‘Age-old ritual’ of working refs continues
As long as the rules of game play in professional sports are adjudicated by humans, there will always be separate conversations about those who make those decisions on a nightly basis. It’s inevitable and predictable.
How those doing the talking go about it, however, can vary.
Leagues do not want the front offices, coaches or players badmouthing their officials. It’s an area where fines are levied quickly.
But there is an art form to trying to push your point across and each coach or player can choose to do it as they see fit.
When Giannis Antetokounmpo was whistled for a 10-second violation in the waning minutes of a first-round playoff game against Miami, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer paused for nearly that long before tersely wondering about the timing of the call.
Point made.
Jrue Holiday took umbrage with the way the Bucks were called in defending Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant in the East semifinals.
In the Eastern Conference finals, Atlanta coach Nate McMillan quite publicly said the officials should follow the rules and call 10 seconds on free throws, five seconds on inbounds plays and three seconds on lane violations. It was his way to get his message across on Antetokounmpo specifically, while not incurring the fury of the league.
This has continued in the NBA Finals. After Phoenix shot 26 free throws to Milwaukee’s 16 (including none from Khris Middleton) in Game 1, Budenholzer was asked about it:
“You trying to bait me?” he quipped on July 7. “No, I mean it’s a huge part of the game. They have 25 points from the freethrow line. We’re a team that prides ourselves in defending and being able to be good defensively without fouling. I can’t remember the last time a team got 25 free throws in a game against the Bucks.
“And then conversely, the way Giannis attacks, the way Khris attacks, as many opportunities as Khris has with the ball — no, it’s frustrating, but it’s part of the sport. It’s part of the game. We got to be better defensively. We got to keep them off the free-throw line and we got to be more aggressive attacking and getting to the free-throw line and getting to good offense.”
The Bucks shot more free throws in Game 2 (23 to 14). Then after Game 3, Suns head coach Monty Williams was asked about Deandre Ayton’s foul trouble and said, “I’m not going to get into the complaining publicly about fouls. Just not going to do that. But you can look – we had 16 free throws tonight. One person had 17.
“So ‘DA’ is – we got to learn from that. We got to beat guys to the spot. He’ll grow from this, I promise you he will.”
The “one guy” Williams referred to was Antetokounmpo, who went 13 for 17 from the free-throw line.
Before his team practiced Tuesday, Williams was asked if that was an intentional tactic in the court of public opinion.
“Well, somebody asked me the question,” he said. “Like, how can I help DA? So I answered it. And then the free throw disparity is what it is. So that’s what I did. They had one player with 17 free throws; we had 16. That’s not complaining; that’s stating facts.”
Budenholzer and Williams were also asked if they felt if such public conversations can help a team. Former Chicago
Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson worked officials publicly after and between games. Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers and McMillan talked about Antetokounmpo’s 10 seconds at the line in the regular season, long before it became a broader conversation.
Williams didn’t dispute the fact that some coaches do take that route, but said, “I don’t know if I can do it. It’s just not my personality. The one thing that (San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich) taught me was to be myself. I do think it’s finite in its ability to change anything. Ultimately, I think the players are going to go out there and do what they’re going to do to help win the game.
“I’m not quite sure if it helps as much as people would think.”
Added Budenholzer: “I mean, it’s like the age-old ritual of the playoffs. I guess historically or experience-wise, I don’t know that it has any impact and probably could argue I’ve seen it go both ways. Some organizations, some players, some teams actually feel like they’re penalized for doing it.
“At the end of the day, I actually think the referees just call the game. They call the game and coaches go and talk about the game, and we’ll do the same thing after tomorrow night’s game. We have the best referees in the league and we’re always still frustrated with them. They’re still the best in the world.”
Giannis feeling good
Antetokounmpo hyperextended his left knee in Atlanta on June 29 and he said he found out the following day he did not suffer serious, season-ending ligament damage the next day. He had to combat swelling and pain, however, and his team played July 1. Then they traveled to Atlanta to play July 3.
The NBA Finals began July 6, seven days from the injury, and he was able to play 35 minutes. Two days later, he played 40. After two days off, he played 37 in a dominant performance that allowed him rest at the end of Game 3. He will have another two days before Game 4.
The icebags have been ever-present for the 26-year-old but the loosened, TV-centric
schedule of the Finals may have helped him manage the injury – which he is still receiving consistent treatment on.
“My knee feels great,” he said Tuesday. “It feels great. I’m happy that we have two days in between. I feel like in the Eastern Conference Finals, if I remember, we had, it was a game, day, game. We had one day in between, so it was a lot for everybody. But now we have time to take care of our body, spend some time with our family.”
Milwaukee in spotlight
In his postgame TV interview following Game 3, Holiday could hear the fireworks outside of Fiserv Forum and it caught him by surprise – but the way the city has reacted to the Bucks’ run in and outside Fiserv Forum has not gone unnoticed.
“This is my first year here, so ever since we got the crowd back they’ve been amazing,” Holiday said Tuesday. “The energy that they bring, how rowdy they get, we love it and we need it. To see that, and then after the game still having that support with the fireworks and 20,000 people outside still there, it’s amazing.”
Pat Connaughton has an interesting perspective, having played at the Bradley Center one time and traveled to it on three occasions as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. He then signed with the Bucks in 2018 and has seen the growth around Fiserv Forum.
“It’s about bringing the notoriety to a great city,” he said of potentially winning a championship. “I think it’s been an underrated city. It’s been obviously your, quoteunquote, ‘small market’ city. But for people across the world to see what it’s like in the summer, to see what it’s like as a community, to see the togetherness that the Milwaukee Bucks bring to the city of Milwaukee and the support that the city of Milwaukee in turn gives us, which makes us want to play so hard and represent them so well.
“It’s great to see the growth around the city. It’s great to see obviously the building of Fiserv, it’s great to see the businesses come downtown, it’s great to see the development that you see across the city, and I’m just fortunate to continue to invest in the city and be a part of that.”