The Oklahoma City Thunder have struggled to find consistency this season with their revamped roster, and Paul George believes the NBA’s officials have at least something to do with that.
Following Monday’s 112-105 win over the Orlando Magic, George once again expressed frustration over the way his team’s games have been officiated this year. The way George sees it, he and teammates Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony do not get the same calls that other NBA superstars get on a nightly basis.
“It’s tough. We’re so aggressive; we play at the rim constantly,” George said, via Royce Young of ESPN.com. “We’re just officiated differently, all three of us. And it’s tough. At least one of us [should] get the benefit of the doubt. But when we’re on that floor, no one is getting the better side of that whistle. But we’re going to keep attacking, we’re going to keep being aggressive. That’s our job, to put pressure on them. At some point it’s gotta work out for us.”
George, Westbrook and Anthony combined for just nine free throws on Monday, with Carmelo not getting to the line once. George was seen complaining to officials on multiple occasions when he believed he had been fouled driving to the basket. Thunder coach Billy Donovan agreed with George that the whistles have not been frequent enough.
“Same thing with Russell, too. Those guys are aggressive players, and listen, there are calls that are missed, there just are,” Donovan said. “(George has) gotten fouled, and he’s not getting to the line. I think the same thing can be said for Russell. And I’m not trying to get into, like, every single play call, but as much as those two guys are in the lane, they need to be at the free throw line more than they’re at the free throw line, in my opinion.”
This has been a theme for OKC all season. George was fined $15,000 back in November after he made similar remarks about the league’s officials, and the Thunder openly felt the refs cost them at least one game earlier in the year.
George finished with 26 points and hit 6-of-7 free throws. The Thunder are currently clinging to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and are not a lock to reach the playoffs.
