the Los Angeles Lakers Do not agree with the officials this season. Los Angeles ranks third in the world NBA in field goal attempts in a restricted area, but only 19 on clutch free throw attempts per minute. For whatever reason, the offense that scores more paint points than anything else doesn’t seem to get calls at the end of games. and against Celtics On Saturday night in Boston, the situation reached a new low.
up to three with four seconds remaining, Jaylen Brown Make a layup that snaps the Lakers’ lead to one. Well no problem. That still leaves the Lakers with the ball and the lead… right? wrong. seemingly out of nowhere, Patrick Beverly He was called out for one of the freshest bugs you’ll ever see.
take a look:
Brown made the free throw. Lakers called timeout. They drew a play for James to attack Edge. Paint gets in and makes a throw. Jason Tatum It is clear that he hits him on the arm. Again, no whistle. and like their overtime loss on January 12th Mavericks – the game in which Troy Brown Jr. Looks like he got stuck On a 3-point effort to win the game, but not get a whistle – again, the Lakers were knocked down by a bad missed call.
After the game, crew chief Eric Lewis admitted to the pool reporter that there had been an error on the final possession. “There was a connection,” He said. “At the time, during the game, we didn’t see a foul. The crew missed the play.” Either way, neither James nor Beverly handled bad calls well. James melted in a way that was reminiscent of his nasty reaction to JR Smith’s forgetting score at the end of Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals.
Beverly was more proactive. Between the fourth quarter and the extra hour, he somehow got his hands on the camera and was probably trying to show it to Lewis. He was immediately called for a technical foul for the effort, and Tatum hit a free throw before overtime began.
The Lakers, predictably, were furious after the game. “The best player on earth can’t take a call. It’s amazing,” Coach Darvin Hamm says He said. Anthony Davis It wasn’t even that diplomatic. “This is nonsense,” Davis said He said. “It’s unacceptable… We got cheated tonight.” James himself was baffled.
“I don’t understand,” James He said. “I attack the paint just like every other player in this league who makes double-digit free throws every night. I don’t get it. I don’t.”
The Lakers are now 23-27 and sitting in 13th place in the Western Conference. 28-24 Los Angeles Clippers It currently ranks fourth in the standings, but is only four games ahead of it in the standings. Every win and loss in the rankings is crucial in such a crowded elimination race. If that parity holds, a call that the NBA immediately admits was wrong could be the difference between the Lakers making the playoffs, playing in, or missing the entire season. It’s not hard to see why they are so angry. In their view, a pattern of poor management followed them all season, and if the Celtics game is any indication, they may be right.