LeBron questions why he rarely draws flagrants

The case can be LeBron James is at the same disadvantage with officials Shaquille O'Neal once was: a dominant, physical specimen who doesn't get all the calls he deserves because of that dominance.

And not like O'Neal a decade and a half ago, James is occasionally incredulous about the treatment he receives from NBA referees.

"I have no idea what it is," James said Tuesday, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. The question was about the league's definition of a flagrant foul against him in the wake of the Cleveland Cavaliers' Game 1 win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. In the second half, James was hit in the face when met under the basket by Bismack Biyombo. Though, it was James who was whistled for an offensive foul for contact on DeMar DeRozan earlier in that same play.

"I know what it is when it happens to someone else, but I don't know when it involves me," James said. "I have no idea what a common foul and flagrant foul is."

Coach Tyronn Lue made the LeBron connection to Shaq during the Cavs' first-round series with the Detroit Pistons.

"He's the Shaq of guards and forwards," Lue said at the time. "He's so strong and so physical, when he goes to the basket, guys are bouncing off of him. Those are still fouls, but he doesn't get that call because he's so big and so strong and so physical.

"We used to tease Shaq all the time about soft fouls. He said: 'Listen, if I pinch you, it feels the same way when you pinch me. No matter how big I am, it feels the same.' I never thought about it like that. That's kind of how LeBron feels."

The only flagrant foul called Tuesday was a flagrant-1 against Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love, who was whistled for elbowing Patrick Patterson in the face while the Raptors' forward was guarding him.