From our own Ira Winderman, here are some fighting words from Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel, whose team will meet the reigning Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat in Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs on Sunday:
“It’ll be very interesting to see how the referees officiate the series and how much flopping they reward. . . . Every drive to the basket they have guys not making a play on the ball, but sliding in front of drivers. Often times they’re falling down even before contact is even being made. It’ll be interesting to see how the series is officiated.”
Clearly, Vogel is already trying to “work the refs” a bit here. Given that he didn’t get very specific with his officiating complaints, I’d be surprised if Vogel got fined for his comments, but you never know when somebody makes a comment about NBA officiating.
