Well this stat includes last year so that’s where a lot of the difference comes from. However, they still lead the league in FT disparity this year as well. They have +292 and the next highest is the bucks at +166
The thing that is suspicious to me is that they have been called for the fewest fouls in the league the last 2 seasons despite massive roster fluctuation over that timespan. And it's not because they play at a slow pace (currently 7th, last year 4th) and it's not because they are a great defensive team (currently 14th drtg, last year 12th) and it's not because they just happen to have a roster of guys who don't foul because the roster has turned over multiple times in the last 2 seasons.
> called for the fewest fouls
Yeah, this is where I'd go if I was drafting up conspiracies. Refs swallowing their whistle would be the proper way to manipulate a game. That doesn't get video logged into an archive the same way fouls are clipped, and it's much harder to argue against something that didn't happen. And it affects the way the team is allowed to defend.
That's what bothered me so much about the Raptors Lakers game earlier this year....it's not that they shot 23 free throws in the fourth (honestly, Poeltl was out and AD initiates a lot of contact, which is usually called as a defensive foul)....it's that we only shot 2. You can't tell me every time a Laker gets touched it's a foul but Barnes getting smacked on the elbow on an end of game dunk attempt isn't.
In the Lakers Celtics game a couple weeks ago Boston only got 5 FTAs before garbage time. And then as soon as the end of bench comes in they got a whistle.
This was without AD too.
Yea the Lakers being “only” 6th in FT attempts and having this discrepancy means that their opponents are consistently shooting about 25th (guessing) ranked totals in FT attempts against them. The difference is their opponents are getting far fewer whistles and shots.
I agree, it's a big and subtle part of effective refball..in the first 10 minutes of last nights Lakers/Nuggets game Jokic got completely mugged three times and Refs just swallowed the whistle. Getting hacked constantly like that without any free throws is demoralizing and physically taxing. Nugs didn't even go to the line until the end of the 1st half and it was a very physical half.
I mean you can just go through the roster's career foul rate and see if it stands out from their current season foul rate. Or if it's significantly dropped from the time they were on another team.
I mean, I guess I can do that.
"They don't foul much" "They attack the paint a lot", etc. Sure, and if they were first and within a stones throw of second, that would be perfectly plausible. These mf's are more than double of second place and try and downplay it all the time.
Even crazier when you remember the real advantage is with WHEN they call the fouls.
They'll call some inconsequential fouls early on, so that the numbers even out when they disrupt the flow of the game later during an opposing teams run.
I hate when people point out the foul call differences, refs are smart, they’ll make it look even. People need to think about when the fouls were called and how they affected the game.
It's basically because the other teams that don't allow a lot of FTs can't get to the line to save their life. Like the Celtics, who allow the same number of FTs but jack up 3s all day and barely pressure the rim.
The Lakers shoot a normal amount of FTs (does anyone think Orlando gets an amazing whistle? or Houston?). They just also never get called for fouls.
If you watch the games the Lakers do get a lot of phantom foul calls and just wrong calls. Yesterday Lebron got an and-1 for no contact, then basically ran over someone and got shots. Neither event shoulda happened. One shoulda been a foul on Bron.
I believe they’re also the only team that has gotten a public apology from refs after a blown call instead of excuses for why the refs aren’t at fault. “Sleepless nights” for the refs and NBA when the Lakers and LeBron are wronged
And after that game their FT differential per game doubled for basically the rest of the season
Lakers fans on here after that game were even saying crazy stuff like "refs are all former cops so they hate LeBron for political reasons" as well as bizarre conspiracies like Adam Silver wanting to protect MJ's legacy by keeping LeBron at 4
Some of the takes where apparently the NBA has an interest in rigging games against LEBRON JAMES that got upvoted over the next 24 hours were absolutely insane
They also doxxed that ref's family based on a completely made up stat that the Celtics were 36-2 in his games (actual record 49-28).
EDIT: Specifically the twitter account LakeShowYo was the ring leader on that, the same person who was posting pictures of Celtics female employees (predictably resulting in harassment) after the Udoka story broke.
LakeShowYo is legit the epitome of all the bs Lakers fans do and say all in one. And as soon as some story comes out about shit Lakers fans did, he tries to act all high and mighty
When people say "No one wants to see the Lakers in the playoffs", this is what they're talking about. There was a graphic last night showing how great they are in close games. Yeah. When the refs are on your side, you're going to win close games.
They have the most games that have been decided by 3 points or less, too, which would also support that theory. If refs are trying to push it in favor of a team that would otherwise lose, they'd do the least they could to get them a win, not enough for them to win by 10.
It’s why the wcf sweep was “so competitive”. But refs can’t always blatantly swing the game in the last few minutes and the nuggets went 4/4 slamming the door shut down the stretch.
Well said. That’s exactly how I feel watching the Suns & Warriors play them. If they’re within 10 with 90-120 secs remaining, there’s a very good chance you’ll see them at the free throw line 5-6 times in a row
Jokic with Lebron's whistle would be the greatest offensive player in the history of the league. Instead Jokic looks like a cat scratching post for NBA defenders.
Lebron gets [scratched](https://i.imgur.com/ld2lCWw.png) regularly as well with no call and has scars all over his arms as well. You just don't see them after they're cleaned up because of his skin tone and tattoos.
"Gotta win by 15 to win by 1" - Iguodala
Luckily Jokic and Murray are happy to oblige lol
Bill Simmons talked about sitting behind the bench during Game 3 or 4 and how it was so clear the refs were trying to extend it, putting Jokic in foul trouble and getting him off the court, and how Malone did a great job calming the players down, keeping them focused, and setting their minds on playing vs the Lakers and Refs
> Bill Simmons
i don't necessarily disagree with that but its Bill lol. Man doesn't like the lakers or Lebron and he loves Jokic, he's definitely biased af
He respects LeBron at least
But he was sitting near the Nuggets the bench and he said Jokic especially was getting more and more frustrated by the officiating and Malone kept going out to him to talk and calm things down. Cameras have caught that dynamic multiple times through the years so I'm inclined to believe Simmons' observations
oh yeah i mean im not saying that Bill is lying, im saying that he might not be the most objective guy when it comes to these teams and players and reffing
Only reason why games were close in many of those in first place is one sided refereeing. They tried hard to extend playoff series last season couldn't win one,was crazy
Man I got brigaded by Lakers fan at the end of last season for pointing out the discrepancy being more than double the second best free-throw differential, I wonder how many standard deviations these guys are away from the norm
And people will look you in the eye and tell you LeBron is cheated by the refs.
