Golden State Warriors: 5 takeaways from Game 4 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Tight officiating again hurts Warriors
Takes that “the NBA is rigged” are bad ones. Equally bad are the takes that “anyone who believes the NBA is rigged is an idiot.” It’s possible.
The better take is this: There is usually a better, more likely explanation for something happening than rigging. For example, the Los Angeles Lakers getting the No. 2 pick is more likely a result of them finishing with the third-worst record in the league than it is of a conspiracy to give them Lonzo Ball.
Golden State Warriors
Similarly, the success Cleveland derived from the officiating Friday night was more likely due to style of play than intentional bias on the part of the officials.
The Warriors play better the fewer whistles there are. Their offense doesn’t rely on creating contact, but rather creating space. Their defense is aggressive, and thus better when the refs “let them play.” The same is true for their box-out oriented, gang-rebounding scheme. They build momentum in the flow of the game. This is nothing new.
The first three games were officiated fairly loosely. Game 1 had 47 fouls and 41 free throws. Game 2 had 37 fouls and 43 free throws. It ramped up when the series shifted to Cleveland, with 53 fouls and 49 free throws in Game 3, and then 51 fouls and an absurd 67 free throws in Game 4.
The Cavs love whistles. It gives their two relentless drivers time to rest. It artificially slows the game to the tempo they want to achieve naturally.
More important than anything, whistles take away the cross-matches that the Warriors generally destroy the Cavs with. Even when the Warriors are the ones drawing fouls, the opportunity it affords Cleveland to reset its defense is likely a net-negative for Golden State.
The more the refs get involved, the more it helps the Cavs. Warriors fans (and most basketball fans) prefer less whistles and more flow, but that doesn’t mean that Game 4 was rigged, any more than the lack of whistles in games 1 and 2 meant it was rigged the other way.