NBA
Luka Doncic's ‘Disrespectful Response to a Referee' Puts Him 1 Step Away From a Suspension
Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sports7 in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He's a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early '90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA. When he's not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.
Get to know Tim Crean betterUpdated04 May 2021
With the stretch run toward the NBA playoffs in full swing, teams need their star players on the court now more than ever. This especially applies to teams that are battling to stay out of the 2021 NBA Play-In Tournament.
On Sunday, one team got a step closer to losing its superstar player during the waning days of the season. Dallas Mavericks point-forward Luka Doncic picked up his 14th and 15th technical fouls of the season during a confrontation with referee Rodney Mott. One more in the regular season, and a one-game suspension follows.
Luka Doncic is by far the most important player on the Dallas Mavericks
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It is no secret that Luka Doncic is the biggest star on the Dallas Mavericks. He has been the face of the franchise ever since he was selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NBA draft. The stats tell an even clearer story about how important he is to the team.
Luka leads the team in most statistical categories. This includes points (28.6), assists (8.9), defensive rebounds (7.2), field goals (10.2), 3-point field goals (2.9), and minutes (35.2) per game. Digging deeper, he also leads the team in many advanced statistical categories, including usage rate (35.9%), PER (25.9), and VORP (4.8). His usage rate, which underscores just how vital he is to his team’s offense, leads the entire league.
What did Doncic say to the referee to earn his technical fouls?
Doncic’s two technical fouls and subsequent ejection from Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings came following an offensive foul called on the Slovenian superstar. According to ESPN, Mott, the referee who called the foul, told reporters after the game:
The first technical foul was called after a correct call offensive foul, and in transition, he runs past me and he screams, ‘Hell no!' as he shakes his fists which is a disrespectful response to a referee. That's unsportsmanlike.
For his part, Doncic confirmed the basic details of the referee’s story but saw it differently. After the game, he said, “He told me I cannot tell him, ‘Hell no.' Maybe I can tell it to others, but to him, no. That's why I got a tech.”
No matter who was right or wrong in this situation, the key takeaway is that with these two technical fouls, Doncic is one technical away from a one-game suspension, per NBA rules. The NBA still could rescind the fouls if it decides the calls are incorrect, and the league has already done so once this season for Doncic. It rescinded a technical he received in a game a month ago versus the New York Knicks.
Losing Doncic could be a massive blow for their playoff hopes
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As of May 3, the Mavericks own the sixth seed in the Western Conference. This spot potentially gives them an automatic bid to the 2021 NBA playoffs. With only eight games to play, they share the same record with both the currently seventh-seeded Portland Trail Blazers and the currently eighth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers. Finishing in either of those spots would mean a trip to the NBA Play-In Tournament. There, back-to-back losses would send them home before the 2021 playoffs officially begin.
For his part, Doncic told reporters, “I won't get another one, don't worry.” But for Mavericks fans who see secondary star Kristaps Porzingis out yet again with an injury and no one else on the team averaging more than 16 points per game, the prospect of Doncic missing even a small amount of time in these last handful of games has to be a terrifying proposition. Doncic’s technical foul problem could quickly become a season-ending issue for the 2021 Dallas Mavericks.
All stats courtesy of Basketball Reference
