The irony: Lakers complain to league about calls

[azzah]

This is not a laker thing it’s a Lebron thing and has been for most of his career the same complaints were raised when he was with Miami and Cleveland anyone that says Lebron is fairly reffed is blinded by hate for the player

The refs let hits on Lebron go merely because of the fact he’s so strong Shaq was reffed the same and looking at the scratches all over Jokic at the end of games he’s most likely reffed the same way. Most other players get breathed on and they are taking free throws Lebron has players grabbing his arms and people say he’s flopping


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[KillMonger]

If you watched the game last night you’d see how many times LeBron got hit with no call. He shot 4 free throws last night even though he was driving it in for the most part. He’s averaging a career low in FTA. You suggest he just suck it up and continue getting hit without complaining?

he forgot to do this.....

[Sgt Major]

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[BloodNinja]

Lakerd getting shafted is great I'm here for it.

[zimpy27]

I hope the league gives LeBron more FTs

[KyRo23]

Read on Twitter

I wish someone would take his phone away sometimes

[Whole Truth]

The refs are human and miss calls every game. There obviously isn't some leaguewide anti-Lebron agenda, lol.
If anyone has a complaint it's post players in general, but we need fewer calls not more. Not a fan of whining to the media about it.

NO's don't complain.

Zion had one FT vs Denver when all he does is drive into 3-4 players packing the paint all night.

Moral of the story.

Complaining works.

[Whole Truth]

There's a reason Reeves was successfully flopping as a rookie. Lebron is fully aware.

[Dacost]

Lol cry me a river Lakers fans we small market teams get 0 calls in every single game.

Ja Morant who is 180 lbs gets hit and the refs don't give a ......

Why because is Memphis .I don't think you are even allow to even cry about it.

[Mavrelous]

Not a LeBron/Lakers fan, but LeBron (and KD) are up there with the least calls for contact, Reaves OTOH is the exact opposite.
The game is officiated differently for big players, guys like Lillard, Trae and SGA get calls LeBron can only dream of...

[durden_tyler]

This is fun to see, a reflection of the the Lakers’ fanbase

[Whole Truth]

Not a LeBron/Lakers fan, but LeBron (and KD) are up there with the least calls for contact, Reaves OTOH is the exact opposite.
The game is officiated differently for big players, guys like Lillard, Trae and SGA get calls LeBron can only dream of...

Optics.

Giving favor without the appearance of giving favor.

Can you explain with that narrative how Embiid was averaging 12 FT's a game?

[Whole Truth]

To expand on the optics of Lebron not getting calls... Lakers were/are a top heavy team with Davis & Lebron.

If Lebron is not getting the calls, how is it their thin depth managed to top the league in FT's last year by a wide margin ?.

Ya dig.

[druggas]

https://www.si.com/nba/2023/11/07/lakers-complain-to-nba-about-lack-of-calls-for-lebron-james

The team that has benefited the most in NBA history from phantom reffing, complaints about lack of calls. Cry me a river.

So you're complaining that the Lakers are complaining and you don't see it?
The definition of irony.

[cupcakesnake]

I agree with your point for a subset of LeBron's fouls, especially ones that happen in the lower body that's shielded from the ref masquerading with the defender pretending they're vertical (everyone does this). LeBron also tries to finish the layup and doesn't do the Harden/Giannis/Embiid ball extension with two hands to draw the swipes.

But some of LeBron's fouls are blatant and obvious to anyone watching.

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Duncan Robinson very explicitly shoves him in the back in a way that everyone can clearly see, except NBA officials.

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He also very clearly gets elbowed in the face here with the ref looking right at it.

This is a **** unacceptable product. And then you get this bull on the other end for two free throws.

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Cam Reddish (!) put up two weak ass attempts at the rim last night and got the foul call unexpectedly for both (Heat fans can attest). LeBron was driving relentlessly and only got 4 free throws. He's up 2.5 drives a game this season and is averaging less free throws than last season. There's no logic to this.

Is it possible that his drives are not as effective as they once were?

Also, for the "LeBron gets punished for his strength" crowd, how many times over the course of his career has he bulldozed his way to a charge.... Only to get rewarded with 2 Free throws?

I appreciate Lebron's talent, but please don't act like he hasn't gotten the benefit of the whistle for the vast majority of his career. The most annoying was with those Heat teams. Like I get that Lebron/Wade/Bosh were gonna get some superstar calls, but when those superstar calls were also transferring over to guys like Battier, Chalmers, etc, that was infuriating to watch.

Oh I'm not denying Lebron has traditionally gotten the benefit of the superstar call. No question that the face of the NBA gets some joke calls. But he's also a hard player to officiate. So is anyone with such outlier physical tools. Shaq would get to the line 13-14 times per game in the playoffs in his prime, and it probably should have been 30 times. You couldn't breath on MJ in the later half of his career. Some superstars deserve a million fouls and get unfair superstar calls. Both things can be true.

But when I think of Lebron separate from his reputation/brand, and look at what kind of player he is now, I think 5 FTA per game seems reasonable. He doesn't have a good first step, defenses know he's trying to get to the rim, he doesn't keep defenders off balanced with the threat of his jump shot so defenders take strong position against his drive. His game still creates fouls, just not a superstar amount, because he's no longer a superstar amount of rim pressure. He's a good source of rim pressure, but we can all see Lebron struggling to puncture a defense in the halfcourt. He relies more on attacking the gaps and defensive breakdowns, rather than being the battering ram he's been for most of his career.

[Nate505]

Poor LeBron, he's never ever ever never ever been reffed fairly! If he was, he'd have at least 90,000 points in his career by now.

[meekrab]

Sorry LeBron, all the refs have Giannis on their Christmas list now.

[Quattro]

When you’re used to the below, I can see why they’d be upset.

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Theres 4 pages of lively discussion and debate on this topic which normally would be great. In this case however, I’m not sure people looked really carefully at this chart that was posted. You see that giant purple line that’s well over twice the height as the line next to it? When I saw that, I though “well this argument is just silly” but apparently some thought differently.

Incidentally I did a little internet sleuthing and guess which team led the league in FTA per game the year before? I’ll give you a hint…. They wear purple and gold jerseys.

[SeattleJazzFan]

LeBron's avg. roughly the same amount of FTAs as he has been the last 5 seasons. I get the complaint about last night, but historically speaking he's not getting screwed.

historically speaking he's been getting screwed the last five seasons.

[wco81]

When you’re used to the below, I can see why they’d be upset.

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?s=46

https://www.si.com/nba/2023/11/07/lakers-complain-to-nba-about-lack-of-calls-for-lebron-james

The team that has benefited the most in NBA history from phantom reffing, complaints about lack of calls. Cry me a river.

Anytime the Lakers, Celtics or Warriors complain about calls I get an uncontrollable fit of laughter

Warriors aren't even in that chart.