Welcome to the Winner’s Circle, a weekly column by Bet For The Win senior writer Prince J. Grimes. Here, you’ll read about stats and trends that can help you make informed betting predictions for the week ahead and beyond.
There haven’t been many moments in this year’s NBA Playoffs better than the exchange between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Al Horford after they traded dunks on each another in Game 4 of the Boston Celtics-Milwaukee Bucks series on Monday.
After Antetokounmpo rose up to throw one down on Horford in the third quarter and followed the slam with a vicious ice grill, Horford nodded in acknowledgment of the perceived disrespect, mentally storing the moment away for just the right time. And sure enough, when he got his opportunity in the fourth, the Celtics big man returned the favor with a giant dunk on Giannis punctuated by a display of emotion we rarely see from Horford.
These are the type of moments playoff basketball is made for. This is why we watch. Giannis’ thunderous jam gave the 1.5-point favorite Bucks a six point lead. Horford’s answer was a much-needed momentum grabber that tied the game in the fourth. It was exciting for everyone who witnessed…and the referees tried like hell to sap that excitement with technical fouls called after each play.
Neither tech made sense, and both only serve as tools to dull the raw expression that makes this time of the year so exciting. The players litigated the tension themselves through basketball. Horford used it as fuel for a career best playoff performance. He scored 16 of his playoff career-high 30 points in the fourth quarter. We want more of that, not less. So why exactly were whistles blown here?
My guess is the chippiness of Warriors-Grizzlies has officiating crews on edge. That series started with a fluke Flagrant 2 foul by Draymond Green on Brandon Clarke, continued with a legitimate Flagrant 2 by Dillon Brooks that broke “the code” and fractured Gary Payton II’s elbow, and then more recently saw Ja Morant tweak his knee on a play by Jordan Poole that Morant thinks broke “the code,” even if it didn’t.
However, only one of those plays was actually egregious. The rest was just playoff basketball and not even really a reflection of how other series have gone. Hard fouls are one thing, but staring at someone after a big dunk like Antetokounmpo did? That should never be whistled for a technical in an NBA game, and definitely not the playoffs. The whistle almost necessitated the tech on Horford because at least there was contact after his dunk. But even there, he simply brought his arm down because, ya know, gravity. It was unfortunate Antetokounmpo’s face was where his arm landed. That doesn’t make it a technical foul.
Antetokounmpo said after the game that “emotions are for movies, not for basketball.” But to thousands of fans watching around the world, high-stakes basketball is a movie. If the referees continue to make these type of calls, the players will be forced to adjust by showing less emotion and being less demonstrative. Not only can that negatively effect their own personal performances, it absolutely will impact the viewing experience.
Personally, I like my playoff basketball with a little spice. So can we loosen up on the whistles and embrace these moments? If this is what the conference semifinals are bringing, the conference finals are going to be a treat…as long as officiating allows them to be.
Here are a few more things I’m looking at in the week ahead.
