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NBA refs showing no rust with this absolutely abominable charge call on Giannis Antetokounmpo
The NBA season doesn’t restart until next Thursday, July 30, when the Utah Jazz play the New Orleans Pelicans, followed by the L.A. Clippers taking on the L.A. Lakers. But it sure felt like it was officially back on Thursday afternoon, when one referee checked in with what may go down as the most abominable charge call in NBA Bubble League history.
Early on in a scrimmage between the Milwaukee Bucks and the San Antonio Spurs, reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo came barreling down the lane as only he can. After laying one in with his left hand, he knocked over Spurs shooting guard Derrick White, who was A. inside the semi circle and B. in mid air when he made contact with the Greek Freak. Despite these two Coors Light Cold Hard Facts, Giannis was hit with a charge. Huh?
You could watch that 1 million times and still not find even one tiny reason to argue this was the correct call. On one hand, you could say this ref is rusty. On the other, you could say he’s in mid-season form. NBA refs stink, always and forever. The pandemic did not change that in the slightest, apparently.
Luckily, it’s just a meaningless bubble league scrimmage. Either way, it feels really good to be complaining about bad calls again. Sports are definitely (almost) all the way back.