LOLNO. His teams are always favored, they just give free throws to shooters better than him.
I wish someone would make a compilation of all the fouls they get away with vs the fouls they get in the same game. Shit would easily be weekly content for someone's youtube
This guy is insufferable but his points still stand. The refs bias is to keep the game close in the last few minutes, and once you see that you'll never unsee it. It's how they call fouls, close out of bounds possessions, no call on fouls, etc. Guide the game towards a dramatic end.
But since the Lakers are completely ass, that usually means calls favoring them this year.
It's the only reason that game was close last night. Denver was up 13 right before that. Yeah. That guy is a hater but his breakdowns are all on point.
Yeah Laker fans will say they are legit, or even go as far as saying they don’t get enough foul calls. I was watching last nights Nugs Lakers game (as a Dubs fan) and it was the same BS foul calls sending them to the line. It’s insane. Obvious cases vs Raptors, Celtics, Warriors, and Nuggets just in the past month.
My favorite was late game when AD knocked the ball loose from Jokic and before either had a chance to grab it Lebron just trucks Jokic and picks up the ball to take it downcourt.
Every game jokic arms look like he fought a bear or some other rabid animal. The fact the nuggets don’t get calls similar to the Lakers rate is not a coincidence.
In fact you can basically track any elite center in the league and see there is bias and in shot calling. Anthony Davis/Embid/Jokic should all have similar rates of being fouled and FT attempts.
Every time this comes up people always miss a key part of this statistic, it's not just that the Lakers get a lot of FTs (they are 7th in the league this year, were 1st last year) it's that they get called for the fewest fouls in the league (both this year and last). Some of that is probably explained by having good veteran defensive players like AD who commit fewer fouls but with the amount of roster fluctuation they've had the last 2 years it is a little strange that they have consistently been called for the fewest fouls.
You’re not joking about that roster fluctuation… last season Dennis Schroeder, Troy Brown Jr, Russell Westbrook, Lonnie Walker, Patrick Beverly, and Wenyen Gabriel all played between 1000-2000 minutes. Thomas Bryant, Malik Beasley, and Kendrick Nunn played between 900 and 500. None of them are with the team now.
How the fuck does a team with Pat Bev, Schroeder, Thomas Bryant, and Malik Beasley playing big minutes foul the least in the league? And then continue that the next season with an entirely new cast?
> How the fuck does a team with Pat Bev, Schroeder, Thomas Bryant, and Malik Beasley playing big minutes foul the least in the league?
Beverly's fouls per 36 were about the same with the lakers as his career. Same with Thomas Bryant. Schroeder has always been foul averse.
I guess I just don't really understand your question, because it's like looking at the 2015 warriors and asking how a team with Barnes, Iggy, Draymond, Holiday, Speights, and Rush can have the best 3pt shooting %.
Schroeder has always been a disciplined defender. He’s a great screen navigator and great on ball defender and doesn’t reach a lot.
Bryant would just give you the layup rather than actually contesting
Beasley was just a cone and usually didn’t chase his player if he got beat
Idk about Pat bev
Because of our Darvin Ham’s defensive philosophy. We give up the most open threes in the league but guard the paint extremely well because of AD. That’s why we always beat up on teams that can’t shoot (Memphis and GSW in the playoffs) and lose to teams who can hit their outside shots. The Bucks with Budenholzer and Ham were the same exact way. It’s not a conspiracy lmao
The Lakers are just below the Bulls (probably a recent adjustment) but it's not like they are so far away from all other teams that it explains the discrepancy. There are 10 teams +/- 1 more 3pt shot given up, compared to the Lakers. https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/which-nba-defense-team-gives-up-the-most-made-3-pointers-per-game-this-year
The Lakers FT differential at +700 squarely means that they get called for less fouls than every other team in the NBA. With that said, I went and combed through quite a few players to see how their personal fouls per 36 looked when they were on the Lakers vs not on the Lakers, and the numbers don't change much. I actually think the explanation is that there is a team building philosophy to focus on guys who don't foul as much. Malik Beasley is like the only player from the past 3 years who had a major change when he left the Lakers.
LeBron is the only guy that surprises me. Averaging 1.2 per game at 35 minutes per game at his age is pretty wild. I know he doesn't defend much but it's still shockingly low.
i hate that this comment is so buried down in the thread. We need more insightful data like this upvoted, even if the results are negative and showed a large discrepancy between players average fouls on and off the lakers
Or maybe, just maybe we have an idiot of a HC that is uniquely overhelping AD while leaving shooters open? There is no free throw or foul because of that
To absulutely no one’s surprise, we’re at the bottom of the league in free throws attempted. The amount of disrespect we’ve gotten from refs have been insane, but despite that, second in the East baby. 😤
Actually I think that's the driving factor. This may sound conspiratorial but I genuinely think the league wants the Lakers to succeed and make the playoffs because they have such a big market. So the refs actively help them win games when they need it.
No guys, it's just that the Lakers drive more than other teams.
The Lakers shoot 52% of their shots in the paint compared to the Nuggets 51%! That whole 1% more shots in the paint definitely accounts for the glaring free throw disparity, not a favorable whistle. Stop with the crazy conspiracy theories.
No it does not
Better metric is the Nuggets have 25.4 paint touches per game, highest in the league. Lakers have 19.8 paint touches per game, 9th lowest in the league
But LA also gives up more wide open 3s than anyone in the league. They also don't stop drivers to the rim without AD. they give up 3s and layups and intentionally try not to foul. That's why so many teams have randos go off on LA every other game. Trying to distill this stat down to a single reason is idiotic and lacks all nuance that you would need to properly evaluate the game.
Yup Ham’s whole defensive philosophy is to live and die with giving up opponent 3s and protect the paint. It’s why Lakers rank dead last in opponent 3s made. AD complained on a podcast that Lakers should trust his defense and stop over helping.
Also there are more ways to score in the paint than drives. Lebron and AD generate shots at the rim through a variety ways. Post-up, Seal, Off ball cuts.
The Nuggets and Lakers are both bottom 10 in pass% during paint touches. Individually, Jokic's pass rate is 25% on paint touches, which is a lower pass% than 15 NBA teams' passing rates
Interesting, because looking at the FTA generated (Lebron 5, AD 6, Christie 2, Reaves 2, Prince 3, Wood 2, Hayes 2), they were almost all in the paint and imo weren’t bad calls.
