The NBA was told by the Lakers that LeBron James failed to hit enough free throws against the Heat.
Lakers star LeBron James and his team don’t think he’s receiving enough calls. King James and Kevin Love, who used to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, shook hands in a way that was reminiscent of their time with the Cavs.
James and manager Darvin Ham talked a lot about botched foul calls in Monday’s 108-107 loss against the Miami Heat. Today, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin says that the Lakers have officially complained to the NBA league office.
The Lakers said there were “numerous failed foul calls,” in a focus on calls they thought were made against James.
The Lakers used several video clips from the game to show what they say is clear illegal contact with James which wasn’t called, according to the story.
James scored 30 points in the end by hitting and making five free throws. Together, the Heat made 16 free throws, while the Lakers only made 14. The Heat received penalties for 14 fouls, while the Lakers were called for 17.
Thomas does, in fact, stand up straight with his right arm in the air. After that, he cuts James through the face with his elbow.
In the NBA today, that’s the sort of interaction that can lead to a flagrant call. James has good reason to be mad that there wasn’t a personal foul call.
LeBron James left Cleveland in 2016 to win another title with the Lakers. Kevin Love stayed for a couple more years and became an important veteran player in Miami’s journey to the 2023 NBA Finals.
Darvin Ham, the coach of the Lakers, was given a technical foul, D’Angelo Russell was thrown out, and LeBron James was given a delay-of-game technical. The game was decided by a single point.
There was a lot of controversy over these events, and Dave McMenamin of ESPN claimed that the Lakers contacted the league about what they thought were missed calls by the officials.
ESPN reports that after Monday’s 108-107 loss to the Miami Heat, the Lakers of Los Angeles called the NBA league office on Tuesday to complain about what they saw as several missed foul calls. Their biggest concern was how the officials were treating LeBron James.
James only made four free throws in the entire match against Miami. This brought his average down to 5.7 tries per game.
Secondary spectrum sources say that James has only been fouled on 6% of his drives towards the basket this season.
The NBA said that there were no missed foul counts in the last two minutes of the game. James responded by saying that things that happen during the rest of the game “have a major impact on outcomes.”
The Lakers talked about a missed call that happened when Heat big Thomas Bryant touched LeBron James in the face during a missed dunk with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.
“What they’re telling me is not in line with what’s really taking place on the floor,” James told ESPN.
“When I tried to dunk against Thomas Bryant, it was clear that he elbowed me—like, straight across the face with his arm.” One of the refs declared they were stopped and didn’t see it, so I asked him what was going on.
Ham told reporters after the game, “I see Bron making four free throws.” “And I could see for myself how many times he hit the rim and how many times he was hit on the arm. That’s not what it’s called, man; he’s not flopping.”