INDEPENDENCE: Players’ dissent against the league’s officiating reports has grown louder in recent days as two of the NBA’s biggest stars have voiced their displeasure against what the league calls its “Last 2 Minutes” report.
One day after Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant called the reports “bulls***” and suggested the league abolish the idea, LeBron James followed suit. That’s nothing new for James, who first voiced his displeasure with the initiative during the playoffs last season after Dwyane Wade spoke out against them.
James has been a big supporter of Adam Silver since he replaced David Stern as commissioner, but the two disagree on this.
“I think it discredits what the referees are doing for 48 minutes,” James said. “If that’s the case, you might as well do a 48-minute report. It’s not fair to the referees that you only talk about the final two minutes of the game and not the first 46.”
The L2Ms are back in the spotlight after the league acknowledged Richard Jefferson should’ve been whistled for fouling Durant on the final play of the Cavaliers’ win Sunday over the Warriors. Both Durant and Jefferson used that as an opportunity to blast the reports in general.
“The refs didn’t lose us that game. We lost that game,” Durant told reporters in the Bay Area. “We could have been better. I think it’s bulls*** that the NBA threw the refs under the bus like that.”
Before Durant speaking out, Jefferson told the Beacon Journal the reports do more harm than good.
“You’re critiquing [officials], you’re criticizing them for what they see in real time versus a slow motion action,” Jefferson said. “It’s kind of like the generals who oversee the war, but aren’t in the war. I don’t think it’s good for basketball. It does nothing. All it actually does is cause more dissension.”
Silver has staunchly defended the reports despite the referees union calling on the league to end them. Silver believes the transparency they provide is important. A number of players, however, disagree.
“I’m not a fan of the last-two minute rule of putting it out to people that usually don’t watch the game until the fourth quarter anyways,” James said.
Felder sent down
The Cavs sent Kay Felder to the Canton Charge of the NBA’s Development League. Felder has appeared in 14 games for the Cavs, averaging 4.9 points. He was available to play in Wednesday’s home game against Greensboro and could easily be recalled before Thursday’s home game against the Boston Celtics.
High praise
James said DeAndre Liggins is filling the void that Matthew Dellavedova’s departure created. Dellavedova was known as an aggressive defender who could knock down open 3-pointers. That’s precisely what James sees Liggins doing, although he made clear Liggins’ priority is defense over shooting.
“Delly gave us a grit like, ‘I don’t care what y’all say, I’m out on this floor to defend, I’m out on this floor to make plays and no matter what y’all say that I can’t accomplish, I’m gonna try to overachieve that,’ ” James said. “We lost that in Delly and rightfully so for the first part of the season, first few weeks we was missing that.
“Liggs gives us that. He gives us that pit bull out on the floor that’s like, ‘I’m here to just work. I’m going to make you work every single possession. I know you don’t know my name yet, I know you don’t know my game yet or what I’m about, but I’m going to make you work.’ We’ve got that in Liggs. And that’s huge for our team.”
James joked that Liggins defends opposing point guards for “96 feet” because the court is only 94 feet long. He also said Liggins isn’t being asked to score, but he’s surprising himself and his teammates by what he can do.
“Obviously, you know what Delly did for us the last couple years and Liggs has picked that up,” James said. “It’s been a diamond in the rough for us and we’re happy to have him.”
Technical dunk
The league’s officiating report also indicated James should’ve been called for a technical for hanging on the rim following a dunk late in the game. James, however, argued that since the game was stopped, there was no reason to call one.
“Me hanging on the rim had nothing to do with the play,” James said. “It was a timeout and a foul. I could be hanging on the rim all the way until the game is being played and it doesn’t matter. So why would it be a technical at that point?”
Players are supposed to be assessed a technical foul for hanging on the rim too long after a dunk. The only time it is excused is if a player is underneath him and landing could cause injury.
“I get it if I dunked the ball [and] play was still in session and nobody was up underneath me. Then I get that,” James said. “But it was a timeout plus a foul.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.