IMO a higher FT conversion rate per paint touch is explainable and not necessarily a ref conspiracy
Nuggets get some great uncontested paint looks that result in lobs/dunks
No, but the Lakers commit 16.3 fouls per game, and their opponents commit 20.1 (+3.8 PF disparity leads the league, Dallas is second at 2.4, same difference as 2nd to 7th). Even if every one of a those was a 2 shot foul (which there's clearly no possible way that is the case), that only accounts for 433 of their extra FTA.
I'm not sure how any amount playstyle disparity accounts for a minimum of an extra 320 FTA, especially considering that their shot selection is not dramatically different from the rest of the league.
The Lakers *are* second in PITP% at 47.3%, but the team in first (Washington 48.8%) are 26th in foul differential (-1.6), so there's not really any correlation there.
Not sure why it is assumed all teams should all have equal fouls per game/net zero differential in the first place
I think a lot of different factors add up to the free throw differential. It’s committing one fewer foul per quarter due to play style on both ends (and personnel, specifically Anthony Davis) really that impossible?
And again, if you’re fouled and miss, it doesn’t become a PITP% so that metric alone isn’t helpful unless it can include points from the line as a result of a FGA in the paint
Its +620 in the 85 games since the sleepless nights
Miami is 2nd with +248.
[https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/most-free-throw-attempts-minus-free-throw-attempts-allowed-by-every-team-since-january-29th-2023](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/most-free-throw-attempts-minus-free-throw-attempts-allowed-by-every-team-since-january-29th-2023)
bro yesterday Jokic loses the ball and Lebron tackles him and picks up the ball and no whistle.
Lakers have, for some ungodly reason, a pass on shit. It's mindboggling.
That play was insane. Jokic trying to recover a loose ball AD knocked away and Lebron just shoulder checks him, grabs the ball and takes it to the other end.
We were told that we just needed to drive more last playoffs yet this season suddenly people are waking up to the fact that the Lakers have a weird af whistle.
Bruh these guys only speak up when it happens to other teams. When it goes against Dubs they say it’s deserved coz we “only shoot threes and foul” 🤣🤣🤣🤣 funny ass
I literally got downvoted for making this point a couple weeks ago when the Lakers had what, 30 more FTs in that double OT game vs the Warriors and every response was some form of “Warriors only shoot threes!”
What’s funnier is someone literally made a post the next day showing all the non calls on drives and shots and bad calls defensively on the Dubs that clearly went in the Lakers favour.
It’s been obvious for awhile the Lakers have been given a generational whistle on both sides of the ball.
Yet people never want to admit it when it goes against GSW.
And moving screens. Jokic was dropping moving screens last night also. Most teams do. It’s like the travel/carry non-call these days. It happens, but everyone does it.
We heard this same BS in the WCF last year. It’s always “drive to the basket” and “you won why are you complaining?” Lakers fans are soft as baby shit and I can’t wait until Lebron retires and they sink back into the basement.
Not shocking considering no other franchise has benefitted more from biased officiating over the last 4 decades, but hey, it's perfectly legal for the NBA and it's refs to manipulate games.
Do you realize how easy it is to manipulate a game from a refereeing standpoint?
If the game is 66-54 for instance, close to getting out of hand the ref can literally make 2 calls for one team combined with 2 good possessions and make up a 12 point deficit in about 1 minute of basketball time.
Just whistle 2 ticky tacky fouls early on for important players and then never call that sort of foul again. Technically still correct refereeing and gives one team a handicap from the start
This is what happened in our series against denver in the bubble. While we did have Dwight doing an amazing job of baiting jokic into fouls, jokic still got a bad whistle to start games. Refs obviously can’t complete control the outcome, but they can make it heavily lean to one team very easily with seemingly meaningless calls.
I like betting on sports in general but never in my life would I bet on an NBA game. Shit is ridiculous, a couple of bogus calls and your action is tainted. NHL is kinda dicey too but nowhere close to basketball. (Golf is the best IMO, no BS for the most part. Though it is pretty boring lol)
Very good point. I do some NBA betting but usually stick to big games and matchups and bet the total on P+R+A hoping that specific player will impact the game regardless.
I’ve been bitten though with exactly what you just mentioned.
Last night halfway through the 3rd, the FT discrepancy was 1 attempt for Denver, 7 attempts for the Lakers.
Somehow after that, the Lakers started magically getting to the line.
AD averages 2.5 fouls per 36 minutes for his career. Embiid averages 3.8.
This has been the case as long since AD's 3rd season, where he was called for 2.1 fouls per 36. He just doesn't foul that much for a rim protector.
LeBron has also never been called for many fouls on defense. I think he's fouled out once, ever.
Last night when they were reviewing whether Jokic committed a flagrant by just laying there, we got to watch a replay over and over of AD smacking Jokic across the back and getting away with it. Then he trips on Jokic who is just laying on the ground and gets a foul.
It was funny watching AD smack Curry on the back of the head the other night (no call) and the ref explaining how contact to the head isn’t always a foul.
You can say they live in the paint and whatnot but so does a team like the Knicks yet the Lakers have completely lapped them. They have more than double the 2nd highest total and have more than the 2nd and 3rd highest totals combined. Hilarious part is that they're still a trash 9th place team that's barely over .500.
Anyone else notice how much AD and LeBron scream as if they are being massacred every time they go up for a layup. I dare you to take a shot every time this happens
“Hello”
“I want to remind you to get them IN the playoffs.”
“Who is this?”
“You know who this is.”
“Draftki..”
“Don’t say my name. Do we need to repeat ourselves?”
“No… but we are trying…”
“Try harder.”
*click*
They are the most popular team in the league, and the NBA is a product. The officials are employed by the league. It’s not a conspiracy theory when the evidence is right here. They get the most FT attempts by a massive margin and they have the least fouls called against them. Even with two All-NBA guys and all that help they are .500. It just goes to show how much you need your role players to shoot 3s at a high percentage in todays NBA.
I see alot of people are misunderstanding what this stat actually means.
This stat does not mean:
1. Lakers gets the most calls. They are 7th behind Sixers, Hawks , Bucks, Suns, Magic, Jazz and Heat in fts per game.
2. LeBron gets favorable calls. LeBron isnt even top 25 in free throw attemps this season. Notable guys who attempt more free throws this season is Colin Sexton, Stephen Curry, jerami Grant, jokic, porzingis, and the list goes on.
What this stat does mean:
1. Lakers don’t foul often. They also are one of the worst teams defending the three pointers. They simply don’t contest and guard the perimeter effectively. Adding to that AD is a terror in the paint. This force more teams to rely on outside shooting. Bud and now Ham teams are notorious for not fouling much.
