The criticism about officiating has ratcheted up and taken center stage, with coaches either blatantly or lightly pointing at the way officiating is deciding games.
INDIANAPOLIS — A’ja Wilson furrowed her brow at the box score on the table and lifted it up for a closer look. The foul counts stood out the most. NaLyssa Smith and Jackie Young finished with five. So, too, did Chelsea Gray.
“That’s very interesting to me,” Wilson said at the dais after the Indiana Fever forced a winner-take-all Game 5 in the semifinal series with the Las Vegas Aces. “I’m not saying we don’t foul. Yeah, we foul here and there. But that’s … very interesting.”
When head coach Becky Hammon noted reserve forward Megan Gustafson collected four, Wilson elicited a cartoon-worthy “what” of astonishment. “Interesting,” she repeated.
“By interesting, you mean that’s s***,” Hammon said, turning to her four-time MVP.
It was far from the tight two-minute decimation of officiating Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve deliveredfollowing their Game 3 loss. Still, Hammon’s approach followed the script of these playoffs in its own way.
The criticism has ratcheted up and taken center stage, with coaches either blatantly or lightly pointing at the way officiating is deciding games. The Fever’s 90-83 win at home in Game 4 was officiated by the same crew as the one in Phoenix that Reeve called “malpractice” to have in place for the postseason.
If Wilson had the full game book in front of her, one particular section of the foul issue would have stood out. It did to everyone else.
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Aliyah Boston drew seven fouls and attempted 11 free throws in the third quarter alone, allowing the Fever to keep distance after leading 46-38 at the half. Her nine points at the line covered the difference in the game, and kept Las Vegas from cutting into the deficit enough to take a second-half lead. The Fever led, 67-62, going into the fourth.
The Aces contingent was quick to the post-game podium and brief in their responses, beginning with a question to Hammon on the flow of the game.
“Well, they shot 34 free throws and we shot 11,” she said. “Next question.”
Boston took 13 free throws by game’s end, more than the entirety of the Vegas roster. It was also more than Boston had attempted collectively through the previous six postseason games. She attempted six in the first-round Game 3 win over Atlanta. In the three prior games against Vegas, she was 2-of-2.
“Just trying to be aggressive,” Boston said of her postseason-high 24 points, though she was 7-of-15 from the floor. “Post up, seal, focus and finish and get to the free throw line.”
Wilson went 3-of-6 from the line, one game after Hammon called out her star forward attempting only one in Game 3. She was the best in the regular season at reaching the line, averaging 7.3 attempts per game to Boston’s 3.3. Wilson is 11-of-16 in this semifinal series.
“Aliyah did say [to me last game] I have a special whistle,” Wilson said. “She shot 13 today.”
It wasn’t only about the points on the board. Smith, the Aces X-factor in this series who ate on the attention given to Wilson in Game 3, picked up her fourth foul at 6:35 of the third quarter in a three-point game. Boston put back a layup to push the cushion up to five.
“It hurts us,” Hammon said. “We need to play Lyss heavy minutes. She’s been an impactful player in this series.”
Gustafson picked up her fourth in a two-possession game in the final three minutes, and was quickly called for a fifth. Hammon challenged the call and won her second one of the game.
“I did appreciate it was a little tighter call,” Hammon said. “But tighter on both ends would be nice.”
The Aces' defense lacked energy, Hammon said, which hurt their ability to close this series out. The foul counts also limited them on that end late, and they couldn’t pick up stops. They trailed by four with more than two minutes to play when Gustafson drew a defensive three-second call. Kelsey Mitchell, who finished with 25 points, hit the technical and added a jumper a minute later for an insurmountable five-point lead.
Early in the series, Hammon noted the lack of those three-second calls league-wide early, despite it being a point of emphasis. Suddenly, it became an emphasis in these last two games. Each team was called for one in Game 4; the Aces drew two and the Fever one in Game 3.
The inconsistency in calls is what grates coaches the most. What will be truly interesting is what fireworks will blow when both teams play for their lives in Tuesday's Game 5.
Category: General Sports
