There was a lot riding on the outcome of tonight’s Lakers vs Grizzlies clash. With both teams entering the game with the same win-loss record, the winner would take that fourth spot in the West standings, at least for now. As expected, there was a sense of desperation and urgency among players, which eventually led to a controversial act by Grizzlies star Jaren Jackson Jr. Neither the Lakers broadcasters nor the hoop community let it slide.
During the closing seconds of the third quarter, Gabe Vincent faked out a Grizzlies player and got an open shot attempt at the corner. As any great defender would, Jackson rushed to close in on Vincent to make his shot difficult. However, the former DPOY fell to the floor midway after a seemingly mild push from LeBron James. The official saw the contact and called an offensive foul on LeBron. Shocked by the decision, the four-time champ immediately protested and signalled his coaching staff to review the call. They obliged.
Upon review, it was clear that LeBron barely touched Jackson and his fall was rather exaggerated. Even the Lakers broadcasters called him out on Live TV, “This is more of an acting job by Jaren Jackson Jr. than anything. I know LeBron is very strong but that’s a bit much.” Meanwhile, the officials thought the same and overturned their original call. Instead, they penalized JJJ with a flopping technical foul, deeming his reaction “theatrical.
Well, Jaren’s unethical antics cost his team big time as Austin Reaves drained the resulting free throw from the technical foul and extended the Lakers’ lead to five points. Moreover, Jackson garnered massive criticism from the hoop community.
After seeing Jackson’s bad decision making, many netizens also questioned his basketball IQ. One wrote, “I truly believe that Jaren Jackson Jr. doesn’t like basketball and that he gets himself into foul trouble on purpose every single game. There’s no way that grown a– man can be that low IQ” while another said, “My favorite thing about watching any Grizzlies game is seeing how quickly Jaren Jackson Jr. picks up his fouls.” Although Jackson is an elite defender, he constantly gets into foul trouble. Obviously, it hurts his team during close games as it did tonight. The Grizzlies ended up losing by seven points
Well, JJJ has been incredible this season, averaging 22.4 points and nearly six rebounds. Even tonight, he dropped 24 points. But the big man needs to figure out a way to stay away from foul trouble because his performance will not matter much if it can’t help his team win games. Amid the criticism for Jackson, one netizen even praised NBA officials, “Finally the refs actually made a good call!”
Referees constantly get criticized by fans for handing out unnecessary techs or calling Ticky-tack fouls. But they received rare praise tonight after eventually making the right call by overturning the foul on LeBron and penalizing JJJ for his unethical antics. Thoughts?
