In a thrilling contest that went down to the wire between the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 29, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr expressed his frustration with the NBA’s officiating this season. Understandably, this game led him to this point where seven travel calls were called on the reigning champions, one in particular even getting called in the last 10 seconds.
After the loss, Kerr addressed the media about the NBA’s lack of enforcement on travel calls this year.
“I think only based on consistency,” said Kerr on Thursday via 95.7 The Game’s “Damon and Ratto” when asked if travel calls are currently being enforced in the League. “On tape, all seven of ours were definitely travels. There was one on Dallas that I did not think was a travel — But there were also five or six other plays in the game that were definitely travels, including where Luka (Dončić) carries the ball in the post when he’s backing you down, and he puts his hand all the way underneath the ball. That’s a travel, and you’ve got to enforce it all — especially if you’re going to call the one on Steph (Curry) at the end with the game on the line when it’s a tiny little shuffle.”
By all means, the nine-time champ is not disagreeing with travel calls being called more since players are somehow getting away with them nowadays. He is just saying that these rules have to be called both ways during games, and it has to happen with all the other 29 teams in the NBA. Kerr made sure to reiterate this point too.
“You know me; I’m Mr. Travel. I’m all for enforcing traveling,” Kerr pointed out. “But it just has to be done all the time. And it can’t just be sort of selective.”
These comments on there being more balance with which teams are being called out more for travels trace back to what Kerr touched on earlier in November after a game with the Miami Heat. Warriors guard Jordan Poole had more travel calls called on him than the entire Heat team by the final buzzer.
“Jordan Poole has been called for, I would guess, seven or eight palming violations over the last month since the League decided to really enforce all that stuff,” Kerr said following the Warriors’ loss to Miami on Nov.1. “And if that’s the case, then we’ve got to call it on everybody – And that’s my only beef, is that these things are happening a lot. We got called for a bunch of them. I have no problem with it. Like I said, a rule’s a rule, but let’s just be consistent. That’s all I ask.”
The Warriors will be back in action on Friday in a showdown with the Chicago Bulls.
