The Denver Nuggets took the loss to the Lakers, but that was not the major story of the game.
The Denver Nuggets lost to the Lakers in embarrassing fashion and they deserved to lose this game. They started off slow from tip off and their defense was lackadaisical and non fundamental. The rotations were simply too slow and the Lakers capitalized.
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Paul Millsap eventually was sidelined with a sprained wrist which opened up a major hole in the paint for the Lakers to exploit. However, the one takeaway we need to focus on is how terrible of a referee Rodney Mott is and why he does not deserve a job.
Mott ejected both Coach Malone and Jokic in this game leaving the Nuggets without their coach and two best players, giving them no chance to win on the road.
Jokic was fouled twice at one point while he was trying to put back a missed shot and there was no call on a play which could have seen him seriously injured. If you don’t believe, then go look at the replay.
Coach Malone became unbelievably furious and ran out and made contact with Mott while giving him a piece of his mind. Now, ejecting Malone made sense, but what really made the ref lose his credibility was when he also decided to eject Jokic. Yes, Jokic was complaining, but he had every right to complain. And, at most, that warrants a technical foul, not an ejection.
The NBA should not only fine Rodney Mott for this completely asinine action, but they should fire him if they truly care about the integrity of the NBA. Rodney Mott gave the Nuggets no shot of coming back in this game by ejecting their best player for no good reason and he deserves beyond harsh consequences for his incompetence and complete idiocy.
Next: How Tim Connelly re-vitalized a sputtering Nuggets franchise
Denver may not have been prepared tonight, but at least the players deserve their jobs unlike Rodney Mott.