Why do the refs hate us?

[BlacJacMac]

We all want Ant to drive to the basket but he has to shoot the 3 to open up the defense for his drives. Teams just aren't going to let him drive. You have to keep them honest. BTW, I thought Ant drove a decent amount last game.

But teams don't respect his shot. They're literally daring him to shoot the 3. That's not going to open up the drive, it's just encouraging him to shoot more.

[m2002brian]

We all want Ant to drive to the basket but he has to shoot the 3 to open up the defense for his drives. Teams just aren't going to let him drive. You have to keep them honest. BTW, I thought Ant drove a decent amount last game.

But teams don't respect his shot. They're literally daring him to shoot the 3. That's not going to open up the drive, it's just encouraging him to shoot more.

Much like Kobe, Ant is trying to use his jumper to open up driving. (Ant is much more explosive on the first step than Kobe as) Unlike Kobe, he’s not hitting his shots. Maybe, just maybe, be more like Kobe and take some long 2s. Maybe not as “efficient”, but Ant seems to hit the midrange at a very good clip. 4/8 on long 2s is better than 2/8 on 3s.

This would also create shorter rebounds and may mitigate the other teams transition offense.

And to the point of this thread. I may be a wolves fan, but I try to keep my bias at bat as much as possible.
The refs most definitely don’t like KAT, but it seems they do like Ant. I’ve never spent any time with Kat, but the refs have (to a degree). It only seems to back up the point that KAT comes off as a whiney, self centered, brat. If I was a a ref, right or wrong, I wouldn't want to reward that kind of person.

[younggunsmn]

The refs don't hate us, we have a bunch of young, overaggressive, fundamentally unsound players.

KAT is 25 and still setting moving screens, hooking guys in the post, and clearing out with his elbow.
McDaniels hasn't quite figured out the law of verticality yet.
No one seems to have figured out to turn around, put your arms out, find someone, and put your rear end into them when a shot goes up. It's the simplest thing, you can teach a little kid to do it. NBA players are just too cool to box out. Even guys like Vanderbilt where rebounding is supposed to be your one skill. Drives me insane.
Nobody ever picks up the big when KAT contests a shot in the lane. So many bad fundamentals.

We can't expect a whistle for KAT every time he gets bumped with the body. Refs are watching for specific things when deciding to blow the whistle. Our team is not full of heady veterans. We pulled a complete 180 on our scheme to hide KAT, so much so that it really doesnt matter what he does on a given possession, its putting stress on the other players to protect the rim, leading to fouls.

Jonas and Jokic both got whacked in the face at least twice and managed to keep their composure and kick our butts.
We just don't have the size or experience to hold up in the paint.

When a guy gets to the line, usually, 1 of 2 things happened.
1. Bad defense (fouling a jump shooter, reaching, hacking, not vertical, late with your feet)
2. Effective rim attacking. Quick, decisive, beating the defender and leaving him no recourse. Not a bunch of overdribbling from guards or a 7 footer trying to drive into traffic from out on the 3 point line.

I think it sums us up quite well to say we are doing a lot of #1 and not enough of #2.

[Nick K]

The refs don't hate us, we have a bunch of young, overaggressive, fundamentally unsound players.

KAT is 25 and still setting moving screens, hooking guys in the post, and clearing out with his elbow.
McDaniels hasn't quite figured out the law of verticality yet.
No one seems to have figured out to turn around, put your arms out, find someone, and put your rear end into them when a shot goes up. It's the simplest thing, you can teach a little kid to do it. NBA players are just too cool to box out. Even guys like Vanderbilt where rebounding is supposed to be your one skill. Drives me insane.
Nobody ever picks up the big when KAT contests a shot in the lane. So many bad fundamentals.

We can't expect a whistle for KAT every time he gets bumped with the body. Refs are watching for specific things when deciding to blow the whistle. Our team is not full of heady veterans. We pulled a complete 180 on our scheme to hide KAT, so much so that it really doesnt matter what he does on a given possession, its putting stress on the other players to protect the rim, leading to fouls.

Jonas and Jokic both got whacked in the face at least twice and managed to keep their composure and kick our butts.
We just don't have the size or experience to hold up in the paint.

When a guy gets to the line, usually, 1 of 2 things happened.
1. Bad defense (fouling a jump shooter, reaching, hacking, not vertical, late with your feet)
2. Effective rim attacking. Quick, decisive, beating the defender and leaving him no recourse. Not a bunch of overdribbling from guards or a 7 footer trying to drive into traffic from out on the 3 point line.

I think it sums us up quite well to say we are doing a lot of #1 and not enough of #2.

Lots of really good stuff here. I wholly agree with most of it. An honorable ref should still call a fair game and put his like or dislike of a player like Kat away. You need to call fouls on both teams the same way. It's not happening.