Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic ripped the officiating following his team’s 132-131 loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays.
Toronto carried a narrow lead into the fourth quarter, but the Lakers eked out a win after going 19-of-23 from the foul line and scoring 44 points in the final frame. The Raptors were awarded two free throws during the game’s final 12 minutes.
“That’s outrageous. What happened tonight, this is completely B.S.,” Rajakovic said (Twitter video link via Dime). “This is shame. Shame for the referees. Shame for the league to allow this. Twenty-three free throws for them, and we get two free throws in the fourth quarter? Like, how to play the game? I understand respect for All-Stars and all that, but we have star players on our team as well.
“How (is it) possible that Scottie Barnes, who is (an) All-Star-caliber player in this league, he goes every single time to the rim with force and trying to get to the rim without flopping and not trying to get foul calls, he gets two free throws for a whole game? How is that possible? How are you going to explain that to me?
“They had to win tonight? If that’s the case, just let us know, so we don’t show up for the game. Just give them a win. But that was not fair tonight. And this is not happening (for the) first time for us. Scottie Barnes is going to be (an) All-Star. He’s going to be the face of this league, and what’s happening over here during (the) whole season … it’s complete crap.”
Asked if he was given an explanation from the game’s referees for some of the more controversial or marginal foul calls, Rajakovic said no, adding that “they see what they want to see” and “don’t want to hear what we’ve got to say.” The first-year head coach also reiterated that Tuesday wasn’t the first time his team had been on the wrong end of questionable officiating decisions this season.
“It’s happening a lot, but I’m telling our guys, ‘Be professional, keep fighting, keep going for the next one,'” Rajakovic said, per McMenamin. “But until when? For how long?”
While Rajakovic will likely be hit with a significant fine by the NBA for his comments, veteran forward Thaddeus Young – who played a significant role on Tuesday with starting center Jakob Poeltl sidelined – suggested that the Raptors’ players appreciated their head coach publicly sticking up for them.
“It just says that he’s all for us as a family, as a team,” Young said. “… We’re always going to be behind one another as a family, as a team. We’re always going to stick together, and he’s always been behind us since day one coming in here. We love Darko to death. We think the world of Coach, and we definitely appreciate him going to bat for us.”
Tuesday’s officiating crew was led by Ben Taylor, who was also on the receiving end of a postgame media rant from a member of the Raptors last season, when Fred VanVleet called his performance “f–king terrible” and pointed out that most of his technical fouls were called in games refereed by Taylor.
Asked after the Lakers’ victory about the discrepancy in fourth quarter free throw attempts, star forward LeBron James took a couple seconds to consider his response, then replied, “I feel like they fouled and we didn’t” (Twitter video link).
As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), eight of the Lakers’ 23 fourth quarter free throws occurred in the final 24 seconds, when the Raptors had to foul intentionally to extend the game.
Ben Taylor and Scott Foster are my favourite refs!
Instead of crying maybe tell your guys to stop fouling it’s that simple where was all this crying when the raptors game was rigged against the warriors? None because his team ended up with the win.
Yeah but ADs flop and Scotties slam were baffling misses.
Scottie was barely touched on that slam. That was a perfect no call.
Raptors fouled, Lakers didn’t. If you watch the game it’s clear why the Lakers got more free throws. They don’t foul much as they just give up the baskets instead. Raptors were playing aggressive defense which leads to fouls. It’s not that hard
Coach crying that hard is hilarious
ESPN 710 LA – The Lakers radio station is going off right now about how bad the game was officiated in Lakers favor. Lakers radio guys agree that Raptors coach had a very valid gripe and Lakers got the benefit of almost every call.
@ online features:
Lol, you sound like a Lakers fan who feels entitled. There was plenty of contact on the dunk for an and 1. The “foul” on Schroder was what should have been a no call. AD flops and it’s an instant call.
The Lakers are 18-18, and the real reason is they can’t win without ref help.
You maybe missed the 4Q. Barnes was midly founded on dunk in last 2min. And easy LAL flop call in last min when Toronto tied the game with a 3 that was taken away. It was a bad ref showing. Lakers flop a ton and get away with a ton. Not news…
@ SomeoneDefendingSports Steph was 0/9 from three and 2/14 from the field. Raptors shot 45% from three, while dubs shot 30% from three. Raps went 8/14 from ft and dubs went 14/15 from ft. Warriors committed four more turnovers than the raps so what unfair officiating are you speaking of? Klay was the only bright spot for GS. They couldn’t stop Barrett and would have lost by more if Siakam and Scottie each had 20.
Why are you talking about Golden State?
You didn’t review all the top comments to understand who I was replying to?
