Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
DeMar DeRozan didn’t mince his words Friday night when asked about the Chicago Bulls’ frustrations boiling over with two technical fouls and two flagrant fouls, one of which led to Nikola Vucevic’s ejection.
“I think as far as officiating goes, suffice to say it’s fair,” DeRozan said. “I think that’s more where the frustration comes from. When you go down, you feel like you’re being hit. They come down and we barely touch them and they get the call. This kind of sting. It was precisely the fairness of the calls that was at the heart of our frustration.
The Bucks shot 32 free throws compared to 16 for the Bulls. The Bucks shot 12 free throws before the Bulls drove to the line for their first attempt.
“It just felt like we were trying to get a call and go downhill. It looked like Coby (White) fouled a few drives and didn’t call it. Someone came up and made the same type of moves and they got the whistle. It gets frustrating when it continually happens throughout the game. We can’t get calls and find a rhythm,” DeRozan said. “It seemed like it was more in their favor to be aggressive playing defensively and we couldn’t do the same. Even we don’t necessarily get calls. Just make it a fair thing. Let’s get physical on the other end too.
DeRozan’s frustration boiled over with 31 seconds left in the third quarter when he flagrantly fouled Bobby Portis Jr. DeRozan, who also received a technical foul on the play, said he felt Portis Jr. . had disrespected him by looking down on him.
“He did it once. That’s all I need. I don’t care who it is. It could be the janitor in the hallway,” DeRozan said. “Look at me a certain way. For example, just play basketball. Get the rebound and play. I’ve just never been a gamer with extra theatrics.
“As long as I’ve played this game, I’m very respectful. I don’t play entire games looking down on someone, trying to disrespect anyone. I absolutely want to compete, do what I want, all that. But I feel something disrespectful, in any way, I don’t accept that. Because I wouldn’t do it to anyone else, I wouldn’t stand in front of someone or look at someone. It’s just my respect for the game. When I feel like it’s being done to me, that’s when I take it in a certain way.
Vucevic acknowledged his second flagrant foul that came with 9:27 remaining and said he planned to apologize to AJ Green, who he absolutely equalized without any attempt at possession of the ball.
“Just a little frustration. Not just the no-calls. I had a bit of a difficult match, I didn’t play as well. At the time, I lost my temper a little too much. It’s definitely not a mistake I should have made,” Vucevic said. “It could have been a dangerous play. Fortunately, nothing happened to AJ Green. I need to keep my composure a little better . It happened. Come on over.”
Coach Billy Donovan, without elaborating, said he tried to warn officials early in the game about the direction the tenor was taking and the physical nature. The implication was that the officials should take control of the match.
But Donovan refused to use officiating as an excuse for the Bulls’ 16-point loss.
“I think we need to see how we can respond better in these situations, how we can control the emotional level better,” Donovan said.
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