The Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies are playing Game 3 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night, but the officiating stole the spotlight in the first half.
In the first quarter, the refs called 20 fouls, and there were 33 free throws attempted. The first three minutes of the game featured eight foul calls, a flagrant foul, and a technical foul.
One would think that playoff basketball would feature the opportunity for more physicality and just “letting them play,” but that’s apparently not the case in this Minnesota-Memphis series. So many foul calls and stoppages also slow down the game pace significantly, making it a less entertaining product to watch.
Here’s a look at how the basketball world is reacting to the abundance of foul calls early in Game 3:
https://twitter.com/DrGuru_/status/1516581080857513986