Chicago Bulls Accuse LeBron James of Flopping after Being Shoved
By Josh Hill
The Chicago Bulls lost a very physical Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Miami Heat, and they demonstrated how well they take losses after the game. The big story in the game was that Bulls reserve center Nazr Mohammed was ejected in the first quarter for shoving LeBron James to the hardwood after James played some mind games with him.
Mohammed pretty blatantly shoved LeBron and sent him flying, but after the game the Bulls tried to claim that LeBron flopped when Mohammed wound up and shoved him down.
Nate Robinson: "You see LeBron in a lot of commercials. He's a good actor." #Bulls #Heat
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) May 11, 2013
Even Bulls head coach Tom Thiboduea got in on the controversy, saying that from his angle on the side of the court he saw a big man doing a big flop.
Thibodeau on Nazr/LeBron play: "From my angle, I just saw a guy basically flop. And I’m going to leave it at that." #Bulls
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) May 11, 2013
Look, I’m a Bulls guy but if you honestly think LeBron James flopped on that, you’ve got to be kidding. Perhaps he flew back farther than he otherwise would have, but that was a pretty big shove by a pretty big dude in Nazr, so while James may have played it up he definitely wasn’t flopping.
What the Bulls are likely more upset about is the fact that they could have used Mohammed late in the game as the Heat pulled out a close one in Chicago to take a 2-1 series edge. But after the physicality of Game 2 and the even more physical play of Game 3, it’s going to be very interesting to watch how tightly things are officiated as we play Game’s 4 and 5 this week.