The NBA league office received an earful from the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this week. The team was not happy about the officiating in the game, as they believed the referee crew missed numerous foul calls throughout the game.
Their main gripe centered around their star, LeBron James. According to sources, the team was not thrilled about how he was officiated in against the Miami Heat on Monday night, as they suffered a 108-107 loss.
Los Angeles put together a set of clips showing what they believe to be illegal contact and would be foul calls against Heat players committing infractions against James. He attempted only four free throws in the game, dropping his season average to 5.7 per game.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: LeBron James, Darvin Ham, Los Angeles Lakers Updates
Should the numbers stay that way, James would tie his career-low for free throw attempts per game. As shared by ESPN, the multi-time MVP has drawn a foul on only six percent of his drives this season, which is the eighth-lowest among the 34 players who have attempted at least 70 drives thus far this season.
The most egregious miss, in James’s opinion, came late in the third quarter. With 1:01 remaining, he was hit in the face by Thomas Bryant. No whistle was blown and that was one of the clips the team sent to the league office.
“What they’re telling me is not consistent with what’s actually happening on the floor,” James said. “When I went for the dunk attempt against Thomas Bryant, he clearly elbowed — like, arm straight across my face. And I asked him for the explanation — well, one of the refs said that he was straight up, hands straight in the air. Two of the refs said they were blocked and they didn’t see it.”
Head coach Darvin Ham stood up for his star player. He was given his first technical foul moments later as he argued with referees about the no-call. Ham has not been thrilled with some of the officiating early in the season either.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: LeBron James, Darvin Ham, Los Angeles Lakers Updates
“I see Bron shooting four free throws,” Ham said after the game, “and the amount of times he attacked the rim, the amount of times he was slapped on the arm, which I could see plain as day, for that not to be called, man … he’s not flopping. I’m watching him go to the hole strong.”
Missed calls happen; it is part of playing in the NBA. But, when they start piling up in the fashion they seemingly have against the Lakers, it is easy to get frustrated. This will be something worth keeping an eye on going forward as James and his team are expecting a regression to the mean sooner than later.
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