Bismack Biyombo had a monster Game 3 as the Toronto Raptors got back into their Eastern Conference Finals series after losing the first two games in Cleveland. He had 26 rebounds and four blocks and hit three of the six shots he took.
But Raptors coach Dwane Casey thinks Biyombo should have had even more of an impact, if only the refs called the game the same way for both sides.
Despite the convincing Game 3 win, Casey frequently turned his answers to postgame questions into a rant on foul disparity and the treatment of his big man.
Asked about the team’s comfort with Biyombo on the offensive end, Casey said:
“Well, one thing is he’s getting fouled so much. He’s not getting the calls. We shoot zero free throws in the fourth quarter, zero. I mean, it is 73-46 in the entire three games. He’s getting hit. There’s one play where they almost have a brawl. He gets killed on that play. And again, I’ve got to go back and watch it, but there’s got to be some consistency.”
“I said it before the game, we have the greatest officials in the league. But how you can miss fouls like that and calls like that, I can’t see it. I’ve been in this league a long time, in college basketball a long time, but again, there’s got to be consistency. The same foul on one end has got to be the same foul on the other. I don’t know if he’s getting hit because of how physical and tough he is, but he’s getting cracked. To his credit, I thought he was going to lose his head when he got the technical foul, but he kept playing.”
He brings up the “zero free throws in the fourth quarter” part a couple of times during his press conference, maybe trying to lay the groundwork for some cals in crunch time later in the series.
Like when he was asked about the toughness of Biyombo and his teammates.
“They’re playing through a lot, playing through a lot of physicality, getting hit and fouled. We shot zero free throws in the fourth quarter, zero. That’s frustrating, but our guys played through it, so that shows a sense of toughness, a sense of togetherness. People have written us off all year, but we’ve played through it. We’ve got to continue to do it. It’s not over yet. It’s a long series. It says a lot about our guys’ character and resiliency.”
But back to Biyombo, coach, what about his effort?
“I thought it was a huge effort. I think he had 20 earlier against Indiana early in the season. But again, that’s what he does. He’s one of the top rebounders in the league, and no telling how many times he gets hit and fouled under there without being called. Again, I’m going to say this: I think he gets hit almost on every rebound and put-back there is, and he just doesn’t get the calls, whether he’s rolling to the bucket, and we’ve just got to have consistency with that.”
I think he gets hit almost on every rebound and put-back there is.
Dwane Casey on Bismack Biyombo
There were more, but you get the picture.
Now, while we wait to see what the league office has to say, let’s sign off with Casey’s comments on the incredible flop LeBron James attempted after getting smacked in the face by his own teammate.
“Well, the thing about it, [Tristan] Thompson was the one who hit LeBron, and then we were going to get about three or four technicals in that one play.”
(h/t to ASAP Sports)
