Shaquille O’Neal was never one to be excited about a trip to the free-throw line, but he understands the recent frustrations from players regarding late-game no-calls. The Diesel gave his own take on two calls that may have lost the game, if not the series, for both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons.
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Shaq lambasted officials for not doing their job when it matters most. He understands the laxer nature of regular-season officiating, but once the postseason comes around, Shaq expects referees to be at their best, just like the players. Instead, both Lakers-Wolves and Knicks-Pistons first rounds are shrouded in controversy due to questionable officiating.
Players are already under immense pressure while attempting to help their franchises to an NBA championship. Obvious officiating errors only add more tension to an already emotional environment.
“At this time of the season, everyone’s expected to play at a good level, towards championship level,” Shaq said. “We expect the same from the referees. I can understand missed calls, but when you’re this close, Ernie,” he continued, pointing at his adjacent colleague, “I don’t wanna hear missed calls.”
The controversial no-call after Josh Hart slapped Tim Hardaway Jr.’s shooting shoulder, preventing him from getting a good look on the final shot of the game, was the main gripe with the officiating for most of the day. But late-game officiating once again became the topic of discussion after an overturned call against LeBron James.
Shaq criticized the refs for confidently calling the ball out of bounds off of Anthony Edwards, only to completely reverse it into a foul on James. He believes officials look like they don’t know what they’re doing in real time when such a massive call can be overturned with ease after seeing the replay.
It makes matters even worse when officials make a public statement apologizing for their errors, especially following two games that likely decided two different series. Shaq believes that when officials come out and admit their failures, it only directs more anger at them from players and fans.
The Lakers have been vocal about recent officiating mistakes
Both JJ Redick and LeBron have been open about their gripes with officiating throughout their first-round series. James was upset about the overturned call against him on Edwards while Redick’s focus was on a missed call that would have sent Luka Doncic to the free-throw line.
“Let us just start with Luka got tripped. That was a blatant trip. He doesn’t just fall on his own,” Redick said concerning the missed foul call on Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels. “We watched it. He gets tripped. So we should have been at the free-throw line. It’s not an excuse for why we lost, but he got fouled.”
Redick made it clear that his team couldn’t afford to make excuses at this point in the season. However, the Lakers have just one more chance to prove their championship mettle, or else they’ll be capping off a very underwhelming first playoff run for the franchise’s newest dynamic duo.
