Nuggets beat Timberwolves by 27 points to pull one back: On how high-level referees affect the game

Qing Yang said

2024-05-11 16:01Posted in Anhui Sports Creators

Almost every NBA focus game, referees are always a controversial topic.

Can referees influence or even decide on sports matches? The answer is yes. Otherwise, there would not have been so many black whistles, and they squatted directly.

But as the world's most commercial sporting event, how the NBA's referees influence the game is a high-level topic.

Many fans judge whether the home team suffers, mainly based on the number of fouls and free throws per game.

Whoever makes more free throws will take advantage, and whoever will foul more will suffer

But the effect of the penalty is not measured by the score of the game itself, for example, in extreme cases, 10 fouls in garbage time are not worth being whistled for a step in the moment of life and death.

When it comes to basketball, especially in the playoffs with similar strength and fierce competition, sometimes a single penalty can make the difference in the final direction.

But in the final analysis, this is still a low-level "side whistle", and now the live broadcast technology is developed, various high-speed cameras, hundreds of cameras, and there is more "challenge" this rule, which makes it more difficult for basketball referees to blatantly help a team.

This brings us to a higher level of operation: scale.

Although the rules of basketball are now infinitely detailed, the penalties for many actions on the rapidly changing court are determined by the three referees on the court.

For example, in the physical confrontation in defense, referee A does not rub sand in his eyes and thinks that it is a foul, and referee B thinks it is acceptable and does not affect the game, both can be.

It is important to use the same scale for both teams in the same game.

If the same action is made, Team A fouls and Team B is unharmed, this is a partial whistle or a black whistle.

But even if the scale is unified, it can be called a difference for two teams with completely different technical and tactical styles.

For example, in the playoff matchup, Team A is tall, dominant, and accustomed to breaking through and eating the basket, then the stricter the penalty scale, the better it is for them, they can quickly accumulate the opponent's fouls and get a lot of free throws, and even make the opponent unavailable in extreme situations.

The B team plays dexterously but suffers in size, but is good at pressing and rotating. Then the looser the penalty scale, the better it is for them. They can use more aggressive moves to deal with their opponents and make up for the gap in their size and weaknesses.

Then in the best-of-seven playoffs, the referee blows strictly, team A has the advantage, and team B gains if it is loose.

Does it sound familiar? That's right, it's the Lakers vs. the Warriors last season.

In this round of the Western Conference semifinals that crushed the finals last year, in fact, many times the key to victory is in the hands of the referees, and their scale determines the balance of victory and defeat.

For example, who remembers that after winning the first away game, Thick Eyebrows committed two fouls in the early quarter and three fouls in the half in G2, former coach Ham had to change the rotation to reduce his time, and then even Thick Eyebrows trembled when he came on the court to defend, and finally the Warriors won 127-100.

And when it came to garbage time, they began to make up the whistle for the Lakers frantically, and the Warriors bench was difficult to move an inch, but it was harmless. Finally, the foul Lakers 15-23 and free throws 17-16 don't look like they suffered a loss.

But anyone who has watched the game understands it.

Of course, the Lakers are not without benefits, they have the league's first free throw/free throw difference in the regular season in the past two seasons, and after four games, the league has earned enough ratings and popularity, and basically left the victory or defeat to the players.

And today's Timberwolves vs. Nuggets is a concentrated embodiment of the influence of referees.

In the first two games, the Nuggets were defended to death by the Timberwolves, and Murray, who was already injured, was caught by McDaniels, Alexander Walker and other "muscle brothers".

And Downs and Reed also had a strong confrontation with Mr. Yoo on the inside, making the league's No. 1 center who was the third MVP in four years shoot 16 of 38, which is simply Waterloo for Mr. Yoo, who has always been known for his efficiency.

And today, in the first six minutes of the first half quarter, the Timberwolves have committed four fouls, including two fouls by Murray, who is quite uncomfortable with Murray, and had to be replaced by Walker in advance.

The Timberwolves had to reduce the intensity of the confrontation, so Murray's blocking and pick-and-roll smoothed, and Jokic didn't have to be taken advantage of by Gobert and Towns when he was on the ball.

In addition, the defensive end blocked Edwards in advance today, testing his ability to find the ball on the weak side, which caught the Timberwolves off guard at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends.

