Lakers heavy betting favorites over Wolves

[DNatagal]

The Lakers only had 9 fouls cake on them. I think the refs had less to do with that than the passive defense the Lakers played. As i half jokingly suggested, play a tight and tough defense and force the refs to make every call. It's the playoffs, refs tend to swallow the whistle.

[AbeVigodaLive]

The Lakers only had 9 fouls cake on them. I think the refs had less to do with that than the passive defense the Lakers played. As i half jokingly suggested, play a tight and tough defense and force the refs to make every call. It's the playoffs, refs tend to swallow the whistle.

Yes. Shooting more FTAs is just part of it, but not the most important part of it. They generally foul less than other teams... and it's been most pronounced in seasons when the Lakers were struggling to even make the playoffs. Interestingly, this trend even transcends players and coaches. I've shared some of these before... but it might be relevant to revisit going into Game 2 in a game that the Lakers really need to win:

2023: The Lakers lost to the Celtics after the officials missed a foul call on James' layup attempt. The Lakers dropped to 23 - 27 and were in real danger of missing the playoffs entirely. James complained loudly on social media. It was a thing.

At the time, the Lakers were +4 in FTA differential. (#1 in the league.) But then things got crazy. Counting the playoffs, the Lakers would shoot more FTA than their opponent in 54 of the next 58 games. They were +11 in FT differential over those 58 games. The #2 team in FT differential that season was +3.2. That 23 - 27 Lakers squad would make it all the way to the WCF.

2013: The 2013 Lakers were scuffling at 34 - 32 and out of the playoffs at the time when they employed the crazy smart strategy to "foul less than the other team" strategy. Check out how good they were at it...

- The Lakers took more FTAs than the opponent in each of the final 16 games that season. (+13.4 differential per game)
- With 5 games left... Lakers were down vs Charlotte but came back to win with a 12-6 FTA in the 4th quarter.
- With 4 games left... lakers come back to beat POR late with a 10 - 4 FTA in the 4th quarter.
- With only 3 games left (and still out of the playoffs) the Lakers took 50 FTAs to the Warriors 16 in a 2-point win. It was 34 - 8 in the 2nd half as the Lakers came from behind to win. Again.
- 2 games left... Lakers down 5 late. No worries. They outshot the Spurs 21 - 7 from the line in the 2nd half for another comeback win.
- Last game! Lakers down vs. the Rockets... only to get 21 FTAs again... to the Rockets 7 in the 2nd half.

The Lakers made the playoffs on the last day of the season!

2010: Game 7 NBA Finals. The Lakers start the 4th quarter down 4. But then they put their strategy to work... they take 21 FTAs compared to Boston's 6 FTAs in the 4th quarter to eke out another title.

2002: Everyone knows the story of Game 6. Kings win the series with a victory... tie game entering the 4th. The Lakers employ their strategy. They take 27 FTAs compared to the King' 9 attempts... and score 16 of their final 18 points from the line in the legendary close victory.
____________________________

There are many coincidences that happen in life. And the Lakers having a hefty FTA differential in games they need to win... Despite different coaches, players, situations, style of play, et al... is probably nothing more than a coincidence. Yes, statistics show that the Lakers have been EXCEPTIONAL at "getting fouled without fouling" compared to every other NBA team...

But the most logical explanation is probably that it's a coincidence. A coincidence that has happened multiple times... for the Lakers.




[Note: Prediction: If the Wolves win tonight, they're going to the WCF again.]

[TheFuture]

If you think the league is going to let the Lakers lose here in LeBron's twilight years and after the Luka trade; I don't know what to tell you.

They wanted Ant as the new face of the league, but he's too stupid to have had that happen. Things would be different if he wasn't.

[Wolvesfan21]

If you think the league is going to let the Lakers lose here in LeBron's twilight years and after the Luka trade; I don't know what to tell you.

They wanted Ant as the new face of the league, but he's too stupid to have had that happen. Things would be different if he wasn't.

Ant can still be the "face of the league" despite not wanting to be. It's such a stupid and silly topic anyways. It's not like