Blaming officiating is something every fanbase in every sport has done. A lot of times, it’s overblown, or unreasonable. Sometimes, it’s not. A lot of Knicks fans would argue that last night’s Game 1 would be categorized as the latter. And they may have a very good case.
At one point in the game, the Spurs had taken seven free throws to the Knicks’ zero. Not too long after, the attempt discrepancy ballooned to 10-1 Spurs. And at half time, the Spurs had 12 attempts, while the Knicks had managed to scrape
together a paltry three attempts. Thanks to a few calls in the second half, and some garbage time free throws, the Knicks did end up taking 18 free throws, while the Spurs took 25 in total. Now, looking at free throw attempts alone as a way of judging the quality of officiating can be a slippery slope.
Every team is different, which means shot diet, physicality, and pace can all play factors in how many free throws a team deserves to get, or doesn’t deserve to get. But in genera, players, coaches, and fans a like ask for one thing- consistency. And that’s where the Knicks have a justifiable argument.
On one end of the floor, Victor Wembanyama was getting to the free throw line for some marginal contact, and ticky-tack fouls. As you can see below, Wembanyama benefitted from some soft calls considering it’s the Finals.
Now, yes, some of the calls Wembanyama got were warranted. By the books, they are fouls. But what fans didn’t understand was that the same kind of calls were not going the other way. Below, you can argue Landry Shamet tries to sell the call. And if the refs were allowing the Knicks to play with the same kind of physicality, I don’t think there’d me as much of an uproar. But those seem like odd no-calls considering the whistle Wembanyama was getting. But that wasn’t even the worst parts.
It’s one thing for Shamet to not get a call, because as good as he’s been, and as beloved as he’s become, he’s just not a star. Brunson on the other hand, is. A multiple-time All-Star, and All-NBA player while being the face of one of the most popular franchises in the league. What’s his reward? A measly four free throw attempts. And it’s not like he was taking only three-point shots.
Brunson spent much of the first half driving to the rim, and taking contact. I think fans understood that the whistle may be Spurs-friendly due to the location of the game. But some of the no-calls were just too egregious. In the play below, Dylan Harper gets a handful of Brunson’s jersey, and it’s clear as day. Somehow, this resulted in a no-call.
Later on in the first half, Luke Kornet steps on Brunson’s ankle after the layup. Also a no-call.
And the play below was almost just as bad. While this one hasn’t been talked about as much because it did result in a call, Scott Foster misses a clear swipe across the arm, and only calls it when Brunson is fouled a second time on the shot.
If anything, the 25-18 free throw discrepancy doesn’t do the one-sided officiating job justice. While things did balance out a bit in the second half, it was one of the more egregiously biased whistles in recent memory. Again, all the Knicks want is some consistency. San Antonio should not be allowed to shove, grab, and step on players if they are getting to the line for marginal contact.
With the Knicks’ odds of winning it all at -132 on FanDuel now, it will be interesting to see if the officiating continues to be a topic of discussion. A more Knicks friendly whistle could sway the odds even more in their favor, while the continuation of last night’s whistle could swing the odds back in favor of the Spurs, who do currently have a -235 odd to win tomorrow night’s Game 2.
