OKC Thunder: Paul George says Big 3 is officiated differently
Paul George is in the headlines again for saying the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Big 3 is not getting the calls it should.
The Big 3 is made up of Paul George, Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Paul George has come forth saying that the trio is not getting the calls that they should.
According to ESPN‘s Royce Young, George said:
"“It’s tough. We’re so aggressive; we play at the rim constantly,” George said. “We’re just officiated differently, all three of us. And it’s tough. At least one of us [should] get the benefit of the doubt. But when we’re on that floor, no one is getting the better side of that whistle. But we’re going to keep attacking, we’re going to keep being aggressive. That’s our job, to put pressure on them. At some point it’s gotta work out for us.”"
Head coach Billy Donovan has come forth in support of George’s statements as well.
"“Yeah, I do. I do,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said when asked whether he sees George not getting a lot of calls. “Same thing with Russell, too. Those guys are aggressive players, and listen, there are calls that are missed, there just are. He’s gotten fouled, and he’s not getting to the line. I think the same thing can be said for Russell. And I’m not trying to get into, like, every single play call, but as much as those two guys are in the lane, they need to be at the free throw line more than they’re at the free throw line, in my opinion.”"
This is not the first time George has said something to this effect. On Feb. 4 George said close to the same thing and 23 days later he is in the media again talking about the lack of calls.
On Nov. 9, Carmelo Anthony was ejected from the game against the Portland Trail Blazers because he elbowed Jusuf Nurkic. It was a controversial call that caused Donovan and George to again speak out on the media.
Per ESPN:
"“What’s more concerning to me is our opponents have gotten to the free throw line 50 more times than we have,” Donovan said. “And we’ve got a player in Russell who clearly, historically in this league, has gotten to the free throw line as much or if not more than anybody else in this league.”“We haven’t been getting the benefit,” Paul George said. “Every night, we haven’t been getting the benefit of the doubt. I don’t know what it is, especially for Russ. He attacks the basket, and so many of his plays at the rim are questionable, and he’s not getting the benefit of the doubt.”"
Last season Westbrook was one of the top players when it came to getting to the line. He averaged10.4 free throw attempts per game, which was good for second in the league behind James Harden at 10.9.
On Oct. 24, the NBA acknowledged two mistakes in the final seconds in the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves that they missed.
Karl-Anthony Towns‘ screen on Paul George was an illegal pick because his legs were too wide. The second call that was missed was the fact that the Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau called a timeout while not having any during Carmelo Anthony’s 3-pointer with five seconds remaining.
This season the OKC Thunder are 24th when it comes to free throw attempts per game. In terms of free throws attempted per game among players, Russell Westbrook is ninth, George is 23rd and Anthony is 81st.
Last year when they weren’t on the same team, Westbrook was second, George was 30th and Anthony was 33rd.
The rules are different from last year. This year “the Harden Rule” is in effect. This rule states that a shooting foul is now actually when the player is in the motion to shoot instead of before when the player was allowed to gather and then have continuation after the foul.
James Harden is the face of this rule and he is still No. 1 in free throw attempts per game, but he is down from 10.8 to 10.1 per game.
The Thunder are right to complain. The offense has not been elite and their superstars going to the line is a big part of their offense becoming elite.
A superstar seemingly always gets the calls in this league and when they don’t, they usually feel like the world is against them. Imagine Allen Iverson, the ultimate superstar free throw shooter, not getting calls.
Next: 2017-18 Week 20 NBA Power Rankings
The OK3 has brought up the lack of no-calls all season so the league has to pay special attention to it and do something about it.