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Every morning when Oklahoma City Thunder fans prepare for work or school, they wake up drenched by a bucket of cold water. Whether it's "First Take" or its copycats, sports media celebrities cast doubt on their young squad's chances of playoff success.
One popular theory that's been parrotted around? The Thunder's top-four offense will dry up in the playoffs when referees are less lenient about giving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander calls off drives. Never mind that OKC is 27th in free-throw attempts and commits the sixth-most fouls.
Because Gilgeous-Alexander's mythos of being a foul grifter have grown beyond reality, folks believe his efficient 33-point average will drop in the playoffs. If you were curious whether the Thunder have the same concerns, Mark Daigneault let the air out of the balloon.
Daigneault said all he wants from the referees in the playoffs is the same thing he wants in the regular season — a consistent whistle. Call it tight or let them player, either way, he wants the same energy for every game.
“I don’t look at it in terms of how the whistle benefits us. We adapt to the whistle. We benefit from a consistent whistle because we can more easily adapt to it if it’s consistent," Daigneault said. "If we know what it's gonna be. If we know that this is a foul and this isn't, we can more easily adapt to it. If it’s difficult to know that, it’s harder to adapt. We don’t really care how they’re going to call it. But if they call it the same night to night, that makes it easier to adapt.”
Ultimately, we won't know how the Thunder will look in the playoffs until they're in it. But considering their regular-season dominance and how they've relied to score buckets, losing the free-throw battle shouldn't be a season-ender — especially since that's been the case for most of the year anyway.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Mark Daigneault wants a consistent whistle from referees in playoffs
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