A controversial ejection for rookie point guard Trae Young from a March 3 showdown between the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks caused some unrest.
Things got a bit chippy in the home-and-home weekend series between the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks. The two games between the Chicago Bulls and the Hawks on March 1 and 3 had some entertaining finishes and big time storylines for two teams that are at or near the bottom of the standings in the Eastern Conference.
There was some drama brewing with the Chicago Bulls and the Hawks here between point guard Kris Dunn and Hawks rising star rookie Trae Young. That loss to the Hawks saw some technical fouls handed out to both Dunn and Young in the first half.
Just one game after Young had himself a career game in a four overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls on March 1, he was ejected on a controversial call. And, to call his ejection controversial doesn’t even begin to describe some of the outcry that came the officials’ way this game.
These refs caught some criticism from current and former NBA players including Reggie Miller and Shaquille O’Neal. Young seemingly received his ejection due to a staredown of Dunn after the initial technical was called on both players.
https://twitter.com/ReggieMillerTNT/status/1102339300434182144
The initial technical fouls were handed out because of an exchange in the first half that resulted in Dunn giving Young a slap in the back of the head. It seems like that was a much more serious offense than what Young did in the second half.
In his postgame interview, Young didn’t have much of any criticism toward the refs. He did state that he didn’t say anything to Dunn after he made a three-pointer and then looked him down. It didn’t appear that Dunn said anything in return either.
Kris Dunn: "In my opinion, I don't think (Trae Young) should've got ejected."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 3, 2019
This just seems like a mistake on the part of the refs. Even Dunn stated that he felt like Young didn’t deserve an ejection from the game. According to the official transcript from the NBA, the assumptions from most of the media and fans were correct in the interpretation for the refs.
Transcript: NBA Referee Mark Ayotte Comments to Pool Reporter after Hawks – Bulls Game pic.twitter.com/j03CGABW0y
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) March 3, 2019
It’s not like this “soft” technical foul call from the refs is somewhat of a trend in the NBA this season. This was a confusing call that hasn’t happened much at all this season and appears that the refs were just monitoring and trying to control everything way too much.
The roll that Young was on entering this game got slowed down a bit by his suspension. Yet, he still had a decent outing before he was suspended for the staredown. He shot better than 50 percent from the field and still managed to post more than 15 points.