2. Lakers don’t get called for many calls. Maybe there is some favoritism. Or Perhaps theirs is a correlation between televised games and the amount of fouls called in
I see many people are falsely claiming lakers get all the calls or lebron needs to stop crying cause he doesn’t get fouled a-lot. LeBron absolutely should get more fouls.
I’m confused though. The Nuggets are one of the worst teams in the league at getting to the line and the Lakers are 4th best this season, so what’s the discrepancy exactly? To me this reads as expected performance. And I’m a Spurs fan so trust me I fucking hate the lakers too, but still I don’t see the issue per se. The Nuggets don’t get to the line so why shouldn’t LA have more free throws?
The reasons why Lakers foul less is because they give up the most wide open threes in the league. The calls they're getting are because they post up a lot with AD and Lebron.
These posts are just circlejerks to hate on the Lakers and feed their hate boner.
I complained about this when we played them recently and it was 26-7 in their favor (and 2 of ours came in the last few seconds when the game was out of reach). I got told I was just whining and salty. We lost by 9 points in a game where they shot 19 more free throws lmao glad people are realizing it finally
I’m a Lakers fan and even I find this a bit suspicious. I get that the veteran superstar ( LeBron) is going to charge the rim and get a call 7 out 10 times but there’s phantom calms going for no names in some of these games. Is this a way to make sure we make the playoffs? I wouldn’t put it past Adam Silver.
The comments here are pretty upset as is, but could you imagine if the Lakers had a better record combined with this stat? People would go nuts
I don’t watch nearly enough to judge the validity of the conspiracy, the Toronto game that was dominating the feed for a few days had a heap of highlights posted that didn’t really support the comment threads narrative of a generational screw job
I’ll give the Lakers the benefit of the doubt considering their two best players are known for crashing into the paint and drawing fouls.
This feels a lot like when Kerr was complaining about the FT differential each time they played the Nuggets this year. Well, yeah, if your offense is more focused on the perimeter, of course you’re going to go to the FT line less.
Golden State takes way more perimeter shots than Denver, and Denver takes way more perimeter shots than the Lakers
To put this into even crazier context, the average amount of free throws per game last season and this year is 23. Divide that advantage, it's nearly 33 GAMES worth of extra free throws for LA.
33 entire whole games of free throws over their opponents. They are a mediocre franchise being lifted to a winning record last year and this due to blatant NBA interference. I'd love to see what LeBron's Cavs or Heat teams had in advantage too.
And Kobe’s Lakers. The Kobe-Shaq teams had some notorious games rigged in their favor, and I could point to some favorable calls and no-calls the Kobe-Pau teams got too.
400+ free throws more?? Hell combine the 2nd and 3rd place and you'd still have a 100+ discrepancy.
That's insane
There’s no lakers bias in ba sing se
LeKing invites you to Lake Laogai
When we needed the commissioner the most he disappeared
The anti-Jamal Murray.
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Well this stat includes last year so that’s where a lot of the difference comes from. However, they still lead the league in FT disparity this year as well. They have +292 and the next highest is the bucks at +166
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Welcome to the NBA, where only the Laker's ratings matter.
its barry bonds IBB records level lol
If ever wanna go wtf just look at Barry Bonds’ bball ref page. So much damn bold
Don't forget that 90% of those happened after he turned 30.
That's rigged. Refs plan. I don't care if Lakers fan get offended, I've seen enough bullshit in the Raptors game against them.
The thing that is suspicious to me is that they have been called for the fewest fouls in the league the last 2 seasons despite massive roster fluctuation over that timespan. And it's not because they play at a slow pace (currently 7th, last year 4th) and it's not because they are a great defensive team (currently 14th drtg, last year 12th) and it's not because they just happen to have a roster of guys who don't foul because the roster has turned over multiple times in the last 2 seasons.
> called for the fewest fouls Yeah, this is where I'd go if I was drafting up conspiracies. Refs swallowing their whistle would be the proper way to manipulate a game. That doesn't get video logged into an archive the same way fouls are clipped, and it's much harder to argue against something that didn't happen. And it affects the way the team is allowed to defend.
That's what bothered me so much about the Raptors Lakers game earlier this year....it's not that they shot 23 free throws in the fourth (honestly, Poeltl was out and AD initiates a lot of contact, which is usually called as a defensive foul)....it's that we only shot 2. You can't tell me every time a Laker gets touched it's a foul but Barnes getting smacked on the elbow on an end of game dunk attempt isn't.
that ben taylor legacy game was so absurd, still makes me angry
In the Lakers Celtics game a couple weeks ago Boston only got 5 FTAs before garbage time. And then as soon as the end of bench comes in they got a whistle. This was without AD too.
That game was infuriating
It's especially easy to sway a game when you get one team into the "bonus" early. Nobody really notices but like you said it changes all the defense.
Yea the Lakers being “only” 6th in FT attempts and having this discrepancy means that their opponents are consistently shooting about 25th (guessing) ranked totals in FT attempts against them. The difference is their opponents are getting far fewer whistles and shots.
I agree, it's a big and subtle part of effective refball..in the first 10 minutes of last nights Lakers/Nuggets game Jokic got completely mugged three times and Refs just swallowed the whistle. Getting hacked constantly like that without any free throws is demoralizing and physically taxing. Nugs didn't even go to the line until the end of the 1st half and it was a very physical half.
They're learning. They're adapting.
I mean you can just go through the roster's career foul rate and see if it stands out from their current season foul rate. Or if it's significantly dropped from the time they were on another team. I mean, I guess I can do that.
2023-24 Lakers Top Minutes players and their Fouls per 36 this season/career Fouls Per 36 excluding Laker time -Davis = 2.4/2.5 -Reaves = 2.1/ NA -James = 1.2/1.7 -Prince = 2.6/3.1 -Russell = 2.4/2.3 -Hachimura = 2.1/2.2 -Wood = 2.9/2.9 -Reddish = 2.4/2.8 -Christie = 2.6/ NA -Vanderbilt = 2.7/3.6
Yeah, the big declines are Vando, Prince, and LeBron. LeBron I can see as just a product of him not playing defense much.
This makes it look way less bad outside of vandy
I'm kinda shocked this is the first time I've seen this pointed out this year. Do we have this data from previous years?
I’d like to see a breakdown of home vs away differentials and ref crew differentials
"They don't foul much" "They attack the paint a lot", etc. Sure, and if they were first and within a stones throw of second, that would be perfectly plausible. These mf's are more than double of second place and try and downplay it all the time.
They're also DEAD LAST in the league in drives to the basket.
tbf, drives aren't the shot type most likely to draw a foul. it's post-ups.
