B/R NBA Staff Poll: Who Annoys Us More, Rockets or Warriors?
The NBA game is wildly entertaining...and far from perfect. Superstars have their flaws, as do referees, and when both worlds collide, it's a storm that takes over #NBATwitter.
Ahead of Tuesday's Game 2 between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors, the hoops community at large has widely agreed on one thing: It's gotten a little silly. Missed calls are problematic, but these two franchises, in their general approach to the great game of basketball, have reached what feels like The Last War of shameless one-upmanship.
Houston, in maybe the most Rockets move of all time, is reportedly putting together a "data-driven case," per The Athletic's Sam Amick, to present evidence that officials have given the Warriors a "major officiating advantage in these heavy-hitter matchups." Golden State likely laughs a little harder every time the disdain toward Dubnation grows, but lest we forget, not even a Warrior can always love a Warrior.
With the drama of Game 1 still fresh and these teams doing their best to make us forget there are actual postseason consequences on the line, Bleacher Report asked a number of NBA writers to take a step back and analyze one question: Do the Rockets or the Warriors have you most at wit's end?
"...actions versus words..."
This is really a question about actions versus words, and the Rockets' constant call-seeking behavior bothers me more than the Warriors' verbal complaints.
It's definitely true the Warriors bark at officials more than most teams and that, in Draymond Green's case, they get away with much more verbal harassment than they probably should. But there's just something extra irksome about Chris Paul flailing around after every instance of contact—most of which he initiates—and hoping to dupe an official into giving him a call. Paul's history of attempted deception is as long as it is ridiculous. Harden clearly kicked his legs out on several three-point attempts in Game 1, seemingly more concerned with drawing contact than making a shot, and I have no problem with officials choosing not to reward him for it.
The Warriors whine and grouse more than any team with their level of success has a right to, but the constant chatter doesn't rise to the level of Houston's naked attempts to fool referees. Both are annoying, but Houston's approach adds an element of dishonesty I could do without.
"Daryl Morey has found the line."
For a playoff team, the easiest thing in the world is to convince the public to cheer against the Warriors in a postseason series. By and large, everyone is so tired of the inevitability of Golden State's third straight title—and fourth in five years—that it would take a lot to make them sympathetic figures.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has found the line.
Put aside the merits of his claims that his team is getting a raw deal at the hands of the officials. That's above my pay grade, and the information available to the public suggests Houston might have a legitimate gripe about the way Chris Paul and James Harden have been officiated.
But the optics of leaking a report and memo to the league office and attempting to relitigate a previous year's playoff result, in the middle of a current series, are hard to defend and make rooting for the Rockets all but impossible.
Nobody enjoys talking about referees during what should be an exciting playoff series. It's not interesting for fans unless they're invested in arguing their favorite team got screwed. It's not interesting for writers and analysts who would rather be breaking down actual games. It's a distraction for the players and coaches.
It's a story because a team's general manager is filing a formal complaint with the league about officiating in a series against the two-time defending champions, and so it must be covered. But nobody wants to be talking about it when the playoffs are providing plenty of compelling on-court action.
By making the referees the story, the Rockets have sucked the fun out of what was supposed to be one of the most hotly anticipated matchups of the entire postseason.
"Teams are going to exploit any edge they can find ..."
I realize this is not the hottest of all takes, but I'm honestly not bothered or annoyed by either of these teams. Both are excellent squads. It's why they're here and why there's a good chance the eventual NBA champions will come from the winner of this Western Conference semifinals matchup.
One team is looking to maintain its historic run. The other is trying to finally unseat them. Of course, each team will try to do everything possible to tip the scales in its favor. They've spent years perfecting the exploitation of officiating blind spots. James Harden has gotten these calls for years. So, why shouldn't he argue them at a time when it matters most?
Honestly, the constant griping helps his cause. It brings the complaining into focus. We are talking about it. We are writing about it. There's a good chance Harden will get a couple of those calls in Game 2, and the Warriors will be the offended party.
Is it the prettiest basketball to watch guys on the floor writhing like fish out of water? No. But the game has evolved. Teams are going to exploit any edge they can find, and working the officials is an art. I'm good as long as I see two teams doing everything in their power and in the rulebook to advance. No matter how you feel about the aesthetics, that remains the goal of both the Warriors and Rockets.
"As a basketball fan, it's infuriating."
