The officiating of Game 4 between the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies can probably be summed up as choppy at best. Out-out-bounds calls were missed, fouls were being missed left and right, and there was no sense as to whether the game would be called loosely or tightly.
It appeared to start off in a way that would have you believe the refs were going to let them play on Monday night, letting go of what appeared to be blatant fouls at the rim for both teams. But as the game progressed, calls that weren’t being made earlier were suddenly made.
That’s how it is with the officiating, though, and it’s always been a crucial part of the playoffs – right or wrong. The key thing, at least for this particular game, was that there was no distinct advantage for either team because of those calls. That is to say, it didn’t appear to be one of those “this is fixed” type of games. 23 fouls were called against the Warriors, while 17 were called on the Grizzlies. Golden State shot 16 free throws, while Memphis shot 18. All in all, that’s about as even as it’s going to get.
Evan Fournier of the Orlando Magic, however, appears to have seen something else going on on the floor, as you can see below:
Feels like the Warriors have 6 players on the floor right now
— Evan Fournier (@EvanFourmizz) May 12, 2015
The Warriors shut down the offense of the Grizzlies by doubling the post and giving up something they’re probably willing to give up just about every time on defense: a long jump shot from Tony Allen. It probably would have made more sense for Fournier to say that it felt like the Warriors were playing 5-on-4 more than what appears to be a knock on how the referees were calling the game.
Jim Park is a blogger and editor of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.