The LA Lakers and LeBron James don’t like how the refs have been calling games so far. They called the NBA’s league office to find out what’s going on.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said that James and the Lakers shared several tapes of what the Lakers saw as clear fouls by Miami Heat players during Monday night’s 108-107 loss. They complained because the refs didn’t call the fouls. After seven games, the Lakers are making 24.6 free throws per game, which is the seventh most in the NBA. The Lakers hit 14 free throws in their game against the Heat. James made four of them, more than anyone else on the team. Miami, on the other hand, made 16 free throws, with star Jimmy Butler hitting seven of them.
James is probably going to make the fewest free throws of his career, even though it’s still early in the year. When he was younger, the 38-year-old made an average of 7.7 free throws per game. Now, he only makes about 5.7 per game.
He attempts 1.4 free throws per game, which is tied for 16th in the NBA, and makes 12.0 drives per game. Another interesting fact about James is that he has only been hit on 6% of his drives this season. That is the eighth-lowest rate of any player with 70 or more drives.
To give you an idea, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes the most runs in the league (22.3 per game). Cam Thomas of the Brooklyn Nets and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers have both tried the most free throws this season, with four per drive.The four-time MVP told reporters after the game, “They’re not telling the truth about what’s going on on the floor.” The elbow from Thomas Bruant was clear when I tried to dunk on him; his arm was straight across my face.
“Well, one of the refs said he was standing straight up with his hands up, so I asked him what was going on.” Two of the refs said they couldn’t see it because they were blocked.
It’s interesting that people on social media were talking about how the Lakers made the most free throws in the 2022–23 NBA season. The Lakers then complained to the league office. That’s 2,182 free throws, which is 76 more than the second-placed Detroit Pistons.On the other hand, the Lakers have made 76 more free throws than the Pistons. That’s about the same difference as the number of free throws made by the ninth-ranked Detroit Pistons (2,106) and the Portland Trail Blazers (2,021).
James was asked about it by the media. He thought it was “weird” that he drove so much but didn’t get many calls. But he’s going to keep driving to “see if it turns.” We’re still not sure how useful that will be.
