Why LeBron Needs That Call
I would love to sit here from a cushy chair firmly planted on the plateau known as the “high ground.” Unfortunately, due to the circumstances in the NBA and the state of the game the way it is, I can not. Last night in Detroit the Cavs played yet another inconsistent game where they squandered a first-half lead to the Pistons. They had a 12 point lead at halftime, and yet here they were, down by one, with eight seconds to go in the fourth quarter. LeBron James drives on Rip Hamilton. Rip has his hands around LeBron’s shoulders as LeBron is backing in. As LeBron spins to his right hand for the shot, Rip continues to play physically with little bumps and then as LeBron lifts, Rip rakes his hand across LeBron’s arm as he is trying to take the shot to win the game. By almost all accounts, it was a pretty physical play and could have easily warranted a foul.
The old school says that referees should never decide the outcome of the game. Let the players play and all that. Maybe that worked in the days of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, but the game is too far gone at this point. Anyone who watched Dwyane Wade play against Dirk and the Dallas Mavericks last year would be able to testify to this. The refs had their whistles firmly planted in the plot line of that championship series. And at the end of it all, Dwyane Wade and his humongous free throw differential stood at the top of the mountain, a champion. So, don’t tell me that referees shouldn’t decide the outcome of a playoff game. They had a heavy hand in deciding the NBA championship last year.
The problem in the NBA right now is that certain guys get plenty of calls. When Michael Jordan was still playing it was a benefit of the doubt which was awarded to any player considered a superstar. And while I don’t think most of us are in awe of the players in today’s game, there are still guys getting that superstar treatment. The play that LeBron James had at the end of the game in Detroit is a call that Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitski, Steve Nash, Rip Hamilton, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, and plenty of other players would have had called in their favor. I really feel like none of them should get the call, but as long as we are in a position like this where those guys do get the calls, then the Cavs are at a distinct disadvantage when their best player can’t get a whistle sound out of the little metal objects that were so far down the referee’s throats that they probably can retrieve them this morning as they are sitting on the “throne” reading the paper.
That’s why LeBron needs that call. Without at least a bit of that treatment, the Cavs are at a distinct disadvantage in this series. Yes, they could have made things easier on themselves by not getting into that situation. Yes, they were unable to hold the lead, and they didn’t execute offensively in the second half. None of that really matters, though. They had a chance to win the game with under ten seconds left. They put themselves in that position and the referees put the Cavs at a disadvantage by following one of those antiquated, unwritten rules, which is just an excuse to act as a non-committal coward as you shirk your responsibilities to the integrity of the game.
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Other notes:
Chris Sheridan calls out Cavs coach Mike Brown for not criticizing the refs after the game.
Brian Windhorst prefers to talk about other problems other than the foul at the end of the game.
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3 Responses to “Why LeBron Needs That Call”
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I don’t know why there are officials on the floor. We’re seeing playground basketball at its worst. It would be better if the players called their own fouls.
Are you insinuating that LeBron James isn’t a superstar with just as much pull as Dwayne Wade, Kobe, and Steve Nash? That’s unbelievable. This guy had more coverage coming into the NBA than any other player in history. The second coming of Jordan? We are all Witnesses? Any of this ridiculous hype bringing back any buried memories of your martyr that didn’t get the call you wanted?
If you’re trying to make the argument that James didn’t get the call because he’s not a superstar, not ‘one of those guys’, then you have a whole lot more work to do than ripping off ESPN.com’s contributors about being able to retrieve whistles from referee’s stool, my friend. In fact, it’s pretty insurmountable. “King” James, as he was dubbed early in his career is a superstar, and one of the biggest in the League. He has a supporting cast of nobodies, and in most cases has enough talent to capitalize on the good coaching in Cleveland. If you want to bring up some issues, talk about how they choked in the second half. Talk about how if you shut down LeBron, nothing goes well for the Cavs. Talk about all those issues you bring up at the end of your article! Debate, search, and ask the difficult questions instead of whining about not getting that singular call.
The game lasted a whole lot longer than that one shot. The cavs just sat down and died - AGAIN.
M-Rod, you need to work on your reading comprehension.
I am saying that he used to get calls like those other guys, but he doesn’t anymore. Look at the stats. His Free throw numbers are down this year from last year.
Kobe and Wade’s average FT per game were down 0.2 this season and LeBron’s were down almost 2.