As the Chicago Bulls sorted out their third straight loss to the Miami Heat, an overtime defeat in Game 4 that featured LeBron James defending Derrick Rose well in the fourth quarter and James and Dwyane Wade taking over in extra time, coach Tom Thibodeau did what coaches often do: deflected some of the blame to the referees.
Heat Vs. Bulls, Game 4: Tom Thibodeau Alleges Derrick Rose Should Be Getting More Calls
In his post-game comments, Thibodeau said that Rose hadn’t gotten the number of free throws he deserved.
“There’s been a lot of contact, and he hasn’t gotten calls,” Thibodeau said.
Rose had just seven free throws in Game 4, with five of those coming in the fourth quarter. Rose has taken just 26 free throws all series, an average of 6.5 per game. Carlos Boozer has, in fact, taken one more free throw than Rose in about 26 fewer minutes in the series. LeBron and Chris Bosh have each taken more free throws than Rose, and Wade has taken just three fewer.
But Miami has also made a concerted effort to force Rose to take jump shots; he’s struggled from the field throughout the series, and really, throughout the playoffs.
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