This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.
Hey NBA refs, I’m not sure if you know this or not but we are now in the playoffs and you need to start acting like it and stop calling such lame technical fouls that could have big impacts on these games.
The latest two examples of this came in last night’s thrilling Celtics-Bucks Game 4 in Milwaukee that Boston won, 116-108, to even the series at 2-2.
The second half of the game was what playoff basketball is all about – guys hitting the floor on almost every possession, battling for balls and buckets and giving everything they had to try to get a W.
And then there were the refs with their little whistles trying to screw things up.
The first came when Giannis Antetokounmpo dunked on Al Horford and then stared at him for a few seconds as if to say, “Haha I just dunked on you.” Again, it’s the playoffs, These games are super intense. If you dunk on someone you should be allowed to mean mug them for a little bit.
But the refs quickly jumped in and T’d up Giannis, which was so lame.
Giannis really got a technical foul for this…😑
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 10, 2022
Let them play, refs!
The refs later doubled down on their idiocy when they called Horford for a technical after his arm hit Giannis in the head after Horford returned the favor and dunked on the Bucks star. The refs actually reviewed it to see what happened and called him for an inadvertent elbow. I don’t know what Horford was supposed to do with his arm to avoid hitting Giannis on that play.
This is the weakest technical foul ever on Al Horford. Smh @NBA pic.twitter.com/5uEOovny4p
— Lamaron Duncan (@Lamaron_1977) May 10, 2022
Just so, so lame.
These NBA playoffs have been a lot of fun. The refs need to stop getting in the way, though, or they are going to ruin a key game and it’s going to be really bad for the league, the players, and the fans.
Relax, refs!
Quick hits: NBA mock draft… MLB fans thought they heard an announcer swear… Snoozing Sixers fan explains himself… And more.
– Bryan Kalbrosky is back with his latest NBA mock draft and he’s predicting all 55 picks before the lottery and the combine.
– Lots of people last night thought they heard an announcer swear on air during the Guardians-White Sox game. Take a close listen for yourself and you’ll hear what he really said.
– The Sixers fan who was seen sleeping courtside during Game 4 the other night explained what led to his viral moment.
– Cleveland’s Josh Naylor had a hilarious celebration in the dugout after making MLB history with 8th RBI.
