The officiating so far in the playoffs hasn’t been great but the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t receive the bad end of the stick. In fact, fans often complain that LeBron James gets away with a lot while his defenders are often called. James however, was left wondering what would it take for the referees to call a flagrant on his opponent for contact against him.
“I have no idea what it is,” James said after practice Tuesday. “I know what it is when it happens to someone else, but I don’t know when it involves me. I have no idea what a common foul and flagrant foul is.”
“I thought Tristan’s throwdown last night was a little excessive, but he went up there and made two free throws and that’s all that matters,” James said. “I’ve pretty much chalked it up to common fouls [being called] with me [getting hit].”
There were at least three plays in question in Game 1 that James could have been referring to.
In the first half, James caught a Bismack Biyombo elbow to the back of the head while fighting for a rebound.
In the second half, DeMarre Carroll wrapped up James around the shoulder area while stopping him from scoring on a fast break. A common foul was called.
Later in the third quarter, James took another hit from Biyombo to the face, but it was James who was whistled for an offensive foul because the referees determined he made contact with DeRozan’s face before Biyombo hit him.
Game 2 between the Cavaliers and Raptors is tonight.