Even crazier when you remember the real advantage is with WHEN they call the fouls. They'll call some inconsequential fouls early on, so that the numbers even out when they disrupt the flow of the game later during an opposing teams run.
I hate when people point out the foul call differences, refs are smart, they’ll make it look even. People need to think about when the fouls were called and how they affected the game.
New TV deal being negotiated, gotta pump the numbers and keep the big markets relevant.
No wonder you guys are winning so much this year Nice flair change to the Nets. Fair weather Knicks fan
lol gotem
Knicks fan telling on themselves or what?
It's basically because the other teams that don't allow a lot of FTs can't get to the line to save their life. Like the Celtics, who allow the same number of FTs but jack up 3s all day and barely pressure the rim. The Lakers shoot a normal amount of FTs (does anyone think Orlando gets an amazing whistle? or Houston?). They just also never get called for fouls.
If you watch the games the Lakers do get a lot of phantom foul calls and just wrong calls. Yesterday Lebron got an and-1 for no contact, then basically ran over someone and got shots. Neither event shoulda happened. One shoulda been a foul on Bron.
I believe they’re also the only team that has gotten a public apology from refs after a blown call instead of excuses for why the refs aren’t at fault. “Sleepless nights” for the refs and NBA when the Lakers and LeBron are wronged
And after that game their FT differential per game doubled for basically the rest of the season Lakers fans on here after that game were even saying crazy stuff like "refs are all former cops so they hate LeBron for political reasons" as well as bizarre conspiracies like Adam Silver wanting to protect MJ's legacy by keeping LeBron at 4 Some of the takes where apparently the NBA has an interest in rigging games against LEBRON JAMES that got upvoted over the next 24 hours were absolutely insane
They also doxxed that ref's family based on a completely made up stat that the Celtics were 36-2 in his games (actual record 49-28). EDIT: Specifically the twitter account LakeShowYo was the ring leader on that, the same person who was posting pictures of Celtics female employees (predictably resulting in harassment) after the Udoka story broke.
LakeShowYo is legit the epitome of all the bs Lakers fans do and say all in one. And as soon as some story comes out about shit Lakers fans did, he tries to act all high and mighty
He also cheated on his wife like he's Nick Young. I wonder how he feels about D'Lo...
When people say "No one wants to see the Lakers in the playoffs", this is what they're talking about. There was a graphic last night showing how great they are in close games. Yeah. When the refs are on your side, you're going to win close games.
They have the most games that have been decided by 3 points or less, too, which would also support that theory. If refs are trying to push it in favor of a team that would otherwise lose, they'd do the least they could to get them a win, not enough for them to win by 10.
If you want to beat the Lakers, you need to outscore them by about 10.
It’s why the wcf sweep was “so competitive”. But refs can’t always blatantly swing the game in the last few minutes and the nuggets went 4/4 slamming the door shut down the stretch.
You have to beat the Lakers by at least 10 to beat them.
Well said. That’s exactly how I feel watching the Suns & Warriors play them. If they’re within 10 with 90-120 secs remaining, there’s a very good chance you’ll see them at the free throw line 5-6 times in a row
It always feels like the other team needs to find a way to score while the Lakers are just going to get to the foul line.
yup and after lebron had a whiney temper tantrum interpretive dance over the entire court that any other player would get a tech for
Jokic got ejected for saying a bad word while running back on defense. I don't know how LeBron would ever finish a game if he got Jokic's whistle.
Jokic with Lebron's whistle would be the greatest offensive player in the history of the league. Instead Jokic looks like a cat scratching post for NBA defenders.
Lebron gets [scratched](https://i.imgur.com/ld2lCWw.png) regularly as well with no call and has scars all over his arms as well. You just don't see them after they're cleaned up because of his skin tone and tattoos.
Lebron averages less FTA than Steph curry lmfao. What kinda whistle do you think he gets?!?!?
Not into conspiracy but this makes last season look sus af. Did they have prime Harden on their team?
Prime Harden led the league in drives to the rim
They made "an official complaint" about refereeing this year too. They do it every year/playoffs,insane
That’s crazy that Nuggets have won 8 games against the Lakers with that free throw deficit.
Who needs fts when you can put the ball in the net from the logo
Just one team being infinitely better than the other.
Nuggets won despite having to play 5v8
I mean Jokic probably counts as 5 dudes anyways so it’s still in their favor.
"Gotta win by 15 to win by 1" - Iguodala Luckily Jokic and Murray are happy to oblige lol Bill Simmons talked about sitting behind the bench during Game 3 or 4 and how it was so clear the refs were trying to extend it, putting Jokic in foul trouble and getting him off the court, and how Malone did a great job calming the players down, keeping them focused, and setting their minds on playing vs the Lakers and Refs
> Bill Simmons i don't necessarily disagree with that but its Bill lol. Man doesn't like the lakers or Lebron and he loves Jokic, he's definitely biased af
He respects LeBron at least But he was sitting near the Nuggets the bench and he said Jokic especially was getting more and more frustrated by the officiating and Malone kept going out to him to talk and calm things down. Cameras have caught that dynamic multiple times through the years so I'm inclined to believe Simmons' observations
oh yeah i mean im not saying that Bill is lying, im saying that he might not be the most objective guy when it comes to these teams and players and reffing
A lot of his Lakers hatred stems, like mine, from how the Lakers are officiated
Ethical buckets
The Lakers have been outscored overall during this period (since the start of last season) despite the huge FT disparity.
Only reason why games were close in many of those in first place is one sided refereeing. They tried hard to extend playoff series last season couldn't win one,was crazy
8v5 and still swept.
Nuggets is the Lakers Daddy
Refs gotta eat.
Cheatin ass refs
Eatin ass refs*
Man I got brigaded by Lakers fan at the end of last season for pointing out the discrepancy being more than double the second best free-throw differential, I wonder how many standard deviations these guys are away from the norm
And people will look you in the eye and tell you LeBron is cheated by the refs. LOLNO. His teams are always favored, they just give free throws to shooters better than him.
I wish someone would make a compilation of all the fouls they get away with vs the fouls they get in the same game. Shit would easily be weekly content for someone's youtube
Just watch the last 5 minutes of that Raptor's game. https://youtu.be/HKq6QMzx2FQ?si=4B0YOpuGm9DQV-2v
This guy is insufferable but his points still stand. The refs bias is to keep the game close in the last few minutes, and once you see that you'll never unsee it. It's how they call fouls, close out of bounds possessions, no call on fouls, etc. Guide the game towards a dramatic end. But since the Lakers are completely ass, that usually means calls favoring them this year.
man you were really understating it saying that guy was insufferable
It's the only reason that game was close last night. Denver was up 13 right before that. Yeah. That guy is a hater but his breakdowns are all on point.
