The Houston Rockets were upset about it Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday and Fred VanVleet pointed his finger at the officers. Literally. With four seconds left and the Rockets trailing by five, VanVleet was whistled for an offensive foul and pointed at every referee on the court while saying some NSFW words.
That got him kicked out, and on the way out he almost jammed his finger into Officer John Conley's face. This will cost him a lot of money and possibly a few games in the form of a suspension.
VanVleet's frustration with the officials apparently stemmed from the possession before his ejection, when he felt he had been fouled on a 3-point attempt while the Rockets were trailing by three points. After the game, VanVleet told reporters that he could hear the Portland bench's instructions Toumani Camara that he intentionally committed a foul on the Blazers trying to protect a three-point lead, and that he felt he was anticipating Camara's contact by executing his shooting motion. You can decide if it's a natural shooting move, but VanVleet still didn't get the call.
To be fair, crew chief Courtney Kirkland admitted after the game that a foul should have been called against Camara, but that it wouldn't have resulted in free throws for VanVleet because the contact occurred before the shot.
“In the live game, we had the feeling that the defender stayed directly in VanVleet’s path as he attempted to move toward the basket.” Kirkland said. “After the video review, we see that the defender took advantage of tight spaces and touched VanVleet's hip, so a foul should have been called. However, no shots would have been fired on this play.”
As for VanVleet's ejection, Kirkland confirmed what everyone could see: “VanVleet was sent off on a technical foul for his vulgar language and pointing at all three officials.”
Again, we're waiting to hear what punishment the league deems appropriate for VanVleet, but you can bet he won't get off scot-free for this. A fine is almost certain and it would not be surprising if a ban were also imposed.