The answer has to be the Rockets. Complaining about calls during a game is one thing. It's annoying, but everyone does it, especially superstars. Whatever. But with Houston, this—working the refs but also mounting a PR blitz, turning the officials into an A1 story—is something else. It's a team strategy, no different than how to guard the pick-and-roll. As a basketball fan, it's infuriating.
Here's the thing, though: I get it.
I get where the Rockets are coming from, and it actually lays bare a tension that flows through the NBA. The Rockets' job, their goal, their priority, is to win. It's the same for all teams. The NBA's priority, however, is to entertain.
These goals can often clash, and we're seeing that play out right now.
"Time will tell if Golden State returns to likability ..."
The Golden State Warriors win everything else, so it only makes sense they take home the title for most annoying NBA team. No disrespect, Houston Rockets fans. Just like the 2018 Western Conference Finals, you come in a close second.
From the "Super Villain" party to the constant shimmying and mouthguard chomping to Draymond Green acting like a possessed grizzly bear every time a foul is called against him, it's easy to hate on the Warriors.
Of course, we wouldn't care so much if they weren't so freakin' good. Winning three titles in the last four years—with a good chance at four in five—has made them a dynasty.
It's a shame most people hate Golden State, considering the Dubs were an absolute joy to watch just a few years ago when they ran 10-12 deep, shared the ball, defended and featured the Splash Brothers first making a name for themselves.
If Kevin Durant never signed with the record-setting 73-win team that knocked him out of the playoffs, the perception around the Warriors would probably be drastically different. The burner accounts and strange desire to constantly defend himself have only solidified him as the linchpin for all Warriors-directed hate.
Time will tell if Golden State returns to likability again after he leaves for the New York Knicks this summer.
"... the Battle of Intolerable Irritants ..."
Houston and Golden State are both insufferable. The whining, griping, flopping, our-gold-shoes-are-too-tight-ing—it all stinks. To call either squad grating would be a gross understatement of their mutual commitment to playing the victim.
And yet, the Rockets win the Battle of Intolerable Irritants by a comfortable margin. Their schtick is irredeemable after their audit from Game 7 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals was conveniently leaked following Sunday's loss.
This claim that poor officiating cost the Rockets an NBA Finals appearance doesn't do it for me. They missed 27 straight three-pointers in a nine-point loss. That feels like the larger impetus for their demise.
Every team appeals to the league at some point. What Houston did is over the top, but not especially unique. And as general manager Daryl Morey kindly, without a hint of tongue-in-cheekiness reminded us, Golden State is no stranger to blasting officials. Both head coach Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry eviscerated the officiating during the Warriors' 2016 NBA Finals collapse.
That was then. This is now. Recency bias plays. Shooting-space fouls are inherently difficult to officiate. Harping on them is superficial. And it's not as if James Harden never gets whistles. He rates in the 96th percentile of shooting-foul frequency, per Cleaning the Glass. That doesn't solely incorporate the plays with which the Rockets are taking most issue, but the notion of them placing so much stock in no-calls feels weak.
More than that, the Warriors' own tattletale-ing and counters to Houston's rebukes, insufferable though they may be, have an air of self-effacing hyperbole. They have personality. The Rockets' bellyaching lacks that "We feel cheated but also know we're crapping out 1-percenter problems" quality.
This is not to imply the Warriors are noticeably more relatable. Their issues come from atop a pedestal. But the Rockets have taken the unendurable and somehow made it worse.
"I just wish they operated with more of a business-like approach."
I like Steve Kerr. I hated his media session "flop" to mock James Harden. That was cheesy. I didn't even like him expressing disappointment in the Houston Rockets' complaints. It's not like Kerr or Golden State hadn't complained about calls before. When you have a roster that includes Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, what do you expect opponents to do?
Nobody is coming close to matching up in the talent department. A Rockets team with one All-Star needs to find any competitive advantage it can, whether it's foul-hunting or sending evidence of missed calls to the league.
The Rockets aren't likable, either. They come off as desperate. It's just tough to blame them when, again, they have to play Curry, Durant, Thompson and Green.
Maybe I'm still bitter about Durant going to Golden State. With this group, I just wish they operated with more of a business-like approach. The frequent technical fouls by Durant and Green are immature and suggest a sense of entitlement. You don't always get the feeling this team has been there before.
