Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) drives against Detroit Pistons' Marcus Morris (13) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 22, 2016, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
“He gets beat up the most in the league. He takes a lot of hits night in and night out, especially in this series, and he keeps pushing and he stays mature. As our leader, that’s what you need from him: Stay mature and just keep playing and let the refs handle what they need to do. If he’s doing that, then we have no excuse.”
That’s what Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson said of LeBron James on Sunday after it was revealed that Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond would be going unpunished for an errant elbow he threw at James during Friday’s Game 3.
The statement couldn’t be more true. At 6-8, 260, and a one-of-a-kind athleticism, James gets treated unfairly on foul calls, plain and simple.
“Initially I was surprised,” Drummond wasn’t punished, James said Sunday. “But then I thought who he did it to and I wasn’t surprised.”
Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue attributed the lack of foul calling to James’ massive stature and strength:
“He’s the Shaq of guards and forwards,” Lue said. “He’s so strong and so physical when he goes to the basket guys are bouncing off of him. Those are still fouls, but he doesn’t get that call because he’s so big and so strong and so physical.”
It’s true, sometimes a whack on James goes unnoticed because of how players tend to bounce off of him.
Regardless, this isn’t the first time that James has subtly sent a message to the league and hopefully, they clean up their act soon.
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