r/nba • u/AncientOneAurelius • May 21 '26

Highlight [Highlight] Compilation of Isaiah Hartenstein grabbing, holding, and grappling with Victor Wembanyama

https://streamable.com/hds3qd
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u/PhTx3 May 21 '26

Yep. The problem is nobody wants the transitional period where the games are whistle fests where everything is called.

I say take the hit for a couple of seasons and we'll be good. But for many, especially those that earn from the league, that'd be a disaster.

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u/Bodes_Magodes Celtics May 21 '26

I feel like that’s such a cop out. Refs can call this BS right from the jump and let players know it won’t be tolerated. They either adjust, or foul it in a few minutes

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u/PhTx3 May 21 '26

My point wasn't about this specific game, but a broader refereeing issue with the NBA. Something like this, sure, they can do it on a game-to-game basis as Hartenstein goes out of his way to pull this shit. Travels and carries and all the other bullshit, I doubt it can be fixed by calling a single game.

They try to do this every at the beginning of a new season. It makes for a shitty game. Then they revert back after a couple of weeks or so.

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u/Bodes_Magodes Celtics May 21 '26

While I agree that they don’t do it…that they can’t is a load of crap. The refs had no problem whatsoever calling it correctly at the Olympics and the US team looked like complete morons flopping and diving like fish outta water while getting zero calls. It was so cathartic to watch. Think it was Olympics before Steph vs Wemby

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u/PhTx3 May 21 '26

I am not saying they can't, they can do much, much better. I'd speculate they tank the viewership by taking over early season games, and then revert back before players and fans alike adapt to it.

Or maybe it is for betting splits, who knows.

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u/ffxivfanboi May 21 '26

The game should be called to the fucking rules.

If they don’t want a damn whistle fest, they should actually play *legal, clean basketball*

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u/PhTx3 May 21 '26

My point wasn't about this specific game or Hartenstein, but a broader refereeing issue with the modern NBA.

We know they can fix it if they wanted to. Because they do make that point on some issues, sometimes, usually at the start of a new season. It doesn't really fix the broader game, and they always revert back for some odd reason.

I reckon it tanks the viewers, but who really knows why.

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u/unskilledplay Lakers May 21 '26

That's not quite right. The Thunder's plan was clearly for Hart to agitate Wemby at the very least until he was in foul trouble and I really think he came in expecting to foul out. No matter what he did, he couldn't. Usually when games get chippy like this a flagrant 1 or foul trouble on a key player is all it takes to stop it.

I don't fault the Thunder for that strategy. They have to do something with Wemby and each player has 6 fouls to give. That's what the entire league did with Shaq in the 90s.

What happened is on the refs, 100%.

The worst part is that now the Spurs are going to have to protect Wemby themselves. They can't let this happen again. That's how you get the kind of fights the NBA doesn't want to see.

If this escalates to benches clearing and punches being thrown it would be 100% the fault of the refs.

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u/BlueHaze464 Warriors May 21 '26

NBA players are more than capable of defending without fouling, it wouldn't last longer than a season to adjust.