Page 16 - aruba-today-20210106

A16 SPORTS
Wednesday 6 January 2021
In the NBA this season, teams will see same refs more often

By TIM REYNOLDS Dec. 27, then the Clippers
AP Basketball Writer on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30.
There are nine people who "We are working to keep
have been on the court to our officials safe and re-
start four different games duce the amount of travel
at Staples Center so far this and potential exposure,"
season. said Monty McCutchen,
Only eight of them are the NBA senior vice presi-
players. dent who oversees referee
The other is referee Scott development and training.
Foster. It can lead to some awk-
There might be no better ward moments.
way to explain how and Consider the case of Utah's
why the NBA has changed Jordan Clarkson. He gave
the travel rules for officials referee Karl Lane a bit of a
this year than Foster's work shove — it didn't appear to
schedule to this point. He be premediated or violent
was scheduled to work a — in a game against the
game in Houston on Dec. Clippers on Thursday, earn-
23, only to see the matchup ing a technical foul. The
called off when the Rockets next night, the Jazz were
didn't have enough people back on their home floor,
available to play in accor- with Lane part of the offici-
dance with the league's ating crew again and after
health and safety protocols Clarkson got fined $25,000
regarding the coronavirus. for the shove.
From there, Foster flew to If there were any hard feel-
Los Angeles. He worked ings from the night before,
four games in six days, and Referee Natalie Sago officiates behind Boston Celtics' Semi Ojeleye (37) during the first half of an none showed.
never left L.A. in that span. NBA basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020, in Boston. Clarkson got called for
That simply would have Associated Press only one foul in the Friday
never happened in past game, a charge. Lane was
years, when the policy common sense — teams and coaches, and have to around other people, less the official who made that
typically was that officials are seeing referees more comply with new league risk. call, which in fairness was
would go at least 13 days often than usual. rules about avoiding bars, The Bucks saw David Guth- a pretty easy one. Nobody
between working games in "It changes things a little lounges, clubs, public gyms rie and Marat Kogut on the complained.
the same city and six days bit," Milwaukee coach and many other indoor crew that officiated their "Great way to start to 2021
between seeing the same Mike Budenholzer said. "But gathering spots. Reducing game at Miami on Dec. ! a team win and $25k light-
team after reffing one of its obviously, for safety and their air travel is another 29 and when Milwaukee er!" Clarkson wrote on Insta-
games. Those rules will al- our health and the health part of the league's plan returned to Miami a night gram.
most certainly come back of the officials, it makes all to exist outside a bubble in later for the second half of The NBA doesn't announce
when the world returns to the sense in the world." a coronavirus-dominated the two-game set, Guthrie which referees are doing
normal, but for now, in the Referees are tested for CO- world. The thinking is simple; and Kogut were back as which games until 9 a.m.
interest of safety — and VID-19 daily, just like players less time in the air, less time well. It's not an aberration Eastern on game day,
this season; Ben Taylor was which means not many
Spurs' Derrick White out indefinitely crew chief in Milwaukee on know beforehand which
Friday and had the same officials are coming to
role when the Bucks played town. But now that it's clear
after breaking toe their next game there Mon- that some refs are going to
have extended stays in cit-
day.
There are plenty of other ies, at least for this season,
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San White, who was on a min- examples. Budenholzer says it could
Antonio Spurs point guard utes restriction, had nine
Derrick White is out indefi- points in 23 minutes in the Zach Zarba lives in New be time for coaches to per-
York and didn't have to get haps be a bit nicer to those
nitely after breaking his left Lakers' 109-103 victory.
second toe. White missed San Antonio's on a plane until his fourth with the whistles.
game of the season, after Just in case.
White had offseason sur- loss to Utah on Sunday, the
gery on the same toe, but team's fourth straight de- opening in Brooklyn and "Maybe as coaches, we
then being crew chief for can be more humane,"
the Spurs said Monday the feat after opening the sea-
fracture is a new injury. son with two wins. Knicks' home games on Budenholzer said. "If you
last know you're going to see
nights
consecutive
White missed training The 29th pick in the 2017
camp, the preseason and draft out of Colorado, week with Scott Wall work- that guy the next night, I
ing alongside him in both of don't know, you better be
the first four games of the White has been one of
regular season after under- the Spurs' primary scorers those games. careful and know that he's
Marc Davis, Derrick Col-
probably sleeping on what-
going surgery on the toe and distributors the past
San Antonio Spurs' Derrick lins and Nate Green were ever it is you've said. So
White (4) shoots as Los An- last August. two seasons. He averaged the crew for the Dallas-Los maybe some self-restraint,
geles Lakers' Montrezl Harrell He made his season debut a career-high 11.3 points Angeles Clippers game on which is probably never
(15) and Talen Horton-Tucker Friday against the Los An- last season along with 3.5 Dec. 27, then stayed in L.A. a bad thing for coaches,
defend during the first half of geles Lakers. The four-year assists. In seven games af-
an NBA basketball game Fri- veteran suffered the non- ter the restart, White aver- to work Portland's game is more in order consider-
day, Jan. 1, 2021, in San An- displaced fracture after aged 18.9 points, 5.0 assists there against the Lakers ing we'll see these guys on
tonio. the next night. Foster had multiple nights and more
Associated Press falling in the second quar- and 4.3 rebounds in 29.8 the Lakers on Dec. 25 and often."q
ter of that game. minutes.q