Do Rookies get a Unfavorable Whistle in The Playoffs?

After some lightly contested discussion on Liberty Ballers Slack about various young players who may or may not have gotten a terrible whistle in the playoffs, I decided to jump into the numbers to try and get a sense of if this is true or not on the large scale. All data is combined from the 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18 seasons.

Total Personal Fouls per Game

First things first, let’s take a look at total fouls per game (includes both teams) over the course of the season. You’ll note three rather distinct ranges.