The Washington Wizards lost their first game of the playoffs by eight points, and their stars seem to think a few blown calls may have swung the game.
Addressing reporters on Tuesday following their 114-106 loss to the Toronto Raptors over the weekend, Wizards guards John Wall and Bradley Beal said that the refs missed calls during the game, per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.
“If I get calls or not, [I] just try to finish plays,” Wall was quoted as saying. “That is all I really can do. I think a couple of them [in Game 1] that I did get fouled on, they came to me at halftime and said they [an official] missed two or three of them. I rather you not tell me about it. Just like the Last Two-Minute Report, I rather you not tell me about [fouls that were missed].
“”I wasn’t looking for them at all,” he added. “I just felt like when I got to the basket at times, I felt like I got fouled … There is always something new when it comes to [officiating] me, and then I watch other games and those [other] guys get the same type of calls.”
Wall finished Game 1 with 22 points and 15 assists but shot just 6-for-20 from the field and 8-for-10 from the line. For what it’s worth, the Raptors only shot two more free throws for the game (20) than the Wizards did (18).
Backcourt partner Beal, who ended up with 19 points on 8-for-17 shooting and a lone free throw attempt (which he made), also hinted at some non-calls.
“They hold and grab a lot,” he said. “That is something that will be a different story tonight [in Game 2]. Just making sure that I am constantly moving, making them tired, especially when they put Kyle [Lowry] on me, just tire him out as much as possible.”
The Wizards are already an underdog as a No. 8 seed playing on the road against a No. 1 seed. Thus, putting scrutiny on the officiating may be worth a shot (as Wall and Beal very similarly did during last year’s playoffs as well).
