Alvin Gentry blasts NBA referees, says they are guessing on calls

New Orleans Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry blasted NBA referees, and said  they are guessing on foul calls. Gentry believes that this type of behavior is detrimental to teams fighting for the playoffs.

The New Orleans Pelicans lost a tough 107-101 matchup to the Houston Rockets on Saturday (March. 17,) but it wasn’t the loss that had head coach Alvin Gentry upset. In a post-game interview, Gentry criticized the officials for a lack of calls on Anthony Davis. He also believed there were bad fouls to go around toward the end, too.

"“And so then it comes down to a few plays in a game, you can’t guess on plays when you got teams playing for playoff spots,” Gentry said. “You can’t guess on a foul. When a guy’s got his hands on his chest, and he’s got his hands in, and you call a three-point shot [a foul], that’s not right. That’s not correct. That’s not the way you do it. And then you give them the ball back on another play when they undercut a player, that’s not right either. That’s not correct. That’s not the way you call the game. It’s not. And then when you can get called for a technical foul for walking AWAY from a guy, then this league has really changed. I walked away from him so I wouldn’t get a technical."

Next: Here’s why this is the maddest March we’ve seen in a while

The Pelicans are currently the sixth seed in the Western Conference standings. But they are tied with the Utah Jazz and the San Antonio Spurs with a 40-30 record. A win can move them up, but a loss can bring them down. For the Pelicans, every game is a must-win right now, they can’t afford to drop further.

Either way, complaining about the calls results in wasted energy.