Following their 108-97 loss against the Golden State Warriors on Friday in Game 4, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue made his opinion clear in regards to the officiating crew. During his post-game press conference, Lue stated that Cavs forward Lebron James doesn’t get proper calls for the fouls against him. As a result, Lue was fined $25,000 for his public criticism of the NBA referees.
“He never gets calls,” Lue said. “I mean, he attacks. Outside of Russell Westbrook, he’s one of the guys that attacks the paint every single play. And he doesn’t get a fair whistle all the time because of his strength and because of his power and guys bounce off of him. But those are still fouls, and we weren’t able to get them. But we’ve got to play through officiating.”
This comment likely arose from the fact that James, who had made it to the charity stripe 17 times in the Finals up until this point, only attempted four free throws for the entirety of Game 4. Needless to say, it was frustrating for a team coming off of a 30-point victory looking to even the series at 2-2.
James, despite nearly accumulating a double-double with 25 points and nine assists, was certainly not as aggressive in the paint, often settling for jump shots or passing the ball outside to the perimeter. He did not seek to drive in the paint as often in Game 4, and the Warriors made it difficult for him to do so successfully on a consistent basis.
The Cavs, who currently trail the Warriors 3-1 and are on the verge of elimination, will head back to Oakland to face Golden State for Game 5 on Monday at 9 pm EST.
[SI]