It’s an unfortunate day for the Texas side. After taking out the OKC Thunder, the Mavericks visited Charlotte to play the 13th-seeding Hornets. The W was surely on the cards for the Mavs despite missing 6 players on the roster. However, LaMelo Ball & Co. stunned the visitors with a stealthy steal. There could be several reasons for the defeat, but the big man, Daniel Gafford, who had a career night, felt the refs could have done a better job with Kyrie Irving and predicted yet another injury.

Players like Kai and Stephen Curry have had a nagging issue throughout their careers. Despite having insane long-range shooting, they find it difficult to pierce through the big bodies in the paint. But on most occasions, they make their way with swift moves and on some occasions, they get brutally denied at the rim.

While the bigs usually get calls on those brutal denials, these guards often go unnoticed. Tonight was one such night. Despite scoring a game-high 33 points, Kyrie Irving couldn’t help the team cross the line in a 110-105 defeat. Speaking after the game, Daniel Gafford publicly expressed his protest on the unfair refereeing, saying, “I wish they would respect him and give him a couple more calls under the basket. He’s a great finisher around the rim.” 

Moreover, he didn’t stop at that. Gafford predicted a worse possible situation for the Mavs, saying, “He’s gonna end up getting hurt because of how many guys put him on the floor.” Undoubtedly, a player of Kyrie’s caliber is bound to attract a bunch of defenders. However, with the team missing out on a bunch of players, it’s definitely a risk to lose another one.

Mavs fans join hands for the unfortunate Kyrie Irving situation

Daniel Gafford feared that the bunch of defenders put on Kyrie Irving near the rim would risk injury. Uncle Drew, on the other hand, managed to sneak his way to the rim, to make the buckets. But that has a side-effect too as a fan rightly pointed out, writing, “Literally why he has back pain now.” Earlier this month, the star guard missed 5-games in a row, dealing with a lower back injury. If the refs refuse to call shooting fouls, then the Mavericks might have another stretch without Kyrie.

A fan took a unique route to call out the unfairness, writing, “The no calls Kyrie was getting were just insane. You can’t even breathe on Sga” The fan compared the ref’s treatment with the OKC’s superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Kyrie. Even though guards almost have similar playing styles, SGA manages to get a call whenever he forces his way into the rim. This season, Shai has taken 330 shots from the line while Kai received only 126 attempts. Notably, SGA recently countered saying that he doesn’t need FTs on live TV.

Adding to the SGA argument, a fan made a worrisome remark, writing, “Kyrie could average 35 if he got the calls he deserves.” SGA, who makes 7.2 FT per game, has been fighting for his first MVP award this season, and if the Kai received more calls than usual then it would have been a different story.

Another fan, reacting to Daniel Gafford’s statement, said, “Its gonna fall on deaf ears again.” Notably, Kai has already addressed his issue with not getting calls in the past. A few months back, during the 2024 playoff first round against the Clippers, he dropped a cryptic statement, “We knew with this officiating crew, they’ve been in a few playoff games, but they were going to call it a little tighter.” Moreover, a fan had a request to Gafford, as they wrote, “Talk to em Gaff.”

While the big man did his best, addressing the issue at the presser, he also made his performance for him at the game. Today, he recorded a career-high 31 points, almost giving the Mavs a chance. Nevertheless, what do you make of the refereeing? Let us know in the comments.