ANDREW BYNUM CRIES FOUL

Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum was not happy with the officiating during the team's loss to the Dallas Mavericks, but it's what the refs said that should force the NBA to take action.

Following the Lakers 101-96 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, KCAL reporter John Ireland asked center Andrew Bynum how he felt about the officiating. Here's a transcript of what was said...

John Ireland: Were they more aggressive or did the calls just not go your way tonight?

Andrew Bynum: It's hard to play 8-on-5...

John Ireland: You were asking the officials for explanations at the end. Did you get any?

Andrew Bynum:...I asked "How'd you call a travel" and he said "I didn't see a travel." The guy who called it looked me in the eyes and said he didn't see a travel...

John Ireland: He didnt see it but he called it anyway?

Andrew Bynum: Yea...and the last one...dude told me [he did not call a foul because] "I didn't think it was going to mess your shot up."

Wow.

At first thought, it seems like Bynum is crying. The Lakers had plenty of opportunities to beat this Mavericks team but failed to capitalize. The Lakers once led by as many as 9 in the game but wasted chances to extend their lead, including a stretch of 7 turnovers in less than 4 minutes in the 3rd quarter. It's tough to score when you don't even take shots. Plus, refs miss calls all the time.

However, the issue here is not that the game was poorly officiated. It is what the refs told Bynum that is angering. That is the type of explanation refs give at the YMCA rec-league games they don't really care about. The officials essentially admitted they called a bad game.

While Bynum was fined $25,000, no type of action is likely to take place for the refs. Bad calls happen and officiating a game is difficult, but the NBA should take action to make sure they avoid these types of situations in the future.