So for most of the first quarter, the Nuggets Timberwolves' muscle impact was carried down. Look at Madan these two fouls, will they blow in the first two games?

It's not that the referee is black whistle in this game, but today's scale naturally hurts the core strengths of the Timberwolves in this series - defense and physical confrontation.

In the last three minutes of the first quarter, Conley and Towns came off the break, and the Timberwolves offense lost power again, and the Nuggets went on an 11-4 run to stretch the score to 28-20.

For comparison, the first two games in the first quarter.

The G1 Nuggets had 3 fouls and the Timberwolves 6 times, for a total of 9 fouls, with a score of 25-23

G2 Nuggets fouled 2 times, Timberwolves 2 times, a total of 4 times, the score is 20-28

In this game, the Nuggets fouled 4 times and the Timberwolves 6 times, a total of 10 times, and the score was 28-20.

If there are too many fouls, the Timberwolves can't play them, and if they blow less, it's the Nuggets' turn to be uncomfortable

The second quarter was the same plot again, the referee blew three fouls in two minutes, twice to the Nuggets and once to the Timberwolves, but the hapless Maidan hit the muzzle again, played for two minutes and went down again.

And the Nuggets rotation led by Murray was tough enough today, he made a mid-range shot and assisted Holiday for three points, and by the time Edwards returned, the difference was 23-36.

In fact, the game was actually over at this time, and the Timberwolves lacked their best outside gate, and were more afraid of the referee's whistle, and were afraid of the defensive end.

Murray and Jokic played smoothly, scoring 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting in the first half today, 8 points in the first quarter and 10 points in the second quarter, which was the most comfortable half since the playoffs this year.

Why? The referee and Malone worked together to remove the heavy punching bag of McDaniels for him!

As soon as Jokic returned, the Timberwolves' defense was even more leaky, and Braun scored five straight points inside and out to stretch the margin to 20 points (45-25). Although Conley and Edwards combined to score back-to-back points, it was too easy for the Nuggets to knock the Timberwolves' defense today.

Jokic and Murray took turns instigating and feeding each other, and the Nuggets led by 15 points at 56-41 at halftime.

In the second half, the Timberwolves still did not give up, but as the defending champions, the Nuggets are still too sophisticated, and they are used to turning the tables and reversing the game, and it is difficult for them to give gifts to their opponents once they have the advantage.

McDaniels cut and dunked on the court, but the Timberwolves' investment on the defensive end was significantly different from the first half, and they have lost their previous sharpness.

Jokic once again turned into a "pastry master" and constantly made cakes for his teammates, and Gordon, Pope, Murray, and Porter all easily found scoring opportunities. Far from narrowing, the score was stretched to 20 points, and the game was completely in the hands of the Nuggets at this point.

When the suspense of the outcome was decided, the referees turned into "masters of the water", and the second-half penalties made the Timberwolves benefit and the Nuggets unhappy many times.

Jokic was whistled for a covering foul (the decision was reversed after the challenge was successful), and he and Pope were whistled for two fouls in six seconds, all three of which were scored during that time.

But, does this affect the Nuggets' victory? No！

At the end of the third quarter, the Nuggets had stretched the difference to 93-66, which was a response to the last game beaten by the Timberwolves.

And the Timberwolves are also very sensible and don't bother too much with the referee, because throughout the game, you can't find too many problematic decisions.

It wasn't one or some penalties that they suffered, but the overall scale of the game.

In the fourth quarter, the two teams symbolically played for a while, and with 5 minutes left, they each withdrew their main forces and prepared for the next game, and they were all right.

It was a less important game.

For the Timberwolves, even if they lose one game, they still have the advantage and initiative, and maybe the next game will be reinstated to the style they benefit.

For the Nuggets, a win in this game is a logical one, and their overall strength is still there.

Even if they lose the next game, they can trigger the "1-3 Reversal" buff, and this round of the series is naturally worth watching.

Of course, the most important thing is the league, after the departure of "Internet celebrities" such as Janduku, Lakers, and Warriors, if the defending champions are still 0-3 behind and go home early, then the NBA will not do it.

Now people are looking forward to the next game, whether the Timberwolves win at home and win the match point, or the Nuggets start a comeback journey to teach Edwards, the "stinky brother" who is in the limelight.

Everything is looking at the money, and the money is earned.

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