Legendary Phoenix Suns broadcaster Al McCoy is not the only one tired of the team complaining about officiating in these NBA Playoffs.
While the Arizona sports icon voiced his frustrations about the team arguing with officials too much after Game 1 of this first round of the postseason, he was not the only one who felt that way. There were Minnesota Timberwolves fans who agreed wholeheartedly (as many Suns fans also did). That is evidenced by T-Wolves fans who went viral during Game 2 for wearing t-shirts at the game that show Suns superstar guard Devin Booker whining about officiating:
The Suns contested many calls throughout not only Game 1, but also were not fans of the officials in Game 2, either. Therefore, the t-shirts and the sentiment attached to them appeared to be right on time. The TNT broadcast of the game also made sure to show the shirts on television in real time.
Many fans on X thought that the shirts were hysterical:
Booker has been criticized for years regarding his tendency to argue with officials during games.
Booker is currently not playing his best basketball. Booker posted unreal shooting splits of 49.2/36.4/88.6 during the regular season, while averaging 27.1 points per game and a career-high 6.9 assists per game. He went 3-0 against the T-Wolves.
So far in these first two postseason games, it has been much different. The team is down 2-0 in the series against Minnesota, and Booker has recorded shooting splits of 37.9/25/92.9. He is averaging 19 points per game and five assists per game.
“Can I say two words to the Suns players this morning? Stop crying, this is the playoffs,” McCoy said after Game 1 on the “Bickley and Marotta” show on 98.7 FM in Phoenix. “This is for the big boys. When you think you’re fouled, get out there and be aggressive. Let’s see some of that aggressiveness, just stop crying on every call. You are not going to get calls, we know that whole scenario. We are not going to talk about the officiating, just play as physical as has to be played and stop crying.”
Booker and the Suns will have the opportunity to do so on Friday, when the Suns travel back home to take on the Wolves for Game 3 of the series. That game will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
There have been 21 postseasons completed since the NBA changed the postseason format to where every series is a seven-game series. 20 teams in that time have come back from 2-0 deficits. No team, however, has won a series after being down to a 3-0 deficit.