kelly Oubre Jr. for going off like this, because frankly, NBA officials are pretty awful. Officiating in major American sports is a problem in and of itself, and I don’t put it all on the people carrying the whistles. That’s a whole other can of worms we don’t need to open right now.
The end sequence to the 76ers’ loss to the Clippers in Philadelphia is pretty self-explanatory. Oubre took the ball to the rack twice, got hacked twice, and not a single foul was called. He would’ve gotten to shoot a couple free throws. Maybe it goes to overtime at worse. In any event, Oubre was pissed and it was more hilarious than anything else.
The referees themselves admitted they blew it!
I feel like there should be some sort of punishment for sh*t like this. These refs will probably roll along their merry way without any sort of consequence, fine, or suspension and continue working. There’s a human element to officiating, sure, but this is straight-up occupational negligence. Is that a thing? It should be.
To his credit, Oubre apologized afterwards and said what he did wasn’t cool. However, he also remained steadfast in his totally valid belief that the refs were giving the Clippers more favorable calls. Unusual for a road team, but when LA has big names like Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, James Harden and Russell Westbrook on the court at any given time, they’ll tend to get a more generous whistle than most.
Times are tough in Philly with Joel Embiid injured. Wish that guy could just stay healthy. Although he should be back just in time for the playoffs, this Sixers squad is struggling without him. The reigning league MVP was playing the best basketball of his career before he went down yet again. Hard to believe Embiid was drafted all the way back in 2014. Even harder to believe that a singular talent like him hasn’t made it past the conference semifinals. That reflects so poorly on the 76ers organization, and now they’re likely to be a playoff team, which will make a run to the Eastern Conference Finals all the more of an uphill battle even with Embiid back in the lineup.
This Oubre situation feels like a microcosm of Sixers basketball. They just can’t seem to catch a break.
