The NBA in-season tournament has added a lot of what the league hoped it would bring to the early regular-season schedule: stakes, eyeballs and a general sense that this season is different than seasons past.
It also has invited something traditionally reserved for April and May: officiating controversy, and more specifically officiating controversy surrounding the Lakers.
Much has been made of a controversial timeout Los Angeles was granted late in its 106–103 win over the Suns in Tuesday’s in-season tournament quarterfinal—which Lakers forward LeBron James appeared to have called while the ball was loose. The NBA’s report on the game’s final two minutes upheld the call, which Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkić dryly disagreed with Thursday afternoon.
