Wemby breaks Hakeem's playoff block record — Wolves say four were goaltends

Game 1 of Wolves-Spurs was supposed to be Wemby's coming-out playoff party. It kind of was — 12 blocks, an NBA playoff record, breaking the 10-block ceiling held by Hakeem Olajuwon, Mark Eaton, and Andrew Bynum since the '80s. Minnesota still won 104-102.

Then Chris Finch sat down at the podium and lit the receipts on fire. "At least four" of those 12 blocks, the Wolves coach said, were goaltends that didn't get whistled. The clearest one: Terrence Shannon Jr. on a fastbreak layup that was already on the glass when Wemby swatted it into row 8. Even Wemby paused for a beat waiting for the call that never came.

The broader question gets uglier the more you watch. At 7-foot-4 with a 95" wingspan, Wembanyama is doing things to the rim that the rulebook didn't anticipate. Officials have to either start calling it or rewrite the standard. For now, Game 2 is Wednesday. Expect three guys with whistles paying very, very close attention to the basket.