“Smfh some calls you just not supposed to miss.” Jayson Tatum was visibly frustrated after the ref missed the foul call on Giannis Antetokounmpo, as he stepped into the Celtics star’s landing space during a block attempt. While JT tweaked his ankle on the play, he fortunately did not get seriously injured. But the no-call definitely put the referees under the spotlight, as Warriors’ legend Gilbert Arenas inquisitively questioned their focus and methods during such incidents.

As Jayson Tatum pointed out, it is the officials’ job to protect the shooters and make sure they get a safe landing space during every shot attempt. However, Gilbert Arenas was left wondering, “If you’re a ref, are you looking up first, then down? Like how like I gotta ask the ref that cuz if you’re shooting, I wanna make sure the person don’t hit this part (hand) first right.”

Yes, while one rises for a shot, the first thing the referee likely checks for is contact on his hand and upper body to see if there’s a potential foul. And with refs obviously being human, their focus might not immediately go to the shooters’ landing space in a split second.

Moreover, Agent Zero claimed there is only one reason an official would immediately check for such fouls, “If I’m a ref, I’mma make sure like the shooter is up like if I can see the shooter or the defensive player like moving into his direction, I’mma look but I don’t know what will make me look down unless I already know this is the type of player.”

While there’ve been a few players in the past who had a reputation for intentionally stepping into a player’s landing space, these fouls are rare. So, Arenas understood JT’s frustration, as he revealed his perspective on the NBA officials’ dilemma on Gil’s Arena pod.

Gilbert Arenas’ colleague disagrees with him: “No Excuse to Miss It”

Unlike Arenas, Kenyon Martin was not taking the referees’ dilemma as an excuse, as he questioned, “If you looking at me, can you see my feet without looking down?” to which Gil replied “Yeah.” Martin hence believed that an official should be able to see the player’s entire body with their peripheral vision during a shot attempt. According to him, the concerned player’s reputation or fouling history, as Gilbert alluded to while brainstorming, does not matter, and Kenyon believes that the official missing out on this is a problem.

Since getting into someone’s landing space could lead to a major injury for the shooter, Martin remarked, “There is no excuse to miss it… you’re supposed to be looking for that. Doesn’t matter if that’s the kind of player he is or not.” Moreover, he called out official Natalie Sago, who was standing right in front of Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo during that play but missed the call. “She wasn’t even looking!” Even Joe Mazzulla was not pleased with the no-call. “That’s ridiculous. Can’t miss that. Can’t miss that.”

Do you think Jayson Tatum’s frustration is justified? Or are we overreacting here?