Rich Weighs In on the “Ridiculous” Officiating in Thunder’s Game 2 Win over the Spurs

The Thunder evened the Western Conference Finals at 1-1 with a 21-point Game 2 win in Oklahoma City, and the morning conversation on the show was dominated by one player who never said a word and one tracking number that explained it.

The player was Victor Wembanyama, who scored 21 and added 17 rebounds despite being mugged for most of the night. The tracking number came from ESPN. Isaiah Hartenstein was the primary defender on Wembanyama for 47 plays in Game 2.

The same number in Game 1 was three.

"Hartenstein is Mark Daigneault's designated Bill Laimbeer," Rich said.

The tape, per the show, supported the framing. Hartenstein hooked Wembanyama's arm. He grabbed at him. He raked. He pulled hair. The cast noted that if it had been football, Hartenstein would have given Oklahoma City roughly 300 yards of penalty yards in a single night. Wembanyama, as a feature of his on-court personality, never complained.

"He's never in the face of the officials when he has a foul," Rich said. "When he's committing a foul, he raises his hand like it's 1965."

The most awkward moment of the night belonged to MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who initially answered honestly when NBC's Zora Stevenson asked him about Hartenstein's impact.

"I'm not sure if it was good, to be honest," SGA said.

The follow-up forced an awkward recalibration. SGA pivoted to praising the matchup. Then, in the postgame press conference, he attempted to clean it up further, claiming he had simply misheard Stevenson's first question. The show, replaying both clips back-to-back, did not buy it.

"Appreciate the honesty," Rich said, repeating the line he had directed at SGA's first answer. Then he repeated it again, to Stevenson, for asking the rare follow-up question a reporter under deadline often skips.

Rich's prediction for Game 3 in San Antonio was direct.

"If Hartenstein plays the same way," Rich said, "he will foul out."

The Spurs video department, he assumed, was already cutting the montage of Hartenstein's tactics to send to the league office. The crew calling Game 3 will be a different crew. The league office has had two nights to absorb the criticism. Wembanyama, at home, gets the benefit of any doubt the new officials carry into the building.

The other side of the story was the Oklahoma City roster. Rich tipped his cap to Alex Caruso, who came off the bench, took his first three-pointer within two seconds of checking in, and made it. The OKC depth that includes Jared McCain (whom the cast still cannot believe was let go by the Sixers) and AJ Mitchell delivered exactly the kind of nameless secondary contribution that wins playoff games.

The Thunder also forced 21 Spurs turnovers, converting them to 27 points. That is the fifth time in nine postseason wins that OKC has produced at least 27 points off turnovers. The Spurs gave nine of their 21 turnovers in Game 2 to Stephon Castle alone, who has 20 turnovers in two games combined.

San Antonio's injury list grew. De'Aaron Fox sat in street clothes. Dylan Harper, the rookie phenom, played a partial game before exiting with what appeared to be a hamstring issue.

The grace note was the actual Wembanyama film.

Rich's favorite Wemby sequence was a follow-up own miss on the right side of the basket that he converted left-handed on the opposite side. Then he came back down the floor and produced what Rich called a "gravity-suck" block at the rim. Then he got hit. He stayed on the floor for a moment. He got back up.

His two-game series average is 30 points and 20 rebounds. The last player to start a playoff series at that line, Rich noted, was Shaquille O'Neal in the 2001 NBA Finals.

Rich did not feel sorry for the Thunder. He was just calling, in advance, what he expects the officiating to look like in Game 3.

"That's going to change in Game 3," he said. "You know it and I know it."