The Lakers’ loss to the Warriors on Friday night was ugly enough on the scoreboard, but the whistle became part of the story too.
Los Angeles fell 112-95 in Golden State, marking its second defeat of the season and its biggest loss so far. The Lakers had been up by as many as 25 points, but the game slipped away by the second quarter and never came back around.
One of the more frustrating moments for the Lakers came on another flopping technical, this time against Jarred Vanderbilt. The play unfolded when Al Horford drove at Vanderbilt and accidentally stepped on him, sending the Lakers forward to the floor on his back. Horford missed the shot, the rebound was secured, and then referee Tony Brothers assessed Vanderbilt a technical foul.
Afterward, JJ Redick made it clear he’s still trying to make sense of how these calls are being handled.
“The consistency, we’re just still searching.”
Redick also addressed the explanation he received for the Podziemski play, and his issue centered on the lack of uniformity in how the league is enforcing the rule this early in the season.
The Lakers have already been caught up in multiple flopping-related incidents. Ziaire Williams was fined $2,000 for flopping last Sunday against the Utah Jazz, and he was hit again with a technical earlier this week against the Portland Trail Blazers while defending on the perimeter.
Redick said the official told him the contact itself wasn’t what triggered the call, but rather the exaggerated reaction.
The Lakers will try to stay clear of their fourth technical foul in the last five games when they face the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
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The bigger issue is starting to look familiar: beyond Doncic and Austin Reaves, the Lakers have struggled to find reliable offensive support on a night-to-night basis. When Doncic is scoring at that level, the expectation is that the rest of the roster can at least help turn those performances into wins, but the recent results suggest that balance is still missing. [Read more 🡒]