Raptor game was not rigged against the warriors. The Refs were not calling any ticky tack fouls on either side and said let them play. I am a warrior fan and can say Kerr got out coached by the Raptors is why they lost.
@ Pantherseye
Correct, unlike in this game the refs were fine vs GSW, I think it’s funny when someone blames officiating in a blowout.
Happened to the warriors too all of a sudden a team is gifted every free throw but nothing called on the other team. NBA wants Lebron in the playoffs so they will do all they can to make it happen. Its obvious when 1 team has a huge advantage over the other team.
The Warriors are one of the most foul-prone teams in the NBA. That’s been the case since the beginning of their dynasty. Same with turnovers. They just can’t out-shoot or out-defend their mistakes anymore. It’s not surprising in the slightest.
Anyway, that wasn’t a great job of reffing in the Raptors game, but some of it is differing philosophies on offense. The Lakers take a larger volume of shots in the paint than most teams and try to finish through contact. The Raptors tend to take more jumpers or floaters, not necessarily attacking through contact. Of course the Lakers are going to get more calls. Especially when the Raptors have their best paint defender out, and thus have to get more physical just to try and slow down Anthony Davis. And all but five of AD’s shots came inside the restricted area anyway.
Yes, they get more calls in general, because Lakers. But it’s more than just that.
LeBron gets away with more fouls than any other player in the NBA. Raptors last game against GSW where they committed only 11 fouls the entire game. The GSW only committed 14 fouls. Now all of a sudden they get called for 26 fouls and mostly in 4th quarter. LeBron James another game with 0 fouls in 35 minutes. Please don’t pretend there is not a bias from officials. AD gets barely touched its a free throw but other players no free throws.
I didn’t pretend otherwise. I said that’s not all there was to it. I even said, yes, because they’re the Lakers, they get more calls than comparable teams. It’s been that way for over forty years at this point.
Don’t put words in my mouth because you don’t like what I said about your team, please.
NBA has a official problem more this year than any other previous year. Every sport has a problem because now Vegas can bet on games. I watched many games get close at the end to help out Vegas point spreads.
Tell that to the ’02 Kings. Never seen a more blatant example of refs screwing up the game for money. It’s been happening for decades. It’s more obvious now because we have social media and everyone can record slow-mo replay clips, but it’s been around forever.
It has and football Refs who don’t make much can easily be paid off. NBA needs to go to 4 Refs instead of 3 to do a better job. Start calling travels because i am tired of seeing them never be called.
@EonADS:
Raptors were +20 in points in the paint, and a look at the shot charts shows the raptors took more shots in the paint last night.
You seem to be ignoring that there’s a big difference between the Lakers getting more calls and the Lakers getting 2-3 times the free throws of their opponent.
When LeBron goes to the rim he is foul 90% of time he should live on the line lol
Yeah and it’s usually lebum’s team with the huge advantage. This is the reason why I only watch my team play and couldn’t care less about any other game no matter the situation.
This is Shame.
For someone that likes watching NBA games. That was a hard fought game by both teams. Intensive. In terms of refereeing, i agree it was terrible. Toronto played an amazing 4th quarter even with the calls against them and very few in favor. But again a great game to watch with 20+ different leads in a game.
I didn’t see the game, but I have to say it drives me crazy how refs wait to see if the balls going in before they blow the whistle. They really need to knock that off.
Maybe stop fouling AD every time he has the ball? There’s your discrepancy right there.
What about ADs flop on the Raps made 3?
Flop or not you can’t dish the ball and run into the path of a defender as he closes out on the shooter. Easy call
Every time AD has the ball he’s fouled? Why play the game then if that’s how good AD is? It’s pretty clear that NBA refs are terrible or worse. And hold grudges.
The fact that all parties involved, including the losers, presume preferential treatment for a certain class of players (“All-Stars”) from the get-go, furthermore proves what a rigged circus the NBA has become.
Time for the players to give themselves pseudonyms like “Draymond the Undertaker”, “Nasty Boy Dillon”, “James the Hard Flopper” and “Stone Cold Travelin’ Bron Bron”.
Hopefully lakers never complain about officiating either.
Wow, two bad nights for the refs.
Refs completely screwed up the Celtics v. Pacers game the night before.
It seems crazy to me that LeBron for the 12th time this season committed 0 fouls. I know he doesnt play a lot of defense but he makes contact on almost every play and half his drives to the basket he lowers his shoulder and plows into the defense. With the amount of charging fouls called on Raptors last night you’d think maybe once he actually committed a foul of some kind. He complains every play that he’s fouled, yet 12 games this year he’s committed zero fouls and another 14 only 1. So 26 of 35 games played hes been called for 1 or less foul.
