Lakers News: Josh Hart Frustrated By Inability To Set Physical Tone Because Of Foul Trouble
Gene Sweeney Jr.-Getty Images

As the new-look Los Angeles Lakers were working to develop new chemistry during the preseason, they faced challenge of NBA officiating calling games more tightly. On any given night the Lakers had multiple players in foul trouble, throwing off head coach Luke Walton’s rotations.

That carried into the regular season, which led to Walton criticizing officiating and Josh Hart and LeBron James being among those to voice their frustration over tightly-called games. Strangely, James struggled to get whistles in his favor.

While players have adjusted in some sense, officiating has remained inconsistent and frustrated players across the league. For someone like Hart, playing with a certain level of physicality is key to his game.

He struggled with that Friday night, ultimately fouling out with 5:56 remaining in the fourth quarter of what was a loss to the Utah Jazz. Following the game, Hart again shared his frustration over being hampered by foul trouble, via Spectrum SportsNet:

“It’s definitely difficult. I’m a physical player, I like to set a tone physically. When you have foul trouble you can’t do that. You’ve got to play conservative, you can’t get into a ballhandler, you have to give him space. It’s frustrating at times, because you can’t play how you want to play. You can’t help set a tone for your team as much as you want to.”

Like Lonzo Ball, Hart was saddled by three fouls in the first half. He collected two more in the third quarter, one of which was a Flagrant foul 1 for elbowing Rudy Gobert in the chest.

Compounding matters for Hart and the Lakers was a lack of calls in their favor. Though, the free throw disparity wasn’t exactly egregious, as the Jazz held a 32-24 edge in attempts.

Reminder: Vivid Seats is the Official Ticket Reseller of LakersNation.com. New Customers use “LAKERSNATION” (all CAPS) in the Vivid Seats App on your phone and get 10% off any Lakers home game ticket order for the remainder of the season.

You May Also Like

Even Phil Jackson Wouldn’t Save These Aging, Injury-Ridden Lakers

On the bright side for Lakers fans, your long nightmare is over,…

Kyle Kuzma, Frank Vogel Say Lakers Can’t Dwell On Injury Issues

The only consistent thing about the Los Angeles Lakers this season has been the team’s never-ending injury issues…

Fantasy Basketball: Keeping An Active League

The fantasy basketball season is now well past the first quarter mark, and by this point, you should have a good idea of your team’s strengths and weaknesses…

Lakers News: Lonzo Ball Becomes Youngest Ever To Record Triple-Double

The Los Angeles Lakers were thrilled to draft Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick in the NBA Draft, assuming that the young point guard would set records for the franchise…