Jamal Murray Makes Controversial Statement About Jokic's Foul Calls

Free throws have become a controversial topic.
Jamal Murray Makes Controversial Statement About Jokic's Foul Calls
Jamal Murray Makes Controversial Statement About Jokic's Foul Calls /

The Warriors and Nuggets game on Christmas Day seems to have started one controversial topic - free throws. Nikola Jokic shot 18 free throws in the game which prompted Steve Kerr to go on a post-game rant, and then prompted the NBA world to have a never-ending discussion.

Some people are in the camp that Nikola Jokic deserves his free throws, some are in the camp that the NBA coddles offensive players too much, and others believe flopping has gone too far. Jokic's own teammate, Jamal Murray has his own opinion.

"[Jokic] does a great job, man. You see his arms everywhere? Those are fouls," Murray said. "I think he gets beat up down there, kind of similar to like how Dwight Howard used to. Such a big body, it's hard to call every foul, I understand, but when he's going into his shooting motion at least, they can only do so much and [Jokic] can only do so much."

Nikola Jokic may have shot 18 free throws against the Golden State Warriors, but he only averages 6.3 free throws on the season - which is good for 15th place. The person who shoots the most free throw in the NBA is none other than Jokic's main competition, Joel Embiid. Embiid averages nearly double of what Jokic does, at 11.6 free throws a game. In the case of flopping, no one does quite more than Embiid either. That's why Jamal Murray believes Jokic could be even more aggressive.

"[Jokic] can only do so much, so I think we got to just keep feeding him and [Jokic has] to continue to be aggressive," Murray said. "That's another thing, not looking for the foul, but just playing the game and getting to his spots. Stuff like that."

The controversial topic of free throws and flopping is something that definitely won't stop this season. While Jokic was the beneficiary on Christmas, he isn't usually. Still, that doesn't mean anyone should be.

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Published
Farbod Esnaashari
FARBOD ESNAASHARI

11-year veteran inside of NBA arenas. Published for ESPN, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and FanNation. Follow @Farbod_E on Twitter.