SU has never blamed the refs for wins or losses. It’s an easy trap to fall into when your team is losing or you fall short in a big game. The Knicks lost game 3 in New York and yes, you can certainly point to the free throw disparity in the 2nd half (24 for the Spurs vs. 8 for the Knicks). To Mike Brown’s credit, he did not say that the Knicks were not fouling. But he was wondering if the Spurs somehow were not fouling in a game where they played very physical defense. What is going on here? SU has the answers for you:

1. Apparently, the way it works is that different refs are used for each playoff game. I believe they are paid a bonus for being selected to work the finals and therefore, it’s financially rewarding for multiple refs to work the games. SU wonders if having so many different refs creates different environments for calling fouls as let’s face it: a foul in one game is not always a foul in another game. Might it be different if the same refs called the entire series? Something to consider.
2. The Spurs have been playing very physical defense in all 3 games as SU has pointed out. Their guards pick up at half court or even full court on Brunson. He is bumped, grabbed, pushed – no calls. What happens in basketball is that the aggressor is rewarded for being aggressive with no fouls called. It’s wrong, it’s not fun to watch and in the end, the teams that play motion offenses are hurt. It makes the games unwatchable and it’s not what we see in the regular season. And Wemby gets away with flailing elbows and no calls. He tossed Brunson to the ground at one point – no call. Mike Breen even said in the 2nd quarter that the refs had to get the game under control as it was so physical. We all see it. A foul in January is a foul in June.
3. But here is the bigger issue for the Knicks. Brunson is taking 25 – 30 shots a game, and KAT is marginalized on offense. In fact, the Spurs are putting a smaller player on KAT to prevent him from getting the ball up high and being able to orchestrate from there. To do that, they grab and hold him – no calls ever. BUT… the problem for the Knicks is that Brunson is just dribbling out the clock at mid-court and then going one on one. The Knicks only had 18 assists last night. Way too much of this offense. Way too Brunson-centric and they are going to lose the series if it continues. He is getting his points but they come at the expense of his teammates who are not getting in any type of rhythm. SU expects this to change in game 4 which now becomes a very crucial game for each team.
4. The playoffs are all about adjustments game to game. Brown will surely do that now and the refs will start to call fouls on the Spurs in the 1st quarter for the grabbing and holding. SU is old and I have seen it before. Ask Phil Jackson.

SU fully expects the Knicks to win game 4. If you think about it, the Knicks played poorly for 3 of the 4 quarters last night and still almost won the game. The Spurs cannot play much better. On the other hand, the Spurs have outplayed the Knicks for the majority of minutes across the 3 games, and the Knicks are fortunate to be up 2-1. Change the Brunson-dominant offense and all will be well.

Thoughts? Or did the Knicks get jobbed and Brunson is the star and needs to be the focal point? The floor is open.