Warriors' Game 3 Warmup at TD Garden Paused Due to Incorrect Hoop Height

Warriors' Game 3 warmup paused over incorrect TD Garden hoop height originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Is the ghost of Red Auerbach at TD Garden for Game 3 of the 2022 NBA Finals?

About an hour and 45 minutes before tipoff between the Celtics and Warriors at TD Garden, a Golden State assistant coach as well as backup guard Gary Paton II claimed the hoop they were shooting on wasn't set to the standard 10 feet.

With a little over 90 minutes to tip off one of the Warriors assistant coaches noticed that the rim seemed too high in early warmups. He brought a couple players out to confirm and they also believed the rim was too high. They measured and in fact the rim was 2 inches too high.

— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) June 9, 2022

Was told that Warriors guard Gary Payton II thought the basket Golden State was warming up on was too high, pointed it out, and was correct. It's been adjusted.

— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) June 8, 2022

Garden staffers used a ladder to measure both hoops, and sure enough, the Warriors' hoop was off.

The Warriors shootaround was pushed back because the rim wasn't regulation pic.twitter.com/rJIPHqqnwM

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) June 8, 2022

The issue was resolved quickly, as both hoops were checked and set to the proper height, allowing teams to go about their warmups as usual.

Back in the Celtics' heyday in the 1960s, '70s and '80s, some opponents accused Celtics head coach/team president Red Auerbach of messing with the visitors at the old Boston Garden, complaining that their showers didn't have hot water, for example.

Before Warriors fans accuse the TD Garden staff of any chicanery, though, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr noted this isn't the first time a hoop's height has been off during warmups.

Tatum 'can only imagine' incredible Finals atmosphere at TD Garden

"It happens every once in a while," Kerr said. "Players have a really sharp eye for that. Players can tell.

"I imagine somebody went out there, looked at it, didn't look right. So as long as they take care of it, then everything is good."

The Warriors hit 40.5 percent of their 3-pointers (15 for 37) in a Game 2 rout of Boston at Chase Center, so the Celtics will hope their shots are a little off at TD Garden on Wednesday night.