Terrible, they let LeBron and other stars plow thru defenders and call fouls on the defenders.
Celtics fans shouldn’t be allowed to give their opinion on LeBron and the Lakers. At least include a disclaimer. I can taste the salt from your post.
That’s because he doesn’t play defense anymore.
TOR HC has to understand it’s not basketball anymore, it’s Stern ball. Fouls are less about what the defender does, than who the offensive player is. And, no, Scottie Barnes is not a made man, at least not yet. If he wanted a even handed officiating game devoid of marketing considerations, he should have stayed in Europe.
It’s predetermined. I love the NBA but I know I’m watching WWE out there. It took me along time to see it. It is rigged now, rigged when Jordan was around. Rigged forever. LeBron complained so he gets special treatment. Raptors complained, fine coming and then special treatment. Mostly every game is close, series go back and fourth. You all get mad at the refs but do you all know they are out there to control the game how Silver wants it. They just did a much better job hiding it back then, now it’s so obvious in your face. Don’t be mad at the refs, be mad at Silver. No defense, dribbling violations, only threes being shot. It’s all about entertainment and money. Wake up everyone. Or do we need Draymond to after you all but props to the Raptors coach. Draymond attack all these casuals up in here
Let’s say it actually is rigged, and there’s a level of competence among these people able to fool all of the people all of the time.
What then? Stop watching? Start a petition? Life doesn’t always go your way. Still gotta wake up in the morning.
I am not convinced the games are all pre-planned like some have suggested. When I was a kid, my pops (who coached college BBall for 25 plus years), had a conversation with my orthodontist during a regular check up on my teeth in, I would intelligently guess, 1986-87. I got my braces off in 1988.
My dad and my dentist were talking about how the Lakers get calls all the time to keep them in games and that the Lakers did not deserve to win bc the refs gave them the game via the FT line. I don’t remember what game my pops and the dentist were talking about, but I guess smart people could figure it out. Probably 87 championship run for the Lakers. BTW my dad’s position was that the game was not fixed, and the dentist was just upset the Celtics did not win in 1987. My dad was also a Celtic fan. So, I doubt he was backing the Lakers just because. Plus, my dad was serious about hoops. It was his job. He would have been upset if he found out a ref gave him a game bc of a bad call. Knowing him, he would have apologized to the opposing coach.
My opinion is that the league does not fix games, but Refs make bad calls for stars, home teams, and certain situations all year, then when it matters, they fall back on these mistakes and continue to give preferences to certain players and teams, which appears to be fixed games. I guess my point is that I don’t think it’s completely overt. Meaning Silver is telling them to give Lebron calls, but it’s now part of the NBA game to make bad calls for stars. You hear announcers stating things like “well this guy is young he hasn’t earned that call.” Which always baffles me, bc a foul is a foul, at least that is how I was taught.
Just as another point, I firmly believe that ALL refs should have to have press conferences to explain their calls. That would solve a lot, but I also understand that it’s a slippery slope and my suggestion leaves the refs open for all sorts of wonderful stuff via the internet.
NBA has had issues with refs and preferential treatment of certain players since the dawn of the 80s and I don’t have much faith it will get better bc in 1987 my dad was talking about the same topic and nothing had really changed, it has gotten worse.
The real question isn’t whether it’s fixed, it’s whether people really want it to be fair. It’s entertainment after all. Human refs make human decisions. Would we rather have robots deciding? If so why not robot players that never mess up? Why not just watch 2k Sims? Not disagreeing with you just putting it out as food for thought.
We could all stop watching basketball on TV and play basketball.
OK let’s go I will beat you 2 on 1
Anyone who watches the NBA regularly. Knows Bron and Lakers get calls. Sometimes it’s pretty obvious. If we know this. Means teams know it. Home teams and star teams have always gotten the benefit of the doubt. So if we all know this. Don’t let the refs play a part in deciding the game. It’s part of gm management and closing out gms.
TOR intentionally fouled with the clock winding down in the 4th (8 of the 23 FT in that quarter).
The Raptors played without a center for basically the whole game (Poeltl out), and couldn’t stop Anthony Davis.
But I do agree that offensive foul called on AD (that took away a late 3PT from Barnes) was an awful call.
Good for him getting his money’s worth. Embarrass the league as much as you possibly can (not that anything will change).
No team plays good enough defense to defend a 23 to 2 free throw discrepancy.
Is anyone really surprised that LeBrons teams get favourable calls in 2024?
The NBA needs to take officiating seriously and embrace technology further…
The emotional responses and all star favouritism the refs show need to be reigned in for the integrity of the sporting competition…
That was one of the worst reffed games I have seen. The refs waited tell the basket wasn’t made then blew the whistle for a foul.