LeBron James feels he is not getting special treatment from NBA officials this season, and the Cleveland Cavaliers star is not happy about it.
Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com reports that James has become “increasingly frustrated” with the way officials have treated him this year. During Tuesday night’s loss to the Utah Jazz, James was fouled by Shelvin Mack late in the first quarter. He immediately began barking at referee Tyler Ford, and apparently LeBron was angry about not getting a call earlier in the game.
While James got that call from Ford, he was upset from his previous trip down the court, when he felt like Mack fouled him on another layup attempt and there was no whistle.
James was irate, in part, because, sources told ESPN, he could hear Utah coach Quin Snyder instruct Mack to foul him to prevent the transition bucket, and even with that instruction being given and James absorbing what he thought to be obvious contact from Mack, no call was made.
LeBron was asked after the game about the outburst, and he admitted he feels he has not gotten some calls he deserved this season.
“It is (frustrating), it is. It is,” he said. “But I know what the main thing is — the main thing is to win — but it is. It is. It is.”
James has averaged 7.1 free throw attempts per game this season, which is actually up from the 6.5 he averaged last year. Earlier in his career, he typically averaged around nine or 10 free throws per game during a season.
McMenamin adds that LeBron has “felt like a target” in the past and believed opposing teams were fouling him hard with the intention of harming him. He had several cuts on his hands and arms after Tuesday’s game that were the result of being fouled.
Perhaps LeBron’s tendency to flop (here’s a good example), has led to some referees not giving him the benefit of the doubt. Either way, he’s hoping complaining about it will help him and the Cavs going forward.
