The Denver Nuggets had to play without their star player against the Chicago Bulls tonight. Nikola Jokić was ejected for arguing about a missed foul call in the second quarter. The argument got him double technical, stunning everyone in the arena. Though the Nuggets beat the Bulls 114-106, the 2x MVP wasn’t too happy with the incident.

Talking to reporters post-game, Jokic hinted that he was glad that the referee was still safe after the controversial call.

Nikola Jokić is glad for the safety of the ref

Aside from the fact that Chicago has the second-highest Serbian population, ‘The Joker’ said, “Happy we didn’t play in Serbia.” Ejecting a Serbian player on their home turf can be dangerous. Especially when the player in question has every right to ask. So, it’s no wonder that Jokic mentioned this in passing.

Rather than a threat, he was simply stating facts. On a different note, this season has been fraught with the cumbersome officiating. From simply celebrating a shot to player stare-offs, the referees have been making calls left and right. In the case of Jokić, even the opposing team’s announcers could not keep quiet.

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They readily called the referees out for such a ridiculous call. The announcers said that these rash decisions were affecting the fans more, by depraving them from watching the world’s best players not play. Surmising it in one word, “excessive,” they echoed the sentiments of many.

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But this won’t be the first time the opposing team’s announcers are sticking up for ‘The Joker’.

Jokić has garnered sympathy for wild calls from referees

During the Pistons-Nuggets game (Nov 20), a similar incident had happened. Once again, Jokic was seen arguing about a no-call, and the ref promptly kicked him out. This led to the Pistons’ announcers calling the officials out by name for their absurdity.

They also brought the attention to ejection of Giannis Antetokounmpo for mean-mugging the opposing player after a dunk. It has become rather large of an issue to ignore. While Commissioner Adam Silver is doing everything to keep fans and basketball enthusiasts hooked to the NBA, his officiating department seems to be doing a wonderful job of distancing the fans from games.

Whether this warrants an inspection or a deep probing is ultimately in the hands of Silver. Hopefully, he gets to it sooner rather than later.

What do you make of Jokić’s ejection? Was it fair in your eyes?

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