Austin Reaves Confronts Refs As Lakers Playoff Frustration Grows

Los Angeles Lakers v Miami Heat — Rich Storry

The Los Angeles Lakers already had enough problems trying to slow down the Oklahoma City Thunder. But after Thursday night’s loss, frustration inside the locker room had less to do with defense and more to do with the whistles.

The Lakers now trail the series 0-2 after another loss to Oklahoma City, and emotions boiled over after the final buzzer. Lakers guard Austin Reeves confronted officials on the court and was surrounded by his teammates, while head coach JJ Redick didn’t hold back when talking about how the games have been officiated — especially when it comes to LeBron James.

Redick said James simply isn’t getting the calls most stars receive, arguing that his size works against him with referees.

“LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen,” Redick said after the game, according to ESPN. “The smaller guys, because they can be theatric, they typically draw more fouls. The bigger players that are built like LeBron, it’s hard for them. He gets clobbered.”

The numbers help explain some of the frustration. During the regular season, James averaged more than five free throw attempts per game. Through the first two games of this series, he’s taken only five total free throws combined.

Even without many trips to the line, James has still produced offensively. He scored 27 points in Game 1 while shooting 12-for-17 from the field. In Game 2, he added 23 points, six assists and three steals while shooting 50%.

James, though, wasn’t interested in making officiating the headline after the loss. When reporters asked about the referees, he kept it short.

“We’re down 2-0,” he said.

Austin Reaves was much more animated. Television cameras caught Reaves yelling at officials after the game as teammates stepped in to calm him down. The Lakers guard later explained he felt disrespected during an exchange with crew chief John Goble earlier in the night.

“At the end of the day, we’re grown men,” Reaves said. “And I just didn’t feel like he needed to yell in my face like that. I told him that. I wasn’t disrespectful. I told him if I did that to him first, I would have got a tech. I feel like the only reason I didn’t get a tech is because he knew he was in the wrong. So, yeah, I just felt disrespected.”

Now the series heads back to Los Angeles, where the Lakers are quickly running out of room for mistakes.

See social media’s reaction to the hard-fought game below.