The Los Angeles Lakers’ series against the Golden State Warriors has been very heated, with there being a known rivalry between stars LeBron James and Stephen Curry. There has been a lot of interesting discourse about the series, especially due to the free throw disparity between the two teams. For example, in Game 3, the Lakers got 37 FTA, while the Warriors only finished with 17 FTA.
Magic Johnson has recently provided an explanation as to why the Los Angeles Lakers managed to get to the line frequently against the Warriors in Game 3. Johnson pointed out that the team “attacked the basket”, and weren’t just content with shooting perimeter shots.
“The
Lakers
team defense kept the Warriors off the 3-point line in tonight’s 127-97 Game 3 win! In Game 2 the starters only went to the free throw line twice. Every starter got to the free-throw line tonight because the
Lakers
attacked the basket and didn’t settle for the outside shot.”
The @Lakers team defense kept the Warriors off the 3-point line in tonight’s 127-97 Game 3 win! In Game 2 the starters only went to the free throw line twice. Every starter got to the free throw line tonight because the @Lakers attacked the basket and didn’t settle for the…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 7, 2023
There’s no doubt that teams that try to get to the rim often get more FTA, and that is no different for the Los Angeles Lakers. Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors play a perimeter-heavy style, which means that they will naturally get free throws. Though it is true that the Lakers have taken 44 more free throws than the Warriors over the first 3 games of the series, that is simply a product of the way the game is called this season.
Draymond Green Has Already Expressed Frustrations With The Officiating
There is no doubt that some Warriors players have already expressed their frustrations with the way the games in this series have been called. In fact, Draymond Green noted that the game was “stopped” in the second quarter when the Warriors were outscored 36-18.
“The game stopped. We on the free-throw line every time,” Green said.
The goal for every game should be for it to be called fairly. Though we have seen some complaints about the referees, they are ultimately trying to do a good job on a game-to-game basis. Most referees are attempting to call things fairly, based on the league’s guidelines. Hopefully, though, we’ll see even better officiating down the line for this series.
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