The Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors battled until the very end on Tuesday night, with the Lakers prevailing by a 132-131 margin. Anthony Davis was the superstar of the night, finishing with a season-high 41 points alongside seven Lakers who finished in double figures. But the prevailing story was the officiating and the subsequent response from Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković.
The controversy surrounding officials is nothing new in the NBA, but the Raptors felt Tuesday night was particularly egregious. The fourth quarter saw the Lakers attempt 23 free throws compared to only two from the Raptors. On the surface, this certainly doesn’t look like fair officiating, even if a deeper look at the events of the game would tell a different story.
Rajaković was infuriated by the discrepancy and felt that, even in context, the Lakers were handed the game. He even went so far as to say that if the league was planning on giving the game to the Lakers, they should have at least told the Raptors ahead of time so they don’t bother to show up. This was one of many blasts of the officiating in a two-minute rant following the game, via Bleacher Report:
Raptors HC Darko Rajakovic was heated in the postgame presser, unhappy with the Lakers 23 free throw attempts in the 4Q pic.twitter.com/1xvoXrUM6k
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 10, 2024
Rajaković clearly felt the Lakers were given an unfair amount of free throw attempts, but what may have frustrated him more was the treatment of Raptors star Scottie Barnes by the officials. He attempted only two free throws — both in the fourth quarter — despite spending most of his time near the rim.
The Raptors coach called Barnes a future All-Star and the future face of the NBA, and feels he deserves the same star treatment that Davis and LeBron James get from officials.
It would be shocking if Rajaković doesn’t receive some sort of fine from the NBA for this rant, especially by insinuating that the game was rigged and the result was decided ahead of time.
Darvin Ham explains what Lakers miss about Dennis Schroder
The Lakers got their first look at their former guard Dennis Schroder in a Raptors uniform on Tuesday after he opted to sign with Toronto in free agency. And Lakers head coach Darvin Ham explained what he felt L.A. is missing from him.
“Obviously Dennis is a very high level player,” Ham said. “You saw what he did for us last year, you saw what he did in the summer at the World Cup. His tenacity, his competitiveness, his defensive ability and his ability to get downhill. He’s a guy that loves his teammates and was willing to run through a wall and do whatever we needed him to do. Just an ultra-competitor.”
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