Some referees took floor in NBA camps, coaches welcomed their presence

MIAMI — Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers is, by his own admission, not the best referee. When he is calling fouls in practice, he doesn’t call much.

The NBA sent him and his colleagues some help this fall.

Scrimmages in training camps around the NBA might have seemed a little more crowded this season. The league has sent referees to camp to call fouls and violations, giving the officials a bit of extra work and helping teams understand how games will be called.

“We’ve been pushing for this for at least 20 years — and I am not exaggerating,” Rivers said after the Bucks scrimmaged in camp at Florida International University this weekend, with three NBA refs on the floor for the matchup. “Every competition committee meeting I’ve been on, I’m like, ‘Why can’t we do this?’ … They should be at every practice.”

It’s a new program the NBA installed this season, and it seems to be a hit. Teams were allowed to invite referees in for two days in the opening week of camp and let them blow the whistle in scrimmages and drills — plus offer candid answers to questions. Denver’s Nikola Jokic spent several minutes on the floor with referees after a Nuggets workout, pleading his case on various matters while getting explanations back from the crew.

“I think it was terrific,” Washington coach Brian Keefe said. “We had some discussions about some rules, but it was also the professionalism that they brought. … It wasn’t me reffing out there, which can be atrocious.”

Portland coach Chauncey Billups echoed the remarks of Keefe and several other coaches. “I think it was genius,” he said.

It’s a win-win scenario, at least from the NBA’s perspective.

Monty McCutchen, the NBA’s senior vice president and head of referee development and training, said one of the benefits is that the officials and players get to reconnect without the stress of true game situations. The NBA has been preaching a “respect for the game” mantra for several years, and part of what the league wants is a positive, respectful relationship among players, coaches and officials. Sending refs into camp, the league thinks, will help.

“It allows for relationship building in a less competitive environment,” McCutchen said.

Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault lauded the league for the idea, calling it “a really good program,” and said it allows the defending champion Thunder to start getting a real feel for how live play will be called this season.

“From the feedback I’ve gotten from these guys, they like it,” Daigneault said. “And it’s good relationship building. These are human beings and we’re human beings. You get into the heat of competition, and it can sometimes go over that line. Getting in front of them and them getting in front of us is a very positive thing.”

Make no mistake, there still is some dismay over calls that don’t go a certain way. There was a blocked shot late in the Bucks’ scrimmage that those on offense thought was goaltending and those on defense — predictably — thought was a clean block.

In the end, Rivers was just happy he wasn’t the one making that call.

“I hope we just keep doing it and keep increasing it every year,” Rivers said.