A few weeks back, Chris Finch, the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, expressed his concern that the physical play in the NBA playoffs had “gone way too far” and was disrupting the game’s natural rhythm. Following a defeat against the Golden State Warriors in their playoff matchup, Finch elaborated on his stance.

He noted:

“On defensive rebounding, [the Warriors] do a lot of fouling, holding, shoving, pushing, and tackling Rudy [Gobert]. That’s clear. We sent a bunch of those clips to the league.”

Translation: Finch emphasized the challenges Gobert faces due to the level of physicality allowed in the playoffs.

In response, Steve Kerr of the Warriors acknowledged the same physical challenges, stating:

“I didn’t see a single foul on any of those plays. There’s a lot of physicality in the lane for sure; they could have called a couple of those.”

Kerr lamented the current state of officiating, saying,

“I was upset the first 10 minutes… They were bear-hugging [Curry], and they could have called six fouls. But the league has established the physicality in the playoffs.”

The dialogue between Finch and Kerr encapsulates the broader concerns coaches have regarding officiating standards in high-stakes playoff scenarios.