For the second night in a row, a superstar player got a very quick ejection.
Tuesday night it was Nikola Jokic. Late in the first half in Chicago, Jokic was unhappy about not getting a foul call on a lay-up attempt, and he let referee Mousa Dagher hear it as they ran up the court. Dagher ejected Jokic on the first technical, much to Jokic and everyone else’s surprise.
The fans in the United Center booed the call — they had paid to see the two-time MVP and were being robbed of that. Why? Because of the language Jokic used, although whether that warranted an instant ejection is up for debate. Here is what Crew Chief Mark Lindsay told a pool reporter following the game:
“To be clear, Jokic was ejected after one technical foul because he directed profane language at the official that by our standards warranted an ejection…
“We don’t typically publicly get into exactly what a player said, but the language reached the standard for an ejection.”
But did it? The problem that both Jokic and Nuggets coach Michael Malone pointed to after the game is there is no clear standard — what Jokic said does not always lead to an ejection.
“[Dagher] just felt the language that was used warranted an ejection. A one-tech ejection l, which I was very shocked at,” Malone said postgame. “And when I heard what he said, I said ‘I don’t understand the problem because when I grew up that was a term of endearment.'”
It’s a bad look for the league to have their best players thrown out of games because of words or a clap. While there are certainly things that a player could say that would cross the line and warrant an instant ejection, there needs to be a clear and bright line for those word or phrases, and there clearly isn’t.
Ejections need to be reserved for the most egregious of things, and it’s fair to ask if Jokic crossed that line. Or even where the line is.
The Nuggets hung on to get the 114-106 win in Chicago without Jamal Murray all game (ankle) and Jokic for half. Reggie Jackson stepped up with 25 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 17.
