NBA officials might have cost Luka Doncic’s debut season with Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers HC JJ Redick claimed that Luka Doncic was robbed off a foul in Game 4 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

NBA officials might have cost Luka Doncic’s debut season with Lakers

Luka Doncic's 1st Lakers season could end due to a mistake from Adam Silver's officials

Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers are facing a difficult situation where they might have to do something that 95% of the time does not happen. His teammate LeBron James might have famously done it once, but even that is an anomaly.

The Lakers are staring at elimination after the Minnesota Timberwolves took a 3-1 series lead in the ongoing NBA playoffs. It is not as if Luka Doncic, James, and the rest of their teammates did not put up a fight. In fact, the starters were fighting the entire second half.

That became a problem, as fatigue started affecting them after JJ Redick refused to give them a break. However, they refused to give up the fight even though they did not have the energy to continue battling. That fatigue, though, ended up impacting some late-game situations.

LeBron James committed a turnover and a foul, which gave the Timberwolves a breather. Then all they needed to do was to ensure the Lakers did not throw up a game-tying shot. After the game, head coach JJ Redick pointed out one particular incident that he felt should have awarded the Lakers some free throws.

He was talking about a situation two plays before James’ turnover. In that play, when Luka Doncic was driving to his right, he tripped and fell. Replays show that Jaden McDaniels had placed his leg out, and the Slovenian stepped on McDaniels’ foot, causing him to lose balance.

Redick believes that a foul should have been assessed and the Lakers should have been awarded two free throws. Had Doncic, who made all seven of his free throws, converted even one, it could have changed the dynamic of the ball game. That missed foul could end up costing the Lakers.

NBA agrees it was a missed foul

The league takes a look at all the calls in every game. In the playoffs, they particularly recheck all the calls and incidents within the final two minutes of a game. In Game 4 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves, they found this particular play to be an exception on an otherwise good officiating night.

McDaniels (MIN) steps forward into Doncic’s (LAL) path, initiating illegal foot contact that causes him to lose his balance.

NBA Officiating L2M report

Even though the league admits that its officials made an error in judgment, it will not impact the final result. The Los Angeles Lakers will continue to play in this series with a series deficit of 1-3. This situation is similar to what the Detroit Pistons faced in Game 4 of their playoff series against the New York Knicks.

In that situation, too, the NBA agreed that the official was wrong not to call a foul. However, it is too late, and the Pistons will have to live with the situation. However, since only 5% of the teams staring at a 1-3 record have managed to move to win the series, the odds are not in favor of both the Lakers and Pistons.

Luka Doncic’s first season with Lakers could end in disaster

The Los Angeles Lakers can turn the tide against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Three games are remaining, and in the games the Lakers have managed to compete well, they were on the verge of losing those games.

That should give them the confidence that they can win this seven-game series. However, the odds are not in their favor. It is daunting to come back and win the next three straight games. That too, when the starters are struggling with fatigue and are playing against a more athletic team.

Luka Doncic could be staring at the possibility of a first-round exit. That might not be the best way to end his first season with his new team. The franchise has NBA title-winning aspirations, which is why they brought the Slovenian in. It just might have to wait at least another year to materialize.

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