NBA Finals: Warriors' Game 3 warmups in Boston interrupted because rim was too high

Cue the NBA conspiracy theorists.

The Golden State Warriors had to pause their Game 3 pregame shoot-around on Wednesday because the rim at Boston's TD Garden was too high. Seriously. How does this happen? During the NBA Finals of all times.

Per the San Jose Mercury News, Warriors players felt something was off with the basket during their warmup in the final hours before Game 3's tip. Sure enough, they were right. Arena staff brought out the latest in measurement technology to check on their concerns. The rim was indeed a few inches too high.

The stick doesn't lie.

That stick hanging from the rim is measured at 10 feet. The gap between the court and bottom of the stick should not be there. The Mercury News reports that staffers fixed the basket, and the Warriors were able to resume their warmups after a brief pause. Not a huge deal. But still, less than optimal considering the stakes involved.

The mishap was almost certainly an honest miscue by whomever set things up on Wednesday. But in a league whose fans embrace conspiracy theories like few others, this incident won't go unnoticed.

Meanwhile, how impressive is it that the Warriors even noticed? That gap can't be more than a couple of inches. But dudes like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson approach shooting as an art form. Consider this one more example of how professional athletes aren't like the rest of us.

Did the faulty basket and stunted warmup end up impacting the Celtics? It's hard to say. They came out cold in the first quarter, but shot a respectable 46.2% from the field and 37.5% from 3-point distance for the game. But they couldn't slow the Celtics, who secured a 116-100 win to take a 2-1 series lead.