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The Lakers lost an important game on Sunday afternoon to the Phoenix Suns, 123-113. The match began a sequence of nine games against six teams from the Western Conference that have a better record than the Lakers, and this sequence will have an important role in the team’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs.
Without a doubt, the biggest factor in Sunday’s loss was the lack of rebounding, something that has been an issue at times this season. The Lakers were outrebounded by 17, which was a big reason why Phoenix scored 22 points off second chances.
But another problem the team had was the lack of free throws. Typically, the Lakers have more free throws than their opponents, but on Sunday, they only had eight free throw opportunities, compared to 19 for the Suns. To give you an idea, the Lakers didn’t get to the free throw line throughout the second half.
There were moments during the game when members of the team, particularly LeBron James, were visibly upset by the lack of fouls in favor of the Lakers. After the match, LeBron even addressed the situation in an interview.
“A lot of people, a lot of coaches, a lot of teams understand it as, ‘That’s all the Lakers do, get to the free throw line,'” James said. “It’s like there’s this narrative out there that that’s all we do, get to the free throw line. I mean, we have forwards. That’s what we do. We have forwards. Yes, we shoot the ball from the perimeter, but we’re not shooting 40-50 threes a game. We’re not that team. We don’t have the luxury of being that team. So working the ball into the paint, that’s what we’re really good at.
“Having only eight free throw attempts is definitely not our game. I definitely know I got hit a few times when I got to the paint tonight that didn’t get called. But it’s all good.”
The Lakers are the sixth team in the NBA to have the most free throws this season
On the season, the Lakers rank sixth in free throw attempts per game and are also second in free throw attempts allowed per game.
Perhaps a definitive reason for the disparity in free throws was the lack of balls in the lane and in the low post for Anthony Davis. Although he improved in the second half with 18 points, he didn’t dominate in the paint like he normally does and went the entire game without reaching the free throw line.