LeBron James and Co. lost their fourth game of the season to the Miami Heat on Monday. King James tried to save the day for the Lakers, but Jimmy Butler and Co’s incredible team performance proved too much for the Lakers to overcome. The Lakers had a chance to win the game in the last seconds, but Cam Reddish missed a wide-open three-pointer to seal the game. The Lakers blamed the officials for their loss as they believed LeBron did not get enough foul calls despite getting hit on the arm multiple times while driving to the basket.

Let us take a look at the Lakers’ free throw differential this season and compare it with the other 29 teams in the league to see if the Lakers were correct in complaining about the officials’ missed calls.

How do the Lakers compare to the rest of the league?

The Lakers complained to the NBA league office about the officiating in Monday’s game after LeBron James got only 4 free throw attempts in the game. The NBA shut down the Lakers’ complaint and confirmed that the referees did not miss any calls in the last two minutes. But are the Lakers right about the inconsistency of the referees’ foul calls? LeBron James and Co. currently rank fifth in the league with a difference of 33 between their free throw attempts and their opponents’ free throw attempts. They have got 172 free throw attempts so far as opposed to their opponents getting only 139 attempts.

The only four teams in the league with a higher free throw disparity are the Dallas Mavericks, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Phoenix Suns. Dallas has the highest free throw disparity in the league with 180 attempts from the charity stripes as opposed to their opponents’ 121 attempts. That brings their difference to 59 free throw attempts. So, the Lakers are actually among the top teams in the league who get more free throws in a game than their opponents. A major reason for that could be that they have many players who like to score inside the paint, including LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That leads to more fouls and more free throw attempts. The Lakers rank 12th in the league in free throw percentage with 78.5.

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The Lakers need their supporting cast to step up

LeBron James has carried the Lakers on his back so far this season. He has been one of the most clutch players in the league this season and is averaging 25.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.9 assists for the Lakers. But LeBron being the best player on his team at age 38 will not help the Lakers succeed in the long run. King James is doing too much for his age, and the Lakers’ supporting cast needs to step up their game to get some load off LeBron’s shoulders. The Lakers have a lot of talented young players who have proved in the past that they can perform in big moments.

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Young players, including Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Cam Reddish, need to play well consistently and distribute the scoring responsibility among each other. LeBron’s co-star, Anthony Davis, has also been inconsistent this season. In some games, he looks like one of the best players in the world, and sometimes, he plays like he has never held a basketball. AD needs to accept the role of a superstar and perform at an All-Star level on a nightly basis. He might even miss some time after getting injured during the Heat-Lakers game. That will be a big blow for the Lakers.

LeBron James and Co. will face the Houston Rockets in the next game and hope to bounce back from the loss against the Heat.

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