LeBron James EXPRESS FURY at referee over MPJ foul with D’Lo being overturned despite him being hit in the face
During the Lakers’ 99-101 Game 2 loss, LeBron James became irate with the referees for overturning a clear foul called on D’Angelo Russell by Michael Porter Jr.
In Game 2 of the first round, LeBron James voiced his dissatisfaction with the referees during the Lakers’ 99-101 loss to the Nuggets. He brought up a play in which Michael Porter Jr. struck D’Angelo Russell in the face; James was confused when the foul call was overturned following a challenge.
“I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest. What f— do we have a replay center for? It makes no sense to me… What are we doing?”
LeBron also made broad observations on the status of the NBA, stating coolly that it’s not safe to lead by 20 points in the modern day, particularly when the opposition is the reigning champs.
“We are aware of their exceptional offensive capability. We know they’re going to get into a rhythm at some point, we know they’re gonna make runs, especially on the home floor. All we had to do was endure it, and I don’t think we succeeded. In this league, 20-point leads are risky, particularly when facing the reigning champion. We need to improve on that. We had opportunities.”
Now that the series is knotted, the Lakers will travel back to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4, where they will hopefully be able to defend home court as successfully as the Nuggets did.
The Lakers’ intentions on the court continue to appear unclear.
The Lakers vs. Nuggets games always go like this. The Lakers maintain their competitiveness for three quarters, even establishing sizable leads during this time. But the Nuggets manage to retake the lead and win the game as soon as the fourth quarter begins. That was the case once more tonight.
Following the game, Anthony Davis criticized periods of play in which the team fails to establish a cohesive strategy on the court.
“There are sections of the floor where we are unsure of our actions.”
Prior to Game 2, Rui Hachimura had voiced a similar grievance, claiming that the club was unaware of what they needed to defeat the Nuggets.
They keep close eye on us. They are familiar with our particular style because we have played them so frequently in the past year. We must play strong defense as a unit since they don’t leave us with many options. I think we gotta play together more, I got to be more active, sharing the ball, and all that. That should help us this year, in my opinion.”
All the blame is on Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, who is obviously having difficulty matching Michael Malone’s level of coaching expertise. Tonight, the Lakers engaged in a great deal of freestyle play, with James taking the initiative to set up shots for himself and his teammates. Before he focused on being a scorer in the fourth quarter, he had 11 assists during the first three quarters.
Even if the Lakers have once again demonstrated that they have what it takes to defeat them, this series seems to be over already. Whether they can use the items to make the supper they need or if they burn themselves again is the question.
