Suns complain about Giannis FT attempts after hacking him all night. Footage included.

[ReddoverKobe]

If Monty Williams was a good coach he'd be drilling his team about their bad defense rather than feeding their egos and saying that the only way they could've given up that many free throws is because of biased officiating.

Said by someone who didn't actually watch the game

The game where the Suns coach is still trying to single cover Giannis which never works? Then his center gets into foul trouble and he cries to the refs yet again? Yes, I do think a lot of people watched that game.

[ITYSL]

No lol. He gets away with one charge, the rest of those are fouls. Come on now

Booker said that "at least a couple of those can be called offensive fouls." I agree. There were probably three from that bunch that could have been no-calls or offensive fouls.

Giannis often gets calls in his favor on plays where he barges into defenders who are in position. It's been that way for years, and pretty much everyone acknowledges it except for some Bucks fans. It's not unique to him, of course, but he benefits.

1. Which can be said about almost every call in every game.

2. Oh cool, so whats the issue then?

1. You're changing the subject. All I'm saying is that the video supports the complaint from Booker that "at least a couple of those can be called offensive fouls." Spouting a generalization about what could happen in almost every call in every game, when Giannis clearly gets the benefit of 50/50 calls more than most of the league, is just a diversion.

2. Officials should officiate consistently no matter who it is. I've always said this about any player who gets an overly friendly whistle, from Giannis to Embiid to Butler to Harden.

I do agree that the Suns players and Monty often tend to be whiny bitches.

[RB34]

Giannis got called for one foul too.

[ReddoverKobe]

Giannis got called for one foul too.

Right, so to make it fair how many fouls should he start with? Or like if Ayton takes yet another mid range jumper do they just call a foul on giannis for being near him? Whats the plan here?

[WemBA Time]

No lol. He gets away with one charge, the rest of those are fouls. Come on now

First one was not a foul at all, by any measure, and the type of foul called that gets opposing bigs in foul trouble for no reason.

The clear offensive foul makes me want to see how many offensive charges have been called on Giannis this year. I am guessing less than 15.

I'll be curious myself because I think you're waaaaaay low.

I was curious too. He has 50 offensive fouls this season, not sure how many of them are charges https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2023_play-by-play.html

[LightTheBeam]

Its even more hilarious coming from PHX. CP3 has taught every player on the team to foul bait constantly. Booker/Paul throw their hands up like they got hit by a bus after every shot. LOL

[skones]

However, I do think his style of play can be detrimental in the playoffs. Opposing teams can key in on him and build the wall, and as a result his FTr and thus TS% tend to drop considerably in the playoffs, much more than other stars.

I think in the past that was fair, not so much now. He held at a 60TS% in each of the two playoff campaigns prior to last season. You saw the considerable drop off last season because his complete lack of help when it came to secondary and tertiary scoring. Just a massive weight to carry with Middleton out and Jrue going crickets to the tune of a 46TS%.

[thomchatt3rton]

Giannis, when he’s fouled, is actually trying to score. He’s not just trying to create a foul (like a lot of other players who shoot a ton of FTs).

But I get it’d be tough to be a fan of a team going against him. Frustrating.


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[Zombiesonics]

Has monty ever conceded giannis is goat level player who is difficult to contain? (edit: he has said some nice things in the past) I mean this is just getting ridiculous, we all see ayton out there being slow and not quick enough laterally when giannis is willing himself into the lane. Its going to be a blocking foul every time because ayton is not athletic enough, same goes for torrey craig. These are not elite defenders.

[ITYSL]

However, I do think his style of play can be detrimental in the playoffs. Opposing teams can key in on him and build the wall, and as a result his FTr and thus TS% tend to drop considerably in the playoffs, much more than other stars.

I think in the past that was fair, not so much now. He held at a 60TS% in each of the two playoff campaigns prior to last season. You saw the considerable drop off last season because his complete lack of help when it came to secondary and tertiary scoring. Just a massive weight to carry with Middleton out and Jrue going crickets to the tune of a 46TS%.

That's a reasonable point about last season, but his FTr and TS dropped considerably the season before as well. He may have been at 60% TS in the playoffs in 20-21, but that was down quite a bit from 63% in the RS, and below the TS of others that playoffs such as KD, Kawhi, Embiid and Harden. I think the playoffs this year will tell us if last season was an outlier or a new norm as playoff defenses have adjusted to him more and more.

