In a recent game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets, LeBron James and Ime Udoka got into a heated verbal exchange on the court that got Udoka ejected from the game. Over the past few days, this has been dissected left, right, and center, with many giving their take on whether the referee did the right thing by ejecting Udoka.
Although some found the involvement of the referee to be justified, 7x champion Robert Horry does not agree with this. He believes that the unfiltered conversations among players and coaches are just a part of the game.
Horry weighs in on the LeBron James-Ime Udoka situation
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In a recent episode of the Big Shot Bob podcast, Horry was asked about his thoughts on the recent technical received by LeBron and the ejection of Ime Udoka following a verbal exchange on the court. Robert Horry believes that the referee, who was listening to the entire situation, tried his best to keep things under control, but he did not have to eject the Houston Rockets head coach from the game.
He said, “Ime didn’t look like he was gonna do anything. LeBron just like, they just having a conversation. So I think the ref took it too far. You know players say everything, man… The players say so many things to each other, it’s ridiculous, but I don’t understand how Ime got tossed.”
Having played in the NBA for 16 seasons, Horry knows that these kinds of verbal exchanges are common on the court. So he is not a fan of Udoka getting ejected from the game.
Did the referee make the right decision?
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When looking at the context of what was happening on the floor, it is easy to understand from the leaked audio that it was Udoka who was instigating the exchange between the two. While the referee waited for the two to settle things down, neither LeBron James nor Udoka were backing down.
Although it’s fair to say that Udoka should not have been ejected, the referee just did his job and gave a technical foul to LeBron and Udoka. As Udoka had already received a technical foul earlier in the game, he was ejected and made to enjoy the rest of the game from the locker room.
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Do you think the referee made the right choice? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!