With the Lakers-Wolves series now well in the rearview mirror, it’s easier to reflect on the games and what transpired during this short postseason run for the Lakers.
While the Lakers were eliminated in five games, many of the contests were close. In fact, three of the five games were decided by 10 points or less.
One of those games was Game 4, which the Lakers lost by just three points. It was a pivotal one, considering the Wolves led the series 2-1. A Lakers win would’ve evened things up, while a Wolves victory meant L.A. was just one loss away from elimination.
While many decisions in that contest were unusual, such as coach JJ Redick using just five players for the entire second half, another event occurred from the officiating side that has never been seen before.
With 9.5 seconds to go and the Lakers down by one, LeBron James swiped the ball out of Anthony Edwards’ hand and forced a turnover.
Minnesota challenged the call, and when the officials went to review it, they suddenly had an over-the-top camera angle that we had never seen before. It was that particular angle that showed LeBron making contact with Ant’s wrist before he touched the ball. The call was overturned, and the Wolves went on to win the game.
During his most recent episode of the “Mind The Game” podcast, LeBron talked about how he’d never seen such an angle in his 22 years of play in the NBA.
Can you imagine the uproar if the NBA pulled out this Hawk-Eye camera to overturn a call in L.A.’s favor?
Was it the right call? Yes, but that’s besides the point.
It’s clear that the NBA will do anything to prevent the family-owned Lakers from competing against these billion-dollar, board-run conglomerates.
What other high-tech devices does the NBA also have at its disposal to stop the Lakers from winning another title? Do they have NASA-level telescopes ready to zoom in for an out-of-bounds call?
Will they hire a method actor to identify when Austin Reaves is flopping next year? Will NBA commissioner Adam Silver use A.I. to predict when Redick will go off on a call and give him a tech before he even does it, sending society closer to the Tom Cruise hit “Minority Report?”
Jokes aside, it was wild in real-time to see this grainy footage bury the Lakers for good. No matter how much basketball one watches, in any given game, something unprecedented could occur that changes the game in a significant way.
Unfortunately, this one hurt the Lakers, but maybe one day the NBA will use its technology to help even things out for the little guys in Los Angeles.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at@ECreates88or on Bluesky at@ecreates88.bsky.social.