Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert was part of two controversial calls during his brief stint on the court against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.
Referee Tom Washington explained his thought process for the first foul of the game, which happened during the tip-off, along with Gobert’s consequent ejection at the 9:13 mark of the first quarter:
Rudy Gobert got ejected less than 3 minutes into the game… pic.twitter.com/ZXqaXklXHW
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 7, 2018
Q: Why was Rudy Gobert called for a foul at the game’s opening tip?
Washington: During the jump ball, Rudy Gobert grabs the arm of (Clint) Capela, which is illegal contact so it was a loose ball foul.
Gobert was then ejected very quickly into the first quarter after picking up his second foul while battling for position against James Harden. The 7-foot-1 big man was likely frustrated at picking up two quick fouls and having no option but to take a seat next to coach Quin Snyder, who wouldn’t let his center pick up his third foul before the start of the second quarter.
Q: Why was Rudy Gobert issued a one-technical ejection?
Washington: He was issued a technical foul because as he was coming off the floor he forcefully swung at items on the scorer’s table and those three items came out to the floor a considerable amount. It was just too demonstrative and we had to take action on that.
Gobert was fined $15,000 by the NBA earlier this week for comments critical of the officials. This recent episode surely doesn’t help matters, but Washington’s explanation makes plenty of sense, given Gobert’s actions.
The Frenchman was disappointed in himself following the game and vowed to learn from his actions.
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