The Toronto Raptors drew the ire of Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick, who gave a scathing message about the team after their game on Sunday.
Redick called out the Raptors for their physical style of play after the Lakers’ 131–125 win, saying that the Raptors play a style where they “just going to foul you on every possession.”
Lakers’ JJ Redick’s Rant About Toronto’s Physical Game
Redick even compared the Raptors to previous defensive teams, noting how on-ball defenders pick up players, grab the arm they aren’t dribbling with, and try to force turnovers.
“We scored 131 with 24 turnovers. I mean, you guys can see it. Some of those turnovers are because we’re like legitimately getting fouled,” Redick said in the post-game press conference.
“Like, it’s not like, was that a foul? Was that not a foul? I told one of the referees this because all these guys do it, all the on ball defenders now. What they do is they pick you up, and then they grab the arm you’re not dribbling with and then they try to steal the ball from you.”
“It’s really hard when you play teams like this that are just fouling every possession.”
He explained that when teams commit contact or fouls on almost every possession, referees naturally start allowing more leeway, making it difficult for offensive players to operate cleanly.
“Famously, Cason Wallace did it with TJ McConnell. That’s just the NBA right now. It’s really hard when you play teams like this that are just fouling every possession. I thought we did enough to play through it, but a lot of those turnovers are just that, then you can point to some decision-making, some passes, all that stuff. Those naturally happen within the flow of the game,” Redick said.
The Lakers survived a late rally to beat the Raptors at Crypto.com Arena, led by Luka Doncic’s 45 points.
Toronto was called for 26 personal fouls, sending the Lakers to the free-throw line for 32 shots, making 27. LA was also forced to 22 turnovers.
The Raptors are averaging 28.2 personal fouls per game, leading the NBA for the most personal fouls committed per game this season so far. It was seven more than last season.
Raptors Also Have A Problem With Fouls And Officiating
Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković has recently spoken out about foul discrepancies and officiating.
Following a 121–114 NBA Cup loss to the Orlando Magic, Rajaković blasted the officiating and the free-throw disparity.
“A player that gets 34 shots and scores 41 points [only] goes to the free-throw line three times; that’s kind of BS, to be honest with you,” Rajaković said, talking about their franchise player Scottie Barnes.
“I don’t think that we’re a more physical or a more aggressive team than them [tonight]. I think that both teams played really aggressive, good basketball, and I think that the criteria should be the same on both ends of the floor,” Rajakovic added.
In that game, the Magic attempted 29 free throws compared to just 15 for the Raptors.
Coaches’ rants about officiating have been going on for a while across many teams this season.
The league is expected to address this internally for the rest of the season.
Toronto Raptors Receive Slander From Lakers’ JJ Redick