Refs Sabotaged Warriors and Draymond Green’s Efforts Against Timberwolves, Ex-Champion Claims Amid Stephen Curry Minutes Fiasco

The Golden State Warriors let another opportunity slip away. They are on the verge of elimination after a 110-114 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves today. They have fallen to 36-34 on the season and the Houston Rockets are just one game behind the Dubs for the 10th seed in the Western Conference! And that’s the final spot in the play-in tournament. 

Despite Stephen Curry‘s 31-point outburst in just 29 minutes, the Dub Nation failed. Analysts have started to highlight the mistakes. Surprisingly, Festus Ezeli revealed how the referees also cost the game, by not blowing the whistle for Draymond Green, who was showing his frustration on the court. The 2015 champion shared, “Draymond’s activity was very present, especially on the rebounds. Couple of times, where he felt like he got fouled on different buckets – big swing possessions.”

“Because one of the possessions he felt like he got fouled, which he did get fouled by Rudy Gobert, and they kick to Kyle Anderson for a lay up, and-1. These are plays right there, you just get it right, man… I’ve gotten on the players enough, now I want to talk about the refs. We gotta get these plays right.”

Green finished the game with 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists, and he did not attempt a single free throw. Warriors attempted a total of 26 free throws, while the Wolves attempted 18. However, Ezeli believes a foul is a foul, and when it is not called during crucial situations, it can cost a win. 

Read more: NBA Gets Slammed for Failing Stephen Curry, as Warriors Urged to “Barrage the League Office” After OT Loss vs the Hawks

Are the Warriors not getting a lot of foul calls regularly this season? 

In the 70 games that the Warriors have played this year, they are attempting an average of 20.8 free throws per game. They hold the 23rd position for the most free throws attempted this season. A few other teams that are in playoff contention with the least free throws attempted are the Denver Nuggets, who hold the 28th position, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who hold the 24th position. The Timberwolves, on the other hand, hold the 7th position, while the Phoenix Suns and the LA Lakers are the first and second, respectively. 

Stephen Curry is one of the few top scorers in the league, who averages the least number of free throws attempted in a game. In the 64 games that Curry has played this year, he has a FTA average of 4.64, which is the second least in the league, for a player averaging more than 25 points a game. Well, the above stats show us that the Warriors are not favored for a lot of fouls this season. However, this cannot be termed as the only flaw in their volatile performance this year. But, do you think there is a bias in the foul calls? 

Read more: “That’s How We’re Built. It’s Not a Secret”: Stephen Curry Feels Helpless Amid Draymond Green Antics