Less than three weeks ago, Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic walked into a $25,000 fine from the league for complaining about the 23-2 fourth-quarter free throw disparity the Lakers had over his team in a Los Angeles win.
Saturday night, it was Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr’s turn as the Lakers took 43 free throws to the Warriors 16 in the Lakers dramatic 2OT win in Golden State. Kerr leaned into some dry humor to try and avoid a fine from the league.
"I might comment on the free throws that they shot, but my mom is here right now and I want to be on my best behavior."
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 28, 2024
Steve Kerr on the Lakers shooting 27 more free throws than the Warriors 😅 pic.twitter.com/qbTidlT2Uj
“I might comment on the free throws, but my mom is here, so I want to be on my best behavior. So, I’m not going to comment on their 43 free throws to our 16. I’m not going to comment on Steph shooting three free throws in 43 minutes.”
“They draw a lot of fouls. Last year they had some crazy free-throw disparity and advantage,” Curry said. “Tonight is just one of those where this is not consistent and that’s the most frustrating part. Because you want to be in a place where the players decide the game and it’s either the players decide the game or it’s consistent on both ends of what you’re calling. And so like, not to say, obviously, we shoot a lot of threes. I know that there’s a different style, but there’s probably like three plays I was involved in where it’s just a clear, bad call in the sense of giving guys unnecessary free throw attempts and then on the other end, contact or plays that just, they look the other way for whatever reason.
“So in a single game when you have inconsistency on both sides, that’s the most frustrating thing of all. Doesn’t mean that we’re gonna go to the line 58 times. It just means that there’s a tone of the game and there’s a flow that we can adapt to and adjust to. And it wasn’t like that tonight. So it’s tough.”
Curry will likely get fined. Kerr... walked the line and shouldn’t, but the league gets touchy about this.
Getting downhill and drawing fouls is baked into how the Lakers play (at least when they’re playing well), which is why Los Angeles is top 10 in the league in free throws attempted and in free throw-to-field goal ratio. The Lakers’ two biggest stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, are physical and want to get the ball inside, and as a team they like to play inside out. Then they have Austin Reaves, who seeks out and sells contact. Part of their game plan nightly is to win at the line.
But the disparity is getting noticed, which means referees are noticing. Whether that matters in games remains to be seen.
Looking ahead, it’s a lot harder to get that kind of free throw disparity in the playoffs, when everyone is focused, attacking, and the referees swallow their whistles a little more. Right now, the Lakers need to get in position to be in the playoffs then they can worry about the free throw disparity there.
