Regular readers know that I’m no LeBron-apologist. He’s a great player, but he settles for the jumper far too often and I think his focus on being a “global icon” instead of a NBA champion is quite troubling. However, with the game on the line, LeBron did what he should do – he took the ball to the rim.

Granted, if he would have made the bucket, the debate over whether or not he was fouled (by a still-moving Darius Songaila, who came over to take a charge) would be moot. But he was fouled. In real-time, it was clear that Songaila was still trying to get his feet set when LeBron left the floor. To make matters worse, Songaila turned to the side as impact was made, a serious no-no when trying to draw a charge. I would understand a no-call if Songaila had “manned-up” and taken the charge, but by turning his hips, it became an easy call to make.

In all levels of basketball, there is an unspoken rule that the officials are going to let a little more contact go at the end of the game. I understand the refs’ reasoning with this, as they do not want to be put into a position to decide the outcome of the game. But if a guy is clearly fouled, then the ref should blow his whistle and send him to the free throw line. Defenders should not get away with murder just because it’s the last possession of the game. It blows my mind that refs will call a ticky-tack foul in the first quarter but will let a guy undercut a player that is driving for the game-winning bucket in the fourth quarter.

On the TNT postgame, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith both said that they were happy that the refs didn’t blow the whistle, but I think that has more to do with the fact that there are simply too many charge/block calls in the NBA. If there isn’t a clear call, I’d rather that the official not guess just so he can make a call.

I thought LeBron handled himself pretty well in the postgame press conference. He implied that he was fouled, but said that the play was not the reason that the Cavs lost the game. Cleveland blew a number of chances to put the game away, but LeBron should have had another shot at the free throw line.

Here is a video that shows the final play… it’s about a minute in…