Marcus Smart on DPOY: ‘Guards not winning it, that’s some BS’

Doncic would claim, quite incredulously, that he initially believed Gobert threw him to the court before a video replay revealed the absence of anything: “I thought it was the worst, and then I saw it and it was nothing,” Doncic said. “We were all laughing on the bench.” Gobert was not laughing. Instead, he was fuming about an apparently constant stream of over-the-top comments emanating from the deep reserves on Dallas’ bench. “There’s a lot of things being said that wouldn’t be said outside a basketball court. A lot of things I don’t say,” Gobert explained. “I’m not perfect, but I don’t say things to guys that I wouldn’t tell them to their face outside the locker room. It’s a lot of talk.” -via Salt Lake Tribune / March 8, 2022

“The officials have got to get to a point where they check — on both sides — that no lines have been crossed, verbally or with actions,” he said. “There was a lot of things being said out there. At some point, we’re men, too. My thing is, I’ve gotta keep my mind in the right place. My team needs me in the game. “You’ve got guys on the bench that don’t play that just keep talking and saying some stuff, and the officials can hear and they don’t do anything. As a man, it’s like, is it worth being suspended? We shouldn’t have to ask ourselves that question,” Gobert continued. “[The refs] have to do a better job keeping that in check. It’s actions, but the words carry weight. If someone is disrespected, at some point, as men, we’re gonna ask ourselves: Do we want to stay on the court, or penalize our team and stand up for ourselves? I usually take the first option.” -via Salt Lake Tribune / March 8, 2022

Later, as the first half expired, Doncic drove the lane, looked for a foul, did not get one, and began chirping at the referees for the umpteenth time, prompting an annoyed Gobert to toss the ball to him as he began to exit the court. That led to Doncic trying to fire the ball back at Gobert, and for the players to be separated. Doncic was subsequently assessed a technical. “They’re two, three games ahead of us and it was a big game. So those games are going to get chippy at some point,” Doncic would tell reporters afterward. “… Just, you know, emotions. That’s it.” -via Salt Lake Tribune / March 8, 2022