The NBA’s flopping controversy figures to come to the forefront Friday night when the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors duel in San Francisco.
The longtime rivals met on opening night in Los Angeles, with the Lakers riding 28 points from Luka Doncic and a perfect shooting night from Walker Kessler (12-for-12, 26 points) to a 127-105 home win on Oct. 21.
The victory was overshadowed by postgame remarks made by Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, who had spent most of his NBA debut matched up with Doncic.
Lendeborg made national news when he claimed he “lost all respect” for the NBA superstar after “seeing all the whining and complaining” on a night when the rookie was whistled for four fouls and Doncic, a six-time first-team All-NBA selection, went to the free-throw line nine times and made every attempt.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr jumped on the flopping bandwagon two nights later when he accused the Memphis Grizzlies of baiting the referees into numerous foul calls by intentionally stumbling and sometimes falling following contact made by a Golden State screener.
The Warriors lost an opportunity to take a lead in the final seconds of a 111-108 defeat to Memphis on Oct. 23 when Draymond Green was assessed one such offensive foul while setting a screen for teammate Stephen Curry.
“It’s a better game when guys aren’t flopping, guys aren’t grabbing each other, hooking each other, running into screens and looking like they got hit by a car,” Kerr said after the loss. “It’s just a better game when the officials have the ability to just say, ‘No. We’re not buying into that.'”
Kerr had no such complaints when the Warriors, after opening the season 0-3, wrapped up a three-game trip with wins at Denver on Monday and Minnesota on Wednesday. Lendeborg contributed 57 points and 21 rebounds to the victories.
Golden State takes that two-game winning streak and a thirst for revenge up against a Lakers team that opened 3-0 before taking a 136-129 home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
The Lakers responded by defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 103-87 on Wednesday, getting 23 points from Quentin Grimes and 21 from Collin Sexton. Doncic sat out the second night of a back-to-back, with back tightness stated as the official reason for the night off.
Kessler, in his first season with Los Angeles, has been a consistent force in the middle during the team’s fast start. He was acquired from the Utah Jazz in July for two first-round picks (2031, 2033) and the right to two other first-round pick swaps (2028, 2030) as the Lakers awaited the pending loss of superstar LeBron James, who signed with the Philadelphia 76ers later that month.
Kessler has contributed 14.8 points per game on 75.0% shooting, and he is averaging 8.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.
The 25-year-old’s play has been heartily applauded by Doncic, and his few subpar moments have been criticized … by himself. He wasn’t happy with his production in the loss to Portland on Tuesday despite collecting 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
“It’s on me. I take responsibility for that,” he said after the setback. “I didn’t perform tonight. We shouldn’t have lost (when) scoring 130. Giving up almost 140 is not acceptable.”
Kessler went on to say, “I’m glad we play tomorrow,” a reference to the second half of a back-to-back set on Wednesday. He totaled 11 points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block in the game as the host Clippers were held to 87 points.
