Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Heat players see disparity in fouls being called
MIAMI — Complaining that calls are going against your team generally falls into the category of loser talk.
It would be difficult to point to cases where it served a useful purpose in reversing the trend.
But Heat guard Dion Waiters let it be known that the disparity of calls was a frustration in Wednesday’s 102-93 loss to the Wizards. It was bothering him enough that he raised the issue without prompting after practice Thursday.
“I don’t want to make it a big thing, but I’m just saying it so it can get it out there and they can take notice,” Waiters said. “And not just certain guys get certain calls, that’s not cool. You’ve got to treat everybody equal. At the end of the day, a foul’s a foul, bottom line.”
The Heat got to the freethrow line only 19 times compared to 31 attempts for the Wizards. Miami converted its first 10 free throws and made 16 total (84 percent).
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra declined to address the issue after the game. Thursday, he was adamant about his players not using the perception that they’re not getting a fair share of calls as a crutch.
“It doesn’t matter what I feel right now,” Spoelstra said. “I still want our guys to play to our identity offensively. That’ to be aggressive, that’s to attack, that’s to get to the paint. We’re second in drives. I love that.
“We can’t control the officiating,” he continued. “So, yeah, I am going to be hard on our team about not making excuses, not looking for a bail out from the officials.”
Nonethless, Waiters sees it as a troubling ongoing trend.
“We’re top five in teams getting to the paint, but we get to the free throw line the least,” Waiters said. “Sometimes that can be frustrating just not being able get the calls that some of the other guys get. I don’t know what else I need to do.
“You watch games and you see guys get to the freethrow line who [are] nowhere near as aggressive as you. It’s tough, especially with me, Goran [Dragic], [James Johnson]. If you watch, it’s contact every play with us. I’ve got to do a better job trying to keep my cool, but sometimes I get frustrated because I know for a fact that I’m getting hit.”