The Los Angeles Lakers face off against a punchy Denver Nuggets squad in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals later on this evening. But there is another battle that has been ongoing for the Lakers since their Game 3 loss against the Nuggets, their battle against the referees.
Over the past few days, the Lakers have publicly established that they have checked in with the league on what they feel has been a lack of free-throw attempts for LeBron James. Through three games, James has just 10 free-throw attempts, which ranks behind Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic, Jerami Grant and is currently tied with Michael Porter Jr.
“We’re dealing with the fouls through the proper channels with the league. I think he’s gone to the basket very aggressively, and I’ll just leave it at that,” Vogel said, according to Harrison Faigen of SB Nation.
But while the free-throw issue is something they are working on, Dwight Howard hasn’t helped the cause by reportedly getting on the wrongside of the officials in Game 3. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Howard was nearly ejected from Game 3. Vogel has also bemoaned Howard’s inability to stay out of foul trouble after a Game 1 in which Howard put Jokic into early foul trouble.
Jerami Grant, who finished with 26 points, was at the free-throw line midway in the second period, and Howard uttered an obscene remark in the direction of the officials. It was apparently so off-putting that official Marc Davis shouted, “Hey, cut that out now! Are you serious? I’ve heard that twice now. Twice. Cut it out now!”
Howard got off with a stern warning, but he was visibly irritated.