The Los Angeles Lakers were on the wrong end of a controversial no-call that led to a heartbreaking 125-121 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
With four seconds left in regulation and the score tied at 105 apiece, LeBron James drove hard to the rim where he was clearly hit across the left arm by Jayson Tatum on his layup attempt. However, the officials inexplicably missed the call much to the dismay of James and the rest of the Lakers bench.
It didn’t take long for the NBA to admit their blunder as Crew Chief Eric Lewis said Tatum should have been called for a foul in an NBA pool report after the game.
While it’s encouraging the league quickly acknowledged their error, it doesn’t change the fact that the Lakers were robbed of a win. Dennis Schroder shared his thoughts about the officiating on his Instagram story and called for NBA referees to be fined for their mistakes:
Dennis Schroder shared his thoughts about the officiating on his IG story: pic.twitter.com/zh3XNj4Bla
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) January 29, 2023
Schroder also criticized Lewis for issuing Patrick Beverley a technical foul at the end of regulation after he brought a camera out to the middle of the court to show him his missed call.
Furthermore, Schroder alluded to the fact that the Lakers likely have lost three-to-five games this season due to poor officiating. In the last two weeks alone, the league has admitting to missing key calls in the Lakers’ losses to both the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings.
With the latest loss, L.A. dropped to 23-27 in the Western Conference, but remain only four games behind the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Clippers in the standings. With every game meaning as much as it does, it’s unfortunate to see the officials continuing to miss key calls at the end of games the way they have recently.
Lakers’ LeBron James & Anthony Davis express displeasure with officiating in loss to Celtics
Schroder wasn’t the only Lakers player to criticize the referees after Saturday’s overtime loss to the Celtics. Anthony Davis called on the NBA to hold officials more accountable for their mistakes, and James said he doesn’t get as many calls as other superstars who regularly attack the paint.
James ranks 20th in the league in free throw attempts, which has to be frustrating with the amount of times he takes the ball to the basket.
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