Anthony Edwards fined 40k for critizing officiating
Image by USA Today Sports
Jan 29th’s game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder saw the Timberwolves winning a defensive battle 107-101 in their last game of a four-game road stretch.
Both teams were tied for the number one seed in the Western Conference and had been playing great basketball. However, that’s not what has everyone talking; it’s Timberwolves’ guard Anthony Edwards' comments at the end of the game.
Edwards believed that the game was very poorly officiated and expressed that very clearly at the end of the game.
Listed below is the NBA Communications description of the fine:
Looking at fouls alone supports Edwards’ argument as the Thunder shot seven more free throws than the Timberwolves. In fact, the 15 total free-throw attempts from the Timberwolves were lower than Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 16 free-throw attempts.
Even Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch hinted at this in his postgame interview when asked about guarding a player like Gilgeous Alexander. Finch was quoted as saying "We had a lot of guys to throw at Shai, he's a tough cover. Every night you look he goes to the line 15, 16 times, it's kinda tough to guard him if that's the case. But we did a pretty good job of just mixing it up."
Now saying that the officiating was good, bad, or anything in between is completely up to the viewer’s interpretation. However, some plays made it a little too obvious that the call disparity was in the Thunder’s favor.
The NBA’s Last Two Minute report stated, "Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) brings his hand towards Edwards' (MIN) arm, and the contact during the shot near the rim is marginal.”
Very confusing to hear the NBA say this as Gilgeous-Alexander has his entire hand around Edwards’ forearm, especially given the contact that was being allowed the entire game.
Edwards and the Timberwolves will look to hold the number one seed in the Western Conference in the next couple of games against contending teams such as the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers.
