We got the answer to our pre-game question of whether or not LeBron would shoot or pass with the game on the line, and unlike last time, he took the shot. He missed it, but the shot was extremely well-contested by the Pistons' Rip Hamilton. The question is, did LeBron get fouled on that play? Take a look at the video.
Hamilton was on James pretty tight from the beginning of the play. There was contact by Rip on the drive, and a slight push-off by LeBron to clear some space. Then on the shot, it looked to me like there was more contact on LeBron's off hand than there was on his shooting hand, and certainly not enough to send him to the line to possibly win the game.
Now, at the most basic level, was LeBron fouled on that play? Probably. But the officials were letting a lot of contact go on both ends, especially during a stretch in the fourth quarter where players from both teams were going to the basket and getting the ball stripped with nothing being called. So on a play like this, where everyone knows LeBron is going hard to the basket, it's going to take a lot more than what Hamilton did to get some game-winning free throw attempts. You have to let the players decide these games, and in my opinion, the officials did the right thing here by simply making no call at all.




