ON MONDAY, AS the Oklahoma City Thunder prepared to open their Western Conference finals series against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault sat at a table facing reporters and addressed a question about one of the most consequential storylines of the playoffs.
The officiating. Or the perceived lack thereof.
The specific query focused on Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch and whether Finch might try to influence the officiating through his comments to the media.
Finch had seemingly done so after a matchup between the two teams in the regular season, saying after a win against the Thunder in February, "It's so frustrating to play this team because they foul a ton.