Lakers, Sixers, same fight. Like Philadelphia's frustration after the defeat at the Knicks on Monday, we are also seething with frustration on the Angelino side. Los Angeles saw a 20-point lead evaporate until they conceded an exceptional shot from Jamal Murray to kill the game at the buzzer. And the Lakers, LeBron James in the lead, are angry with the refereeing which, according to them, influenced the match.
LeBron James also did not go to half measures to express his anger. The best scorer in history points his finger an action at the end of the third quarterwhen a challenge from the Nuggets following a foul called to Michael Porter Jr. on D'Angelo Russell allowed Denver to regain possession despite a fairly clear contact in slow motion but considered “minimal” by the referees.
LeBron James and the “replay center”, episode II
“ I don't understand what's going on with the video slow motion center to be honest » said LeBron James, who had already been cautious about video refereeing at the end of December against the Wolves. “ D-Lo gets hit in the face during penetration, what's the point of having a damn center to check the replays if it ends up like that, dammit? This makes no sense to me. It makes me angry. And I saw what happened for the Knicks – Sixers game too. What the hell are we doing? This is fucking stupid! »
D'Angelo Russell went in the same direction and will probably have to pay after posting on X/Twitter “ It's a mistake we've all seen on national television“, just after the meeting. “ Some questionable decisions dictated much of what happened next » he continued at a press conference. “ It's like that. It was decided on things that we couldn't really control. »
Visibly annoyed, the Lakers leader settled for a terse “ I would not prefer » when asked if he could describe the atmosphere in the locker room after the game. Anthony Davis was hardly more talkative when describing the last action, “Jamal Murray made a shot”before throwing away the microphone and leaving the press conference.
Anthony Davis: “Jamal Murray made a shot. » pic.twitter.com/jsiYMmSa8p
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 23, 2024
Refereeing changes in playoffs
Now trailing 2-0 with a very small margin of error against the reigning champion, the Lakers will have to calm down when they return to California.
“ There are harsh whistles, harsh no-whistles, but you can't take that as an excuse » has also tempered coach Darvin Ham. “ You have to go out on the floor and be ready to play, whether there are whistles or not. This gets really tricky. As the season goes on, games are officiated a certain way, and then you get to the playoffs and it's like it's left to the interpretation of the three individuals who do this job. »
This fluctuation was also raised earlier in the season when the refereeing instructions had evolved to limit the weight of attacks in the game.
The Lakers will now have to adjust, who are counting in particular on their domination of free throws (2nd in the number of attempted and successful throws) to make the difference. And also avoid shooting only 40.5% over the entire second period, like this Monday in the Rockies…
