Another day, another NBA player complaining about the officiating in the NBA.
Just one day after LeBron James criticized the refs for his lack of free throw attempts in a loss to San Antonio, Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star forward Paul George expressed frustration over the same issue.
Following last night's 112-105 win over the Orlando Magic, in which George attempted seven free throws, he told reporters that he, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony are "just officiated differently." Westbrook and Anthony combined for just two free throw attempts in last night's game.
Speaking about the officiating, George said per ESPN.com's Royce Young,
"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."
According to ESPN, the trio are all getting to the line at lower rates than in previous seasons, though Paul George's five free throws a night are above his career average of 4.4. Anthony, who has a career average of seven free throws a night, is down to just 2.8 attempts per game, while Westbrook's rate is the second lowest of his career.