NBA: After the final rematch: LeBron James has to be protected by the referees

A clear and yet unpunished foul by Durant against James caused a stir after the final rematch. The No-Call has decided the game – and it’s not the first time this season that LeBron whistles are denied. This should change again, says SPOX editor Thorben Rybarczik.

The NBA has a reputation for protecting their superstars. After all, every league in the world, no matter what kind of sport, has no interest in the fact that their flagships are injured, frustrated or in a bad mood.

Of course, this procedure can also be seen on the floor. An MVP has a different reputation among the referees than a rookie and – exaggeratedly formulated – only has to twitch and look badly at the official in order to get a whistle. Not everyone likes the fact that this is the case, despite the league bosses’ assertions to the contrary – but, as I said, it is normal and certainly not a NBA phenomenon.

So now you might think that the four-time MVP, triple champion and global superstar LeBron James belongs to the category of players worthy of protection. But in the finals rematch against the Warriors in the Oracle Arena, the opposite was true. Again, again. For whatever reason James is denied whistles on a regular basis.

In the Crunchtime there were two controversial situations in two successive cavs’ posessions. Both times James looked for the drive against his direct defender Kevin Durant. The first time he walked on the left wing towards Baseline. KD grabbed his arm in LeBron’s walkway, hitting his chest and belly. James lost his balance and the ball throw-in of Warriors at 95:92 and still 1:10 minutes on the clock. James complained loudly, of course in vain. However, it has to be said that this was justifiable in the case of the line that the refs had whistled in previous situations.

A little later James had the ball again, his team was still 92:95 behind, so he was still in the race. Again he went to the basket against Durant – and was hit several times. Once in the dribble, twice in the basket attempt on arm and shoulder. A controlled conclusion was not possible, the ball flew out again and was awarded to the Warriors after a video review. The decision.

The view towards the Refs was not angry this time, but resigned and questioning. Apparently James wasn’t even surprised that the free-throwers were taken away from him,”I was fouled twice during the last action by KD,”he explained after the game.”But whatever. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

Durant had a different opinion:”LeBron is far too strong for such implants, much too strong. That’s not a foul, so he argued that James should have different rules because of his incredible physicality, because otherwise it’s unfair and he doesn’t notice the hits against him like others do anyway. That’s a long shot, of course: the rule is that strong and big players have to be hit harder for a foul than smaller and smaller players, but they still have to be written.

James stands in the current season only 4.6 times per game at the free-throw line. This is the worst figure since his rookie season – although he still stands on the floor for over 37 minutes every evening, driving 11.3 times per game into the zone, just as often as last season.

On the 28th. He was ejected for the first time in his career after he had to complain about missing whistles in the game against the Raptors, before yesterday’s match this was the culmination of a smouldering dispute between James and the referees.

Now one could argue that James has caused the situation himself. There were times when he was sharply criticized for his theatricality, but was rewarded for it by the Refs. He didn’t have to, he knows that now. But punishing James for that this year is wrong. It may be true that he puts smaller hits away better than any other athlete on this planet and when he comes into physical contact, his opponent usually bounces back at him and not vice versa. This means that fouls are not easy to spot at first glance, which was also the case yesterday during the layup.

The problem: There was a video review afterwards, because there were less than two minutes left to play. The second problem is that this review only allows us to clarify who was on the ball last. So it runs – also on the video cube – the play, again and again. And each time it becomes clearer that James was fouled twice and the Refs overlooked it, or rather, that he was fouled twice. of the same age. But they must not correct that. Instead, they decide that the Warriors get the ball, because Durant only hit LeBron and not the leather. That is in principle the admission of a foul.

ABC expert Jeff van Gundy criticized the review procedure itself:”How could it be, he asked that the refs have permission to watch the play, but then they can’t make the right decision, the one for foul? The masters of the game have to appear somewhat stupid themselves in such situations, as everyone in the hall sees that they have made a mistake, but are not allowed to correct it. They lose authority. A change of the review rules would be a possibility, but a mammoth project. In addition, the answer to the question of whether a foul was committed or not is sometimes subjective (but not yesterday).

The fact is: LeBron’s repeated criticism of the way in which he is treated is more than understandable. He is the best player in the world and deserves to be treated accordingly. His physics is the problem of the opponents and must not be interpreted to his own detriment.

And even if the faction of the “in the 80s and 90s everything was much harder, you wouldn’t even be able to discuss such whistles”-people would come back to light again: It would be nice if, with all the effort to keep the game flowing in crunchtime, actions like Durant’s against LeBron (or whoever else) would be punished in the same way as it should be: throwing free throws.