After three blowouts in a row, Game 4 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves was a dogfight from start to finish. But instead of focusing on a near 40-point triple-double from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or why Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle struggled, a large portion of NBA fans voiced their disappointment with the ending.
With the Thunder up three with 8.1 seconds left, Oklahoma City took the route of fouling to ensure Minnesota did not get off a look to tie the game. This resulted in the game essentially becoming a free-throw contest the rest of the way. The move ended up paying off for the Thunder, who earned a 128-126 victory in Game 4 and are now one game away from the NBA Finals.
The NBA has seen a significant increase in ratings this postseason, and a major reason for that is because of how many insane finishes there have been. That’s why seeing a pivotal playoff game be decided at the line instead of taking the route to defend had a large chunk of fans angry. The question now is will the noise be loud enough for the league to consider a change during these moments?
After hitting big shots to either win or tie the game, there have been countless times when players in their postgame interviews mention how they dreamed of having those moments growing up. One of the most iconic game-tying shots came down to a 3-pointer from Ray Allen in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals that kept the Miami Heat alive in their quest of going back-to-back.
In the same game, with the Spurs down three, the Heat decided to play the Spurs straight up and it resulted in one of the most iconic blocks in Finals history as Chris Bosh stuffed Danny Green’s game-tying 3-point attempt.
When teams decide to foul, the chances of seeing something spectacular decreases given the team with the advantage continues to knock down their free throws. With that being said, the fouling philosophy has also been shown to backfire. Teams can miss free throws or miss an assignment on a boxout that now puts them in a position to get a stop or lose their lead.
Ironically, the same team that executed this successfully was burned by the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 with Aaron Gordon hitting a game-winning three in stunning fashion. It’s not a guarantee that fouling with a lead will always result in anti-climactic endings, but fans don’t want to be robbed of potentially seeing something great.
If the league gets serious about exploring ways to avoid more of these endings, then there is a popular option that would seem to satisfy a lot of viewers.
In a scenario where a team is up with less than 24 seconds left on the clock, if the team holding a lead decides to foul intentionally, then the opposing team will be rewarded with a free throw and possession of the ball. Even if said team misses, if they purposely get fouled again, they will head back to the charity stripe for another free throw. Now the team that usually takes the route of fouling has no choice but to get a stop to win the game.
No matter how many viewers are unsatisfied with this strategy, it would be shocking to see a rule change come to fruition unless players and coaches begin to voice their complaints. Until then, teams who follow the same philosophy the Thunder do in late games don’t care what’s said on the outside. If it continues to lead to more wins, this will continue to occur.
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