The Los Angeles Lakers have been on the fallacious finish of some high-profile officiating miscues of late. The most up-to-date was LeBron James clearly getting fouled by Jayson Tatum on a game-winning layup try in opposition to the Boston Celtics on Saturday (which the Last Two Minute Report confirmed the next day), solely to have the refs swallow their whistle and permit the sport to enter extra time, the place the Lakers misplaced.
A number of weeks earlier, James was burned by a no-call on one other potential game-winning layup try in a double-overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks; the Last Two Minute Report confirmed that Christian Wood certainly hacked LeBron with the rating tied and the ultimate seconds ticking down on the finish of the primary extra time.
This is why LeBron was so furious after the missed name in Boston. He did not see it as a one-off. He noticed it, and absolutely continues to see it, as a sample of the Lakers being disproportionately wronged by these late-game missed calls.
“It’s been constructing,” James mentioned of his frustration. “You guys have seen among the video games we have misplaced this yr with late-game missed calls. We had a chance to actually win the sport. … I do not perceive what we’re doing. I watch basketball each single day. I watch these video games each single day, and I do not see it taking place to no one else. It’s simply bizarre.”
It begs the query: Is LeBron proper? Are the Lakers truly getting burned extra typically than different groups? Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports determined to analyze James’ claims by digging into each Last Two Minute Report issued this season, and on Tuesday he launched his findings.
Turns out, LeBron is fallacious.
According to Rohrbach’s report, the Lakers have been concerned in 34 incorrect calls/non-calls within the final two minutes this season, and 21 of them have gone of their favor. That’s greater than 28 different groups. Indeed, solely the Mavericks have had extra complete incorrect whistles go their manner, with 23.
Put one other manner, of the 34 incorrect late-game calls which have impacted a Lakers sport, 61.8 % of them have benefitted the Lakers. Only the Clippers, at 63.2 %, have had higher late-game luck.
Kudos to Rohrbach for doing the soiled work of digging by these stories. Lots of people, myself included, had been beginning to purchase into LeBron’s case when the truth is we had been being clouded by the high-profile ones which might be most up-to-date in our reminiscence.