[Ayt]

The issue isn’t the whistle Giannis gets, as yes, most of those looked like legit fouls. The issue is was Phoenix getting similar calls? I didn’t watch the game, but just looking at the stats it looked like the Suns were being aggressive.

Phoenix drives: 56
Bucks drives: 40

Phoenix total shots inside of 9 ft: 35
Bucks total shots inside of 9 ft: 31

Obviously, stats don’t always tell the whole story but just glancing on those numbers, it sure seems like the Suns have a gripe.

They may go down as "drives" but there is a massive difference between a Giannis drive and whoever is driving on the Suns.

[LUKE23]

Booker whines on non-contact all the time. Giannis at least actually gets fouled (and hardly ever says a word). Booker is a bitch in general.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Suns constantly foul Giannis because they have no way of stopping him.

Ayton certainly can't do it. They are just bitter.

Clearly they miss Bridges over Glassman.

[skones]

You guys remember that whole week long period in '21 where Ayton was like so defensively dominant bro? Man, what a trip.

[Ayt]

I honestly don't think this was an offensive foul despite a lot of people in this thread thinking it was obvious. Giannis beat Craig with the stutter and had an open lane into the paint for a dunk if Craig doesn't try to draw the foul from the side. Craig was way out of position, and it isn't an offensive foul just because Giannis knocked him on his ass.

https://youtu.be/2E8iefDgWmk?t=26

[UglyBugBall]

It's always hilarious when coaches/players/fans cry about how many free throws Giannis shoots when 75% of the time he's fouled it's intentional because Giannis is not a good free throw shooter.

Teams before the game: Foul Giannis, don't let him get anything easy. Make him have to make free throws.

Teams after the game, after playing hack-a-Giannis after they lose: This is so unfair, he shoots so many free throws.

The problem isnt how many fouls Giannis shot, but that the Bucks and Suns didn't shoot equal amounts. The refs job is to make sure the number is relatively balanced between the two teams and they failed to do that here. Wasn't even close.

[AussieCeltic]

I’m in the rare group that both teams are right.

Giannis - unlike Embiid, takes a lot of contact on his drives and goes up strong without flopping. In my opinion though, he tends to get away with a few offensive fouls per game.

I also agree with Suns fans that there were plenty of non calls down their end on drives and rebound attempts.

Both things can be true. Was it enough to impact the overall game? Probably not. But I think there is some validity to the Suns claims.

*also I’ve seen people claim you can’t be moving your feet on charges which is just not true. The example of Craig, he is moving in a straight line with Giannis which in my eyes is legal guarding position. Giannis uses his shoulder illegally to gain advantage. Clear offensive foul.

[GeorgeSears]

What Monty Williams is complaining about - and I think he's right - is not that Giannis had 24 FTs per say, but that the Suns only had 16, and the the Bucks had 21 more FTAs. It amounted to 10 more points but also to 11 more team fouls. I'm sure all those FTs that Giannis shot were earned. However, It's the discrepancy that's frustrating. When you feel that your team isn't getting the same amount of calls.

[Badlands]

The clear offensive foul makes me want to see how many offensive charges have been called on Giannis this year. I am guessing less than 15.

Well, that's a terrible guess. He's been called for 50 offensive fouls this season in 54 games. Sabonis leads the league with 51 in 65 games.

[DonaldSanders]

Didn't watch the game, and not taking one side or the other, but it sounds like there's a lot of, "Watch the game, Giannis got legitimately fouled" responses. Perhaps what the Suns are trying to say is that they should have gotten a lot more calls that the refs didn't give them but gave to Giannis?

Holiday literally holds Booker when defending him and no call, Giannis jumps into Ayton - foul.

You can't actually believe this - Holiday might be the best perimeter defender of all time, and he absolutely owns Booker

Holiday admits to getting away with fouls though.
https://youtu.be/FOuTc-3IrHA?t=42 - que'd up right when he says the below stuff about guarding Steph & Dame:

"As they are dribbling, I'm grabbing their arm, pushing them, I want them to complain and start yelling to the refs"
"When you're a good defender you get away with a lot more, you get away with a lot more"

I didn't see the game so I can't comment on what happened, but Holiday is known for physical defense. Like Draymond or other top defenders, these guys do generally get away with a lot more physical play. Now CP3 often does too, but probably not as much as he used to and he's nowhere near J. Holiday in effectiveness.