Goran Dragic is having the best season of his career in Miami, and he is doing a little bit of everything for the Heat. However, he rarely gets calls from NBA referees, despite going through heavy contact with opposing players. In spite of his best efforts to drive to the rim and draw a foul, Dragic gets no love from the referees and it negatively impacts his efficiency.
Dragic is averaging 20.1 points per game this season and is the best scorer on the Miami Heat. He is also very valuable to the team as the Heat are 1-8 without him this season. Dragic runs the floor and helps Miami win games in many different ways, and one of his biggest strengths is finishing at the rim.
While almost all top finishers in the NBA get plenty of foul calls on their drives, the 30-year old guard gets no such treatment, and it's frustrating to watch.
Goran Dragic gives his best, but it's not enough
Dragic ranks second in the entire NBA in drives to the rim, with 12.2 per game. However, he gets only 5.0 free throw attempts on average, which ranks 32nd in the NBA. Only Isaiah Thomas drives more often to the rim as he averages 13.0 drives per game. Unlike Dragic, Thomas draws fouls more often on his drives and averages 8.6 free throw attempts.
Last season, Goran Dragic had a smaller role on the team, but he still ranked in top 15 in drives per game. Despite that, he ranked just 140th in the entire league in free throws with only 2.3 attempts on average.
In his entire career, Dragic has averaged just 3.1 free throw attempts per game, which is rather ridiculous considering his play style and how good he is.
Referees are biased against Dragic
Miami Heat guard gets no love from referees when it comes to drawing fouls, but they also make a lot of wrong calls against him. The best example is the offensive foul by Al Horford that happened last season when the Heat played against the Atlanta Hawks.
Horford had the ball and hit Dragic's face with his elbow, causing the Heat guard to lose a tooth and bleed. Referees called a foul on Dragic and the Hawks kept their possession.
It is hard not to think there is bias against Goran Dragic when it comes to making foul calls. He does every right thing on the floor, yet when he gets fouled, he gets no call, even if it's a hard contact. This is how it has been for Dragic in his entire NBA career, and it is unlikely that it will change unless the league decides to take a closer look into it.
