Chris Finch today when talking about things Ant needs to work on for next year: “Foul drawing, you see right now in the league, you see what gets rewarded. You need to kind of lean into that a little bit, even though it’s not necessarily how he likes to play, but it seems to be effective.”

48 comments

  4. I hate it here. First, Tre Johnson saying he needs to learn Shai’s grifting and now this. Fuck this.

  5. Chris finch certified jerker

    I think he should focus on not going 2-14 on his 3’s in game 6 and 7

  6. I remember when Dame was doing his AMA a few years ago and someone asked him what he’s still learning in the NBA after all these years and he basically said “Yeah, I need to learn how to flop better”

    He dressed it up better but the reality is foul-drawing is a valuable skill no matter how irritating it is to watch. Players and coaches both recognize that.

  9. If the whistle was fair, less people would complain about it. That said, ANT also needs to work on refining his midrange. He’s become way too reliant on the 3 this year. It was either 3 or bust if the lane was clogged, leading to inconsistent scoring on offense in the playoffs.

  11. I agree. Getting better at drawing fouls would open up his game a lot.

  12. SGA shot 4 free last night, and they still got belt to ass. Just accept your team wasn’t good enough and learn from that.

  13. People will complain about the quote, but it’s a legit area of improvement for Ant lol

  14. He’s not entirely wrong but this just comes off so salty the day after getting your ass absolutely blasted. SGA could have shot 0 FTs all series and Thunder still would have won in 5.

  16. I mean… he isn’t wrong. Foul drawing is a big part of the game right now and Ant doesn’t really look to draw fouls.

    I think the Wolves definitely felt the decline of Conley and the volatility of Randle in this series. Towns was a big loss for them I think

  19. I hope people watch the full clip posted because the foul drawing piece is only one of three things that he mentions Ant can work on.

    Gave good examples of his previous experiences, other areas of improvement and where he can take his game to the next level. In this clip at least, it doesn’t mention anything about them losing the series because of fouls, just that it’s one facet of Ants game that he can work on.

  20. He gets to the line at the same rate as all the best “foul merchants”. He just doesn’t drive near as frequently which is fine when you are shooting 40% from 3. But it becomes more difficult in the playoffs to maintain that efficiency with more intense defense.

  22. I think he’s right, if they had the same amount of FTs they would have lost by 27!

  25. And here I thought 3 pointers was gonna be bad but if they start leaning heavily in the foul game that might seal it. Maybe in the regular season it won’t be as bad but the playoffs it’ll be unwatchable, we’re gonna more superstars imitating SGA.

  26. 2027: “The NBA is cracking down on flopping, and they’re serious this time!”

  27. Foul drawing is such an easy thing to fix for the league though. Just review the tape after the game and assess flopping techs. That will instantly make the product so much better and discourage flopping coz you get suspended after a few of them. Can’t believe NBA doesn’t do it.

  28. Ant needs to watch SGA film to learn how be more effective. He tries to finish through contact too much. He needs to sell the contact.

  29. This is what the league has become. Floppers get rewarded while it’s much harder to play the game left when you aren’t selling.

  30. Crazy how the nba doesn’t see this as a huge issue.

    The players and coaches are learning how to manipulate the refs. How is this good for the overall product?

  31. I honestly hope next year/in the finals stars go crazy with trying to draw fouls.

    So refs/league will finally change something about it lol

  32. One of my biggest issues I see is not the foul baiting as much as the ref-ing.

    I feel like big/stronger builds just get less calls over slimmer builds for the same amount of contact.

    They can power/absorb through contact instead of falling flat and that changes the call.

  34. Not a Wolves fan, but he’s 100% correct. The act is terrible, watching it is terrible, it doesn’t come naturally to most players… but if the NBA is going to reward the act to the levels of SGA and Brunson, then every player guard and wing *needs* to incorporate it into their games. You’re at too much of a disadvantage if you don’t. Tatum literally complains to the refs after *every* drive inside as he’s rarely able to draw fouls. He needs to adjust how he plays and put his energy into the SGA foul bait instead of standing around for 2 seconds complaining and missing defensive assignments. Ant will become unstoppable, like SGA, once he’s able to foul draw.

    Perhaps once 60% or more of the league is doing this ridiculous act then the NBA might adjust the rules, but until they do, you can’t fault SGA and Brunson for their over the top behavior, it’s on the NBA to change, not the players.

  35. Bro Steph curry gets murdered n he doesn’t get calls on those. Now that ant is shooting 3s he’s never getting those calls even though mfs can get fouled on them

  36. There’s foul baiting (i.e. pump fakes, swinging through a defenders outstretched arm) and then there’s just flat out flopping (i.e. taking a dive).

    Both are technically allowed within the rules but boy does the later just feel disgusting to watch. What makes it particularly egregious is that there’s no legitimate counter for it. It’s not a situation where you just need to play more disciplined defense (stop jumping for pump fakes or reaching in). Instead you just need to *hope* the ref doesn’t blow the whistle.

    Hopefully SGA’s playstyle doesn’t become the new meta in the NBA because I think that would get even some diehard fans to stop watching including me.

  37. Agree with him, but ant played like ass this entire series. Flopping would not have helped

  38. Players and coaches “we need to flop better, the league rewards it.”

    NBA “I can’t figure out why ratings are down”

    Stern was an asshole but Silver is just fucking up left and right.

  39. Honestly, that’s hilarious of him! Gets to criticize the refs without risking a fine

  40. Will Ant join the ranks of Nikola, Shai, Harden, CP3, Lebron, Giannis, and others??? I guess next season we’re going to find out, eh?

  42. James Harden should host a camp every summer teaching the young guns the way of the flop

  43. ANT gotta hit the gym and work on shouting AYYYY! everytime he gets touched

  45. He tried it last night. Drove past his defender, threw his hip into them, jumped back and shot. It didn’t get called because it looked like an athletic move. Guys like SGA and Embiid do it with an air of wimpiness that gets rewarded. Ant has to learn that.

    Which fucking sucks. The NBA shouldn’t be like this.

  46. I like how the commissioner said they’re going to look into the rise in three-point shooting as if that’s the problem and not all this foul drawing nonsense. Say what you want but three-point shooting can wildly swing the score of the game which is exciting unlike the rhythm killing of foul shots.

  47. It’s the wrong kind of language and just sounds petty.

    He could say, “drawing contact, playing through contact, finishing in traffic” or other things that he actually needs to get better at like his post game and mid range, his off ball movement.

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