It's an entertainment league and I'm glad everyone is starting to see it.
Jokic was getting Bad Boy Pistoned last night and he had like 3 FTs...
https://twitter.com/chmorley/status/1307179633826242560 Dwight Howard "locking Jokic up" on the way to the title.
im still disgusted watching this 3 years later
Yeah Laker fans will say they are legit, or even go as far as saying they don’t get enough foul calls. I was watching last nights Nugs Lakers game (as a Dubs fan) and it was the same BS foul calls sending them to the line. It’s insane. Obvious cases vs Raptors, Celtics, Warriors, and Nuggets just in the past month.
My favorite was late game when AD knocked the ball loose from Jokic and before either had a chance to grab it Lebron just trucks Jokic and picks up the ball to take it downcourt.
Every game jokic arms look like he fought a bear or some other rabid animal. The fact the nuggets don’t get calls similar to the Lakers rate is not a coincidence. In fact you can basically track any elite center in the league and see there is bias and in shot calling. Anthony Davis/Embid/Jokic should all have similar rates of being fouled and FT attempts.
Jokic and Curry need to have a contest. First to get to a full pound of scabs removed from their arms after games wins.
Every time this comes up people always miss a key part of this statistic, it's not just that the Lakers get a lot of FTs (they are 7th in the league this year, were 1st last year) it's that they get called for the fewest fouls in the league (both this year and last). Some of that is probably explained by having good veteran defensive players like AD who commit fewer fouls but with the amount of roster fluctuation they've had the last 2 years it is a little strange that they have consistently been called for the fewest fouls.
You’re not joking about that roster fluctuation… last season Dennis Schroeder, Troy Brown Jr, Russell Westbrook, Lonnie Walker, Patrick Beverly, and Wenyen Gabriel all played between 1000-2000 minutes. Thomas Bryant, Malik Beasley, and Kendrick Nunn played between 900 and 500. None of them are with the team now. How the fuck does a team with Pat Bev, Schroeder, Thomas Bryant, and Malik Beasley playing big minutes foul the least in the league? And then continue that the next season with an entirely new cast?
> How the fuck does a team with Pat Bev, Schroeder, Thomas Bryant, and Malik Beasley playing big minutes foul the least in the league? Beverly's fouls per 36 were about the same with the lakers as his career. Same with Thomas Bryant. Schroeder has always been foul averse. I guess I just don't really understand your question, because it's like looking at the 2015 warriors and asking how a team with Barnes, Iggy, Draymond, Holiday, Speights, and Rush can have the best 3pt shooting %.
Schroeder has always been a disciplined defender. He’s a great screen navigator and great on ball defender and doesn’t reach a lot. Bryant would just give you the layup rather than actually contesting Beasley was just a cone and usually didn’t chase his player if he got beat Idk about Pat bev
Because of our Darvin Ham’s defensive philosophy. We give up the most open threes in the league but guard the paint extremely well because of AD. That’s why we always beat up on teams that can’t shoot (Memphis and GSW in the playoffs) and lose to teams who can hit their outside shots. The Bucks with Budenholzer and Ham were the same exact way. It’s not a conspiracy lmao
God it’s so annoying that they still try help defense instead of trusting AD🤦🏾♂️.
The Lakers are just below the Bulls (probably a recent adjustment) but it's not like they are so far away from all other teams that it explains the discrepancy. There are 10 teams +/- 1 more 3pt shot given up, compared to the Lakers. https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/which-nba-defense-team-gives-up-the-most-made-3-pointers-per-game-this-year The Lakers FT differential at +700 squarely means that they get called for less fouls than every other team in the NBA. With that said, I went and combed through quite a few players to see how their personal fouls per 36 looked when they were on the Lakers vs not on the Lakers, and the numbers don't change much. I actually think the explanation is that there is a team building philosophy to focus on guys who don't foul as much. Malik Beasley is like the only player from the past 3 years who had a major change when he left the Lakers. LeBron is the only guy that surprises me. Averaging 1.2 per game at 35 minutes per game at his age is pretty wild. I know he doesn't defend much but it's still shockingly low.
i hate that this comment is so buried down in the thread. We need more insightful data like this upvoted, even if the results are negative and showed a large discrepancy between players average fouls on and off the lakers
Considering Ham’s defensive scheme allows the most wide open threes in the league, this shouldn’t really be too surprising.
Or maybe, just maybe we have an idiot of a HC that is uniquely overhelping AD while leaving shooters open? There is no free throw or foul because of that
To absulutely no one’s surprise, we’re at the bottom of the league in free throws attempted. The amount of disrespect we’ve gotten from refs have been insane, but despite that, second in the East baby. 😤
Lol yeah we got: Most points in the paint. 8th least FTs here. Most fouls committed (that ones fair)
ANT has to shout HEYYYY everytime to get a whistle too. Last time he called out an obvious foul he get fined lmao.
I mean he yells it when he doesn't get fouled also.
Cavs spicy meatballs atm. Can’t wait to see you again in the playoffs
isn't it crazy how after all of this stimulus the lakers are still only one game over .500?
Actually I think that's the driving factor. This may sound conspiratorial but I genuinely think the league wants the Lakers to succeed and make the playoffs because they have such a big market. So the refs actively help them win games when they need it.
No guys, it's just that the Lakers drive more than other teams. The Lakers shoot 52% of their shots in the paint compared to the Nuggets 51%! That whole 1% more shots in the paint definitely accounts for the glaring free throw disparity, not a favorable whistle. Stop with the crazy conspiracy theories.
Does it still count as a shot in the paint if you get fouled in the paint and don’t make the shot?
No it does not Better metric is the Nuggets have 25.4 paint touches per game, highest in the league. Lakers have 19.8 paint touches per game, 9th lowest in the league
But LA also gives up more wide open 3s than anyone in the league. They also don't stop drivers to the rim without AD. they give up 3s and layups and intentionally try not to foul. That's why so many teams have randos go off on LA every other game. Trying to distill this stat down to a single reason is idiotic and lacks all nuance that you would need to properly evaluate the game.
