The old saying "basketball is a contact sport, football is a collision sport" sure doesn't apply to the NBA these days.
The opening round of The League's playoffs has really proven that.
The play in those games was as violent as Wiggins' World has ever seen. Bodies were flying all over the court and welts, cuts and bruises abounded.
Near fights and verbal jousting took place in almost every contest.
Another old saying may explain all the rough stuff in these playoffs: "The referees are letting them play."
They sure were in the opening round, at least.
Calling every little bump or bit of incidental contact a foul was the norm during the regular reason. But not so far in the postseason.
In these playoffs, downright muggings are ignored and not called.
One such example of no blood, no foul refereeing may have cost the Detroit Pistons their series with the New York Knicks.
Detroit were losing by a point in the closing seconds of game four, in a series they trailed 2 games to 1. The Pistons' Tim Hardaway Jr took a jump shot from the corner, drawing heavy body contact from his Knicks' defender -- an obvious foul.
But none was called as Hardaway Jr's field goal attempt clanged off the rim as time expired, putting Detroit in a 3-1 hole. Afterwards, the NBA mucky mucks admitted their refs had erred. They said a foul was committed and free throws that could have tied and won the game should have been awarded.
Detroit eventually lost the series 4-2 and never got the shot at a game seven they deserved.
A bit surprisingly, after game four, Detroit coach JB Bickerstaff took a "live by the sword, die by the sword" fatalistic stance regarding the situation.
"All season long, we've been successful [winning 44 games after notching just 14 victories the season before] by playing an aggressive, physical style," offered Bickerstaff. "Tonight, we were the victim of our opponents playing the same way."
"I can't complain about a non-call on that play."
The NBA seems determined to allow the players the opportunity to win or lose playoff games on their own with as little influence from the referees as possible.
Surprisingly, though, at the end of each opening round series there were bro hugs all around from both teams. Go figure.
The question of the moment now seems to be: Will the NBA issue, before the conference semifinals, a dictate to its referees to start whistling the rough stuff in order to tone down the rugged play.
Will The League continue to allow scrappy New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson to be knocked to the floor and pummelled nightly?
Will it allow physical incidents to develop into shoving matches such as the one between Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and the Minnesota Timberwolves standout Anthony Edwards?
Will bench-emptying brouhahas such as the one between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets that saw the Warriors Pat Spencer, ejected for a head butt, be allowed to develop because of laissez faire officiating?
Meanwhile, this postseason has been one of the most scintillating in recent memory. The games have been captivating and exciting. Each series has its own intriguing storylines.
For starters, there has been the surprising exit by the Lakers after a promising 50-win regular season.
Seventh seeded Golden State Warriors, with key addition Jimmy Butler, ousted No.2-seed upstarts Houston, giving Steph Curry hope for at least one more O'Brien Trophy.
The Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Halliburton's spectacular play has folks in the Hoosier State thinking this could be the year the Pacers will finally win it all.
And the young but rapidly developing Oklahoma City Thunder, coming off a 4-0 sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies, may be ready to take the next big step or two. Or more.
Wiggins' World could go on, but you get the picture. NBA postseason play has been especially intriguing this campaign.
Still the question remains: Is all the excitement due to the allowance of unusually rugged play or in spite of it?
Contact Wiggins' World at davewigg4350@gmail.com