Chris Finch wants every official and the entire NBA world to be more discerning when it comes to Victor Wembanyama’s blocks.
The Minnesota Timberwolves head coach was critical of the officiating during his team’s 104-102 Game 1 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals matchup. Wembanyama blocked an NBA-record 12 shots in the contest, including three in the opening minutes at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The Timberwolves had reason to argue that a good chunk of those blocks were actually goaltending violations. On the eve of Game 2, Finch spoke out on the matter.
“When we looked at them, at least four of them were goaltending. Maybe even a fifth,” Finch told reporters. “To me, it’s a little alarming that none of them were called. Here’s a generational shot-blocker who’s 7-foot-6 who goes after everything, and there’s no heightened awareness that these blocks could be goaltends?
“I mean, the third possession of the game was a goaltend — and it was a clean, obvious one. So let’s just say there were four. That’s eight points. You know the value of eight points in an NBA game? Massive.
“That’s also 33 percent of his blocks were goaltending, uncalled. If I were to give you a 33 percent raise, you’d like that, right? That’s a huge number.”
Finch wasn’t just complaining to rant about Game 1. On a deeper level, his comments were more about changing the officiating POV for the rest of the series.
In directing awareness toward Wembanyama’s blocks as potential goaltends, referees will be looking more intently at such plays in the games to come. Finch also had a similar criticism during his postgame press conference on Monday night, and fans were siding with the T-Wolves coach.
It’s tough for referees to call goaltends on Wembanyama exactly because of his being a once-in-a-lifetime defensive force. He blocks shots at angles and heights referees could never fathom from anyone else, which adds complexity to the block vs. goaltending call in a playoff series involving Wemby.
In directing awareness toward Wembanyama’s blocks as potential goaltends, referees will be looking more intently at such plays in the games to come.
Finch also had a similar criticism during his postgame press conference on Monday night, and fans were siding with the T-Wolves coach.