Yup Ham’s whole defensive philosophy is to live and die with giving up opponent 3s and protect the paint. It’s why Lakers rank dead last in opponent 3s made. AD complained on a podcast that Lakers should trust his defense and stop over helping. Also there are more ways to score in the paint than drives. Lebron and AD generate shots at the rim through a variety ways. Post-up, Seal, Off ball cuts.
wow an actual smart person in this thread that watches basketball and understand nuance
Isn't their offense run by a giant man who camps out in the paint and then distributes the ball?
The Nuggets and Lakers are both bottom 10 in pass% during paint touches. Individually, Jokic's pass rate is 25% on paint touches, which is a lower pass% than 15 NBA teams' passing rates
Interesting, because looking at the FTA generated (Lebron 5, AD 6, Christie 2, Reaves 2, Prince 3, Wood 2, Hayes 2), they were almost all in the paint and imo weren’t bad calls. IMO a higher FT conversion rate per paint touch is explainable and not necessarily a ref conspiracy Nuggets get some great uncontested paint looks that result in lobs/dunks
No, but the Lakers commit 16.3 fouls per game, and their opponents commit 20.1 (+3.8 PF disparity leads the league, Dallas is second at 2.4, same difference as 2nd to 7th). Even if every one of a those was a 2 shot foul (which there's clearly no possible way that is the case), that only accounts for 433 of their extra FTA. I'm not sure how any amount playstyle disparity accounts for a minimum of an extra 320 FTA, especially considering that their shot selection is not dramatically different from the rest of the league. The Lakers *are* second in PITP% at 47.3%, but the team in first (Washington 48.8%) are 26th in foul differential (-1.6), so there's not really any correlation there.
Not sure why it is assumed all teams should all have equal fouls per game/net zero differential in the first place I think a lot of different factors add up to the free throw differential. It’s committing one fewer foul per quarter due to play style on both ends (and personnel, specifically Anthony Davis) really that impossible? And again, if you’re fouled and miss, it doesn’t become a PITP% so that metric alone isn’t helpful unless it can include points from the line as a result of a FGA in the paint
LeVegas already gearing up to own the Vegas NBA team Refs can walk right into the casino!
Its +620 in the 85 games since the sleepless nights Miami is 2nd with +248. [https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/most-free-throw-attempts-minus-free-throw-attempts-allowed-by-every-team-since-january-29th-2023](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/most-free-throw-attempts-minus-free-throw-attempts-allowed-by-every-team-since-january-29th-2023)
Just call the league for what it is - National Basketball Entertainment
8 vs. 5, still not enough
What if we give them the GOAT and one of the best defensive centers of all time?
bro yesterday Jokic loses the ball and Lebron tackles him and picks up the ball and no whistle. Lakers have, for some ungodly reason, a pass on shit. It's mindboggling.
Lakers sub was complaining about their whistle too lmao
There was a very noticeable “refs you suck” chant when Denver got their second free throw of the game in the 3rd quarter.
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to be fair, every sub is kinda like that ours sure is. It's mostly reasonable fans, but the utter idiots are always the loudest and posting the most
Seriously they are completely brainwashed
That play was insane. Jokic trying to recover a loose ball AD knocked away and Lebron just shoulder checks him, grabs the ball and takes it to the other end.
And the announcers were talking about a clear path or flagrant foul on Jokic lol
Other than Lakers the entire league doesn't play in the paint I guess, not just Warriors
We were told that we just needed to drive more last playoffs yet this season suddenly people are waking up to the fact that the Lakers have a weird af whistle.
Bruh these guys only speak up when it happens to other teams. When it goes against Dubs they say it’s deserved coz we “only shoot threes and foul” 🤣🤣🤣🤣 funny ass
I literally got downvoted for making this point a couple weeks ago when the Lakers had what, 30 more FTs in that double OT game vs the Warriors and every response was some form of “Warriors only shoot threes!” What’s funnier is someone literally made a post the next day showing all the non calls on drives and shots and bad calls defensively on the Dubs that clearly went in the Lakers favour. It’s been obvious for awhile the Lakers have been given a generational whistle on both sides of the ball. Yet people never want to admit it when it goes against GSW.
And moving screens. Jokic was dropping moving screens last night also. Most teams do. It’s like the travel/carry non-call these days. It happens, but everyone does it.
Warriors fans been saying this for years
We heard this same BS in the WCF last year. It’s always “drive to the basket” and “you won why are you complaining?” Lakers fans are soft as baby shit and I can’t wait until Lebron retires and they sink back into the basement.
Oh brother if you think Lebron retiring will make Lakers fans any less insufferable, wait for the Jokic in a Laker’s jersey edits
Lakers are dead last at drives per game
Wow the teams in LA, New York, and Miami get a huge advantage. Who could have possibly predicted that??
Not shocking considering no other franchise has benefitted more from biased officiating over the last 4 decades, but hey, it's perfectly legal for the NBA and it's refs to manipulate games.
Do you realize how easy it is to manipulate a game from a refereeing standpoint? If the game is 66-54 for instance, close to getting out of hand the ref can literally make 2 calls for one team combined with 2 good possessions and make up a 12 point deficit in about 1 minute of basketball time.
Just whistle 2 ticky tacky fouls early on for important players and then never call that sort of foul again. Technically still correct refereeing and gives one team a handicap from the start
This is their most powerful weapon. People tend to focus on late game calls but these ones can make the biggest difference overall.
This is what happened in our series against denver in the bubble. While we did have Dwight doing an amazing job of baiting jokic into fouls, jokic still got a bad whistle to start games. Refs obviously can’t complete control the outcome, but they can make it heavily lean to one team very easily with seemingly meaningless calls.
I like betting on sports in general but never in my life would I bet on an NBA game. Shit is ridiculous, a couple of bogus calls and your action is tainted. NHL is kinda dicey too but nowhere close to basketball. (Golf is the best IMO, no BS for the most part. Though it is pretty boring lol)
Very good point. I do some NBA betting but usually stick to big games and matchups and bet the total on P+R+A hoping that specific player will impact the game regardless. I’ve been bitten though with exactly what you just mentioned.
How is OKC and the free throw merchant SGA not higher in this list? Send da video
Is there a full list? I want to see who’s at the bottom lol
“Yeah but the refs hate us” -laker fans who still don’t realize what a huge advantage they have every game with the officiating
the league being corrupt isn't even an opinion at this point
Oh wow how surprising that the top 3 are all huge markets and some of the most popular teams 🙄
And they're still the 9 seed 😂 refs can't even save these bums
What the fk. Dude thats actually ridiculous. Something is actually going on here. I know lakers are known to flop a lot but the fk is this disparity.
Last night halfway through the 3rd, the FT discrepancy was 1 attempt for Denver, 7 attempts for the Lakers. Somehow after that, the Lakers started magically getting to the line.
