As Game 2 of the Lakers-Thunder series progressed, many observers felt that the referees’ calls went against LeBron James and his teammates. After the Lakers lost 125-107 to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the defending champions, head coach JJ Redick gave the referees a piece of his mind.
In the post-game media session, Redick expressed his disappointment in the lack of calls on LBJ’s defenders. Redick, who is in his second year of coaching the Lakers, was adamant that James bore the brunt of excessive physicality Thursday night.
“LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen. Been with him two years now…He got clobbered again tonight.”
For what it’s worth, JJ Redick didn’t appear to take things too personally as far as Game 2’s officiating crew was concerned. Instead, Redick pointed out how the non-calls on LeBron James has become a systemic problem.
“That’s not a new thing. That’s not specific to this crew or this series. He gets fouled a lot…He gets hit on the head more than any player I’ve seen on drives, and it rarely gets called.”
Interestingly, the Lakers were whistled for 26 fouls compared to OKC’s 21 in Game 2. The Thunder scored 21 points off their 26 attempts at the charity stripe while the Lakers went 18-for-21.
Despite Redick’s complaints, the Lakers will have to find a way to adapt to the officiating when Game 3 tips off on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
“We’re Down 2-0”: LeBron James Gives Frustrated Response to Question About Referees’ Impact in Game 2
As for LeBron James himself, the disappointment was visible on his face as he fielded questions in his post-game media session.
When one reporter asked about the impact of the officiating on the runs that the Thunder pulled off, James gave a blunt response.
“We’re down 2-0.”
Another reporter brought up Redick’s “worst whistle of any star player” comment, and all James could do was shrug and say that he didn’t quite understand why that was the case.
The four-time NBA champion, of course, has been in adverse situations before in the postseason. Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles can give the Lakers an opportunity to bring this series back to square one.
