The Los Angeles Lakers lost three close games this week. All in wildly different ways.
Against the Sacramento Kings, the Lakers lost in a way that’s unprecedented in NBA history. After Kendrick Nunn’s three-pointer cut the Kings’ lead to one point, rookie Max Christie committed a transition take foul on the ensuing break. Sacramento got two free throws and the ball and ended up with a four-point possession when L.A. was forced to foul again.
For a few seconds, Nunn looked like a hero. Then he began arguing for an and-one on his shot, rather than guarding De’Aaron Fox on the inbounds pass. With seven seconds left, the Lakers had to foul as soon as possible, and Nunn was pleading to the referee instead of watching his man.
The opportunistic Fox saw the defense collapsing on him, and threw the ball ahead to a streaking Richaun Holmes. Rookie Max Christie had no choice but to foul Holmes from behind, giving Sacramento the extra free throws and an insurmountable lead.
Based on the new rules for 2022-23, Christie’s move was clearly a transition take foul, though the rule wasn’t really intended for an end-of-game situation where a team was fouling to stop the clock, not a fast break. It’s the third time this week that a call or non-call has affected the Lakers’ chances of winning.
Thursday night, an array of missed calls in the Mavericks’ double-overtime win included a non-call on a last-second James shot. Sunday, Russell Westbrook thought he was fouled late in the 76ers’ one-point win. Wednesday night it was Nunn who felt wronged, though the contact from Fox on his shot was marginal.
To their credit, the Lakers weren’t complaining about the calls after the game. Perhaps James got that out of his system earlier this week.
It’s extremely unlikely that the NBA is conspiring against the most popular player and team in the league. Simply for TV ratings alone, the league would love the Lakers to get it together and make the playoffs. And James has received the benefit of some generous interpretations of the traveling rule during his career.
But this is an unusual season, where the #TeamBeam Kings are third in the West in mid-January, and no longer getting victimized by bad calls late. Compared to the Kings being a viable playoff contender, winning on a take foul isn’t that strange at all.
