Can Paul George get a call? No, really, can he?
That’s the question the Pacers star posed on Monday night after Indiana lost to the Bulls 90-85. George went to the free-throw line just once during the game, and it seems he doesn’t think that he or his teammates are getting the kind of respect he thinks they all deserve from the NBA’s referees. George believes the Pacers should be getting more calls from the zebras, and he let them know about it by calling them out while speaking with reporters.
"I’ve been fined multiple times," he said. "I’ve been vocal to the point where the league issues [a statement], 'Hey, we missed a call. Hey, we missed that.' Officials do it during games [saying], 'I missed that call, I missed this call. We’re sorry. We’re sorry.' It’s getting repetitive. They see it, they know what’s going on. They know what’s a foul. They know what’s not a foul. It comes down from somewhere else how these games are going, I believe."
George went on to say that the Pacers feel like they’re the "little brother of the league" and not getting calls as a result of it.
"Ever since I’ve been playing, ever since I’ve been in this jersey, we’ve fought this battle," he said. "Maybe the league has teams they like so they can give them the benefit of the doubt. We’re the little brother of the league. We’re definitely the little brother of the league."
George’s coach Nate McMillan agreed with his assessment of the way the Pacers are treated by referees.
"We only shot 10 free throws," McMillan said. "Paul shot one free throw the entire game [and] played 39 minutes. This is the second game where he’s getting a lot of grabbing, a lot of holding. [Bulls guard Jimmy] Butler shoots 12 free throws tonight. [Opponents] are getting away with a lot of grabbing on Paul. [The referees] got to call the game both ways."
The Pacers are off to a 15-17 start to the season and are clearly frustrated with the way things are going. Will complaining about the referees help them get the calls they’re looking for? We’ll have to see. In the meantime, George and McMillan will both probably receive fines in their mailboxes at some point in the coming days. And something tells us PG can't wait for the NBA to set up that referee hotline they've been talking about.
