Whenever things start to go wrong for a team in the NBA Playoffs, the immediate reaction by a player or coach is to look in the direction of an official.
In fact, following the team’s 100-94 loss Monday night to the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau made it a point to highlight how much of a discrepancy he felt there was in free throws when talking about star player Jalen Brunson.
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“He battled like crazy… huge discrepancy in free throws, huge,” said Thibodeau. “I’ve got to take a look at that.”
While this may feel like a sudden change from the officials, a recent report from NBA insider Tom Haberstroh, reveals this has been par for the course through the first weekend of the playoffs. With teams’ seasons on the line, the officials have appeared to attempt to make a conservative effort not to insert themselves into games as much.
New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau discussed a call with referee John Goble (10).John Jones-Imagn Images
This stark change in how they call games has caught the attention of fans online. According to Haberstroh, free throw attempts per 100 possessions in the postseason are below 20 for the first time since the NBA/ABA Merger in 1976.
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“If you want to know why the NBA’s regular season seems to matter less and less each season, start here. The game is officiated in a completely different way, essentially a different ruleset,” wrote one user.
“And you can tell which teams suffered because of it (Lakers & Knicks) because they can’t flop their way to easy points,” suggested another.
“90s continues to get exposed as the weakest most fraudulent era of basketball,” added a third.
“James Harden and SGA stock tanking,” joked another.
“Lower foul call rates might increase game flow and fan enjoyment,” suggested another.
In addition to officials maybe swallowing their whistles, teams are also launching threes at a historic clip. NBA Teams are averaging 37.6 three-point attempts per game, 2.4 more per game than the previous high in 2021-22. So, if teams and their fans want to get more calls, they may need to readjust their philosophy to a style more conducive to drawing fouls.
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If not, they’ll have to plan accordingly when it comes to not taking trips to the line.
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