He cites as an example a referee who responds to constant chirping from players that they’re being pushed around in the paint by calling a “weak” pushing foul. “You can see a direct relationship to that,” he said. “We’re holding people accountable to that. We’re saying, ‘Wait a minute; we have a standard at the NBA of what a push is.’ But there’s also the desire to make sure that people’s strength isn’t demeaning, or lessening, to other people. In the spirit of competition, those lines get blurred — amongst player to player, amongst player to coach. You hear when players get passionate with one another, ‘Oh, that’s just part of it.’ I don’t want to make excuses for officials, because we expect good communication. We expect professional communication.”