Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick didn’t mince words about officiating following Thursday’s 125-107 loss to the Oklahoma Thunder in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Redick took issue with star LeBron James enduring what he felt was consistent physical play from the Thunder. What’s worse in Redick’s eyes is that James – a four-time NBA MVP and 22-time All-Star – has made just five free throw attempts in the first two games of the best-of-seven series.
“LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen,” Redick said. “I mean, I’ve been with him for two years now. Smaller players, because they can be theatrical, they usually draw more fouls, and players who are bigger and built like LeBron, it’s tough for them. He gets beat. He got beat a lot tonight.
“And that’s nothing new. That’s not specific to this crew or this series. He gets fouled a lot and it’s not (called). The guy gets hit in the head more often than any player I’ve ever seen on a drive, and it’s rarely called.”
While James chose to play it cool with his postgame comments — “We were down 2-0” was all he said when asked about the officiating — Lakers guard Austin Reaves confronted crew chief John Goble at center court after the game.
Reaves took issue with Goble for losing his cool during a jump-ball situation with 5:53 left in the fourth quarter.
“I felt like I respected all of them all night. I mean, there’s been a million times in the past that I’ve said things that were a lot worse,” Reaves said. “And when we had a whole jump ball when (the Thunder players) switched places, I wanted to be on the other side because they had players on the other side, just trying to maintain the lead. And (Goble) turned around and just screamed in my face. I just thought it was rude.
“At the end of the day, we’re adults. And I feel like he didn’t need to yell at me like that. I told him that. I wasn’t being disrespectful. I told him if I had done that to him first, I would have gotten a technician. I feel like the only reason I didn’t get a technician is because he knew he was wrong. So, yeah, I just feel disrespected.”
Reaves scored 31 points and James added 23 on Thursday for the Lakers, who will host Game 3 on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
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