“Hand is part of the ball” LeBron James bizarrely defends his game-losing foul on Anthony Edwards

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James committed a turnover and a foul that ended up costing them Game 4 of the playoffs.

“Hand is part of the ball” LeBron James bizarrely defends his game-losing foul on Anthony Edwards

LeBron James was called for a foul after smacking Anthony Edwards' hand

The Los Angeles Lakers lost a close Game 4 of their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. That was a disappointing end to the game after LeBron James and his teammates held a double-digit lead at the start of the fourth quarter.

Luka Doncic had overcome his Game 3 sickness to deliver a stupendous 38-point outing. Along with James’ twenty-seven points, Doncic’s points should have been enough to cement the game. But it was not to be as the Lakers could not respond to the Timberwolves’ attack in that final twelve-minute stretch.

Part of that was on LeBron James’ shoulders after he scored zero points in the fourth quarter. But that was not all, as he turned the ball over while trying to inbound the ball. On that possession, Anthony Edwards received the ball inside the paint, and James smacked it out of his hands, which touched him on the way out.

After a coach’s review, it was deemed that LeBron James had smacked Ant Man’s hand, which converted that Wolves turnover, into a set of Wolves free throws. After the game, reporters asked the father of three about the foul, to which he replied.

That play happens all the time, hand is part of the ball, that’s what they say. I felt like the hand is a part of the ball. I was able to get his hand on top of the ball, the ball stripped, and out on him. Seen that play over and over, but it is what it is.

LeBron James said

The all-time leading scorer in NBA history was not completely wrong on his part. Officials do not call such fouls. But in this case, he probably understood that the replay review converted the out-of-bounds call into a foul.

JJ Redick calls out officials after Luka Doncic was tripped

LeBron James’ explanation about the foul might not score him any bonus points with fans, especially after he scored 15 of his 27 points off free throws. He was responsible for a horrible sequence of events that cost the Los Angeles Lakers the game. When his head coach, JJ Redick, was asked about James’ turnover, he said.

Let’s just start with Luka got tripped. That was a blatant trip. He doesn’t just fall on his own. We’ve watched it. We should have been at the free-throw line. He got fouled.

JJ Redick said

The first-year head coach clarified that he was not bringing this up as an excuse for losing the game. But he answered this to cut off questions about the horrible turnover LeBron James committed that ended up costing them the game.

Redick wanted to instead bring the attention to officiating mistakes. Those uncalled fouls could have saved the day. However, the Luka Doncic trip he is talking about might not be called a foul, considering he stepped on Jaden McDaniels‘ foot and lost balance.

Officiating mistakes did play a hand in LeBron James and Lakers’ loss

That tripping incident might not be the perfect example of officiating mistakes. Instead, there was a play earlier in the game when Austin Reaves was called for a foul, when replays suggest it should have been on Rudy Gobert.

In another instance involving Reaves, the star undrafted guard threw a bounce pass to LeBron James near the Minnesota Timberwolves’ sideline. The ball was deemed to go out of bounds, which meant it was a Los Angeles Lakers turnover. But again, replays showed that the ball hit Julius Randle‘s foot and changed direction.

That is why LeBron James’s IQ stopped him from trying to stop the ball even though it was within reach. He believed the officials would award it a kick ball, but they did not. With all of these proofs going viral on the internet, the Lakers will hope that it captures the league’s attention.

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