After a remarkably bad showing from the officials in Sunday’s Game 4, punishments have been handed out…
….to the Lakers.
Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard were handed fines of $35,000 and $25,000, respectively, for separate issues involving the officials. Smart’s fine came for “questioning the integrity of game officials,” while Kennard’s was “for directing inappropriate language toward officials.”
Kennard’s incident likely came at the
end of the game. During the little altercation between the two teams, Kennard also yelled some expletives at the officials, which lip readers will be able to pick up.
As for Smart’s, it’s a bit more unclear. The phrasing of his fine usually comes after a player criticizes officials to the media postgame. However, this was basically as critical he was of the officials when talking about Deandre Ayton’s questionable ejection.
“Then, obviously, the ejection, we all understood it was some BS,” Smart said. “That’s what we felt. He was just trying to brace himself. Two guys who are sweating their butts off playing the game, his arm slips up, right? But we’re proud of the way he handled and I think that just speaks volumes about who he is and just his progression.
“He’s learning and he could have just as easily – it probably would have been justifiable if he went off. But to keep his composure and stay positive, I think it’s only going to help him and his team.”
Relatively speaking, that’s a pretty tame criticism of officiating and doesn’t feel like one that warrants a fine. He, too, could have said something to the officials on the floor, but that’s typically going to result in phrasing that came with Kennard’s fine.
Nevertheless, this is now $95,000 in fines in the last four days tied to James Williams and his officiating crew. Devin Booker was also handed a $35,000 fine for calling out Williams by name in his postgame presser.
In that instance, the league also rescinded all the technical fouls handed out that game. This time, it doesn’t appear that move came with the fines. But it’s pretty clear this officiating crew shouldn’t officiate another postseason game.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