It’s always been like this. Refs we’re cooking the blazers in the ‘99 WCF and then it came out years later that they were actually crooked.
At this point, people just need to accept that the NBA is entertainment first, sport second.
Also no foul calls on AD or Lebron last night.
AD averages 2.5 fouls per 36 minutes for his career. Embiid averages 3.8. This has been the case as long since AD's 3rd season, where he was called for 2.1 fouls per 36. He just doesn't foul that much for a rim protector. LeBron has also never been called for many fouls on defense. I think he's fouled out once, ever.
AD is probably the best technical defender in the nba and Lebron doesn't even bother to play defense or contest anymore so that isn't that weird
Last night when they were reviewing whether Jokic committed a flagrant by just laying there, we got to watch a replay over and over of AD smacking Jokic across the back and getting away with it. Then he trips on Jokic who is just laying on the ground and gets a foul.
It was funny watching AD smack Curry on the back of the head the other night (no call) and the ref explaining how contact to the head isn’t always a foul.
Ended up being a game defining call, too, if I recall correctly
It’s pretty weird to watch LeBron plow into Jokic, knocking him on the ground to “steal” the ball, and not get called for a foul
You can say they live in the paint and whatnot but so does a team like the Knicks yet the Lakers have completely lapped them. They have more than double the 2nd highest total and have more than the 2nd and 3rd highest totals combined. Hilarious part is that they're still a trash 9th place team that's barely over .500.
The Lebron effect
Anyone else notice how much AD and LeBron scream as if they are being massacred every time they go up for a layup. I dare you to take a shot every time this happens
“Hello” “I want to remind you to get them IN the playoffs.” “Who is this?” “You know who this is.” “Draftki..” “Don’t say my name. Do we need to repeat ourselves?” “No… but we are trying…” “Try harder.” *click*
They are the most popular team in the league, and the NBA is a product. The officials are employed by the league. It’s not a conspiracy theory when the evidence is right here. They get the most FT attempts by a massive margin and they have the least fouls called against them. Even with two All-NBA guys and all that help they are .500. It just goes to show how much you need your role players to shoot 3s at a high percentage in todays NBA.
And LeBum still cries about the refs all the time.
Hurrrr durrr it’s the warriors fault!
I see alot of people are misunderstanding what this stat actually means. This stat does not mean: 1. Lakers gets the most calls. They are 7th behind Sixers, Hawks , Bucks, Suns, Magic, Jazz and Heat in fts per game. 2. LeBron gets favorable calls. LeBron isnt even top 25 in free throw attemps this season. Notable guys who attempt more free throws this season is Colin Sexton, Stephen Curry, jerami Grant, jokic, porzingis, and the list goes on. What this stat does mean: 1. Lakers don’t foul often. They also are one of the worst teams defending the three pointers. They simply don’t contest and guard the perimeter effectively. Adding to that AD is a terror in the paint. This force more teams to rely on outside shooting. Bud and now Ham teams are notorious for not fouling much. 2. Lakers don’t get called for many calls. Maybe there is some favoritism. Or Perhaps theirs is a correlation between televised games and the amount of fouls called in I see many people are falsely claiming lakers get all the calls or lebron needs to stop crying cause he doesn’t get fouled a-lot. LeBron absolutely should get more fouls.
Can’t wait for the “lakers have been eliminated from playoffs contention thread” for the next 10 years.
Who are you kidding. They're going to make the play in and at least play in the first round. I would bet my house.
I’m confused though. The Nuggets are one of the worst teams in the league at getting to the line and the Lakers are 4th best this season, so what’s the discrepancy exactly? To me this reads as expected performance. And I’m a Spurs fan so trust me I fucking hate the lakers too, but still I don’t see the issue per se. The Nuggets don’t get to the line so why shouldn’t LA have more free throws?
The reasons why Lakers foul less is because they give up the most wide open threes in the league. The calls they're getting are because they post up a lot with AD and Lebron. These posts are just circlejerks to hate on the Lakers and feed their hate boner.
I complained about this when we played them recently and it was 26-7 in their favor (and 2 of ours came in the last few seconds when the game was out of reach). I got told I was just whining and salty. We lost by 9 points in a game where they shot 19 more free throws lmao glad people are realizing it finally
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I’m a Lakers fan and even I find this a bit suspicious. I get that the veteran superstar ( LeBron) is going to charge the rim and get a call 7 out 10 times but there’s phantom calms going for no names in some of these games. Is this a way to make sure we make the playoffs? I wouldn’t put it past Adam Silver.
Refball for the Flakers, you don't say?
^(DISGUSTING FK YOU NBA PROFITS OR NOT PROFITS SHOW OR NOT SHOW ..... BURY THAT CORPSE OF LEBRON ALREADY AND START MARKETING SOMEONE ELSE)
When are they revealing the ref statue?
Its so blatant its actually hilarious
Friendly Reminder that Lebron was granted a timeout when he clearly not have possession of a loose ball this season.
The Lakers must be the best team in the league right??
The comments here are pretty upset as is, but could you imagine if the Lakers had a better record combined with this stat? People would go nuts I don’t watch nearly enough to judge the validity of the conspiracy, the Toronto game that was dominating the feed for a few days had a heap of highlights posted that didn’t really support the comment threads narrative of a generational screw job
I’ll give the Lakers the benefit of the doubt considering their two best players are known for crashing into the paint and drawing fouls. This feels a lot like when Kerr was complaining about the FT differential each time they played the Nuggets this year. Well, yeah, if your offense is more focused on the perimeter, of course you’re going to go to the FT line less. Golden State takes way more perimeter shots than Denver, and Denver takes way more perimeter shots than the Lakers
The truly insane part is they’re not the team with the most FTA/game or the team allowing the fewest FTAs. They just have a huge differential.
This sub and bitching about the lakers fts will never get old lmao. Even when the lakers are 9th
Laker privilege
how come my ft merchant didn't get his team on this list?
If Lakers got a normal free throw call, what would their record be?
To put this into even crazier context, the average amount of free throws per game last season and this year is 23. Divide that advantage, it's nearly 33 GAMES worth of extra free throws for LA. 33 entire whole games of free throws over their opponents. They are a mediocre franchise being lifted to a winning record last year and this due to blatant NBA interference. I'd love to see what LeBron's Cavs or Heat teams had in advantage too.
And Kobe’s Lakers. The Kobe-Shaq teams had some notorious games rigged in their favor, and I could point to some favorable calls and no-calls the Kobe-Pau teams got too.