I should add that most of my irritation is aimed at the local talk shows and home broadcasts. I wouldn't mind if it was just when the Nuggets play the Lakers, but it seems like no matter who the Nuggets play, they just won't shut up about the refs.
No team whines more about how they are historically screwed by the refs than the Nuggets and their fan base. It is a point of emphasis on nearly every home broadcast and part of their basketball identity.
The first time Denver and the Lakers met in the Western Conference Finals (the Alex...
The Kings also lost a starter and top bench player to injury in the last month (Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk). That's about 25-28 pts per game lost. Given that there is only a five game difference between the #4 seed and #10 seed in the West, that ended up being a huge difference.
Apparently, being the top assistant coach on the Warriors during their championship runs helped Mike Brown scam his way to the Kings, where he has led them to their two best regular season records in a decade. Also won NBA coach of the year last year.