BOSTON — After the Lakers lost to the Celtics, partially due to a blown missed foul call on LeBron James, there was a lot of frustration and anger to go around. Los Angeles has dealt with missed calls over the past few weeks, which is why Lakers coach Darwin Hamm commented that he doesn’t want to “see another last two-minute report” showing he was unfaired. Is.
Saturday’s loss was the latest example for the Lakers, who fell to the Celtics 125–121 in overtime. The missed foul call came late in regulation when James went strong for the bucket and looked like he had a good chance to make the game-winning layup. But Tatum got all hands as Jayson Tatum fouled James, but that call was blown because there was no whistle. The game went into overtime as the Celtics pulled away from the Lakers.
All that frustration is why Ham said “the best player on Earth can’t make the call – it’s amazing.”
“You have to call a cat a cat,” said Ham. “You can’t look at something and pretend it’s not what it is. He’s a guy who tries hard to play right. Doesn’t flop. Plays downhill, plays basketball strong, physical.” Brand plays. Just because he doesn’t flop or fight and he doesn’t scream when he’s shooting the ball like I see so many other players do, he gets punished for it .
James expressed his disappointment in the game by pointing out the missed call from the recent loss to the Lakers.
Officials said in a pool report postgame that he missed the call. The Lakers were also called for a technical foul because of a missed call when Patrick Beverley brought a camera to an official with a purported image showing James was fouled. But instead, Beverly is called in for a take.
Hamm said James does the right thing in that his superstar doesn’t flop for calls compared to other stars in the league. He said he saw the same thing with Giannis Antetokounmpo when he was an assistant coach for the Bucks, as well as Shaquille O’Neal when Ham was a player.
“Guys that play physically and really try to focus on finishing plays, sometimes it doesn’t go in their favor,” Ham said. “But you see the other guys whizzing every shot, whenever they hit. I think they’re working their hardest. They’re whistling.
