Major ESPN mock draft update this morning including the latest from me and @ShamsCharania on AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Washington and Utah — and my full first-round projections with new intel from around the league.
https://t.co/LaDg22mZgx
“Now we are talking to these guys and I tell them, ‘You come to BYU, there is not another place in the country where your distractions are going to be eliminated the way they are at BYU,” he said. “It’s a different institution, and when you come buy into this place, this place is going to pour into you hand-over-fist and you are going to be shocked at what’s going to happen by the time you are done here.” 👉 https://t.co/FtShvMkXNO
My algorithm is ~60% people complaining about the OKC whistle right now.
I understand why it annoys Thunder fans, but their most common responses ("why would the league rig things for small-market OKC?!" and "look where we rank in free-throw attempts!") misses the point.
The reaction is more about the difference in the way the Thunder are allowed defend and the way their opponents are.
And no one (at least not that I've seen) has come out and said the league is intentionally rigging games for OKC. That is, as the Thunder fans seem to think, ridiculous. But anyone who watches with a shred of objectivity can see the difference.
It's a product of a couple things. First, for decades, the NBA has allowed more physicality from players who establish a defense-first reputation early in their careers (think back to Bruce Bowen). The Thunder have several of those players. Second, OKC is incredibly consistent (one of their team strengths!) about holding, grabbing, hacking, embellishing contact from offensive players from opening tip to final buzzer, and that's a tactic that certainly isn't exclusive to the NBA. They employ the "if we just foul everyone all the time, the refs can't call all of it," strategy to stunning effect.
None of that is to suggest OKC is cheating or undeserving of its success. The Thunder are an incredibly talented, perfectly built, well-coached, well-oiled machine, led by one of the greatest guards in NBA history. They're almost certainly going to win their second straight championship.
But it's not hard at all to see why people have a hard time watching them play.
NEWS: Rob Wright III, the No. 1 overall point guard in the portal, is returning to BYU to play his junior season for Kevin Young, sources tell @247Sports
Story: https://t.co/KmP8tFOdAg