There has been plenty of talk about officiating during the 2025 NBA playoffs, and whether or not referees are allowing too much physicality in some of these crucial postseason games.

Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy understands the conversation both as a former player and current front-office executive, and he believes officials might be having a hard time finding a happy medium.

“I think it’s an interesting dichotomy because clearly, in the regular season, the league, the fans, everybody wants this open, free-flowing type of play, a lot of points, all those things,” Dunleavy told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Bonta Hill, Chris Mullin and Zena Keita on “Warriors Pregame Live” before Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals on Saturday at Chase Center.

“But then when you flip the page of the postseason, everybody’s used to physicality, grind it out, tough possessions, and whether it’s the players, the fans, the coaches, everybody wants that. So, we put the referees in a tough spot, where the all of a sudden the postseason kicks in, and now guys are expecting whistles. But, ‘Hey, no, we want them to be able to play more and play more free.’

“It’s a tough spot that [referees are] in. There’s been a lot of discussion about it. I think it’s good. I think playoff basketball is the best. We’ve got to let it keep playing out like it is, but we’ve got to find a balance.”

After the Warriors won Game 1 of their semifinals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, both coaches criticized the lack of calls in what was a very physical game. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said Minnesota would “take justice into our own hands” if the refs didn’t clean things up, while Warriors coach Steve Kerr called the physicality allowed by officials “crazy.”

That was the case after Game 1. In Game 3, which featured Draymond Green fouling out with four minutes and 38 seconds remaining, Kerr challenged the Warriors veteran’s controversial fourth foul of the night to no avail. The day after Golden State’s eventual 102-97 loss, Kerr told reporters he had no problem with the officiating.

“I thought the [Green foul] we challenged was a charge,” Kerr said via Zoom on Sunday. “… We thought it was a charge, but those are always subjective calls, and you just live with them. I didn’t like [Green’s] sixth one, but it doesn’t matter. The calls are what they are. Sometimes they go your way, sometimes they don’t. So, I haven’t given [Green’s fouls] a second thought today.

“As I said, I thought the officials did a really good job [Saturday]. And we just have to play a little better.”

Dunleavy knows firsthand how difficult it can be for players like Green to adjust to how referees officiate certain plays. He comes from an era of basketball that was physical itself, and Mullin joked that Dunleavy’s father, former NBA guard and 1999 Coach of the Year Mike Dunleavy Sr., played during a time where physicality was taken to a “whole other level.”

“Put it like this,” Dunleavy said of his father’s playing days with a laugh, “Draymond Green would have zero technical fouls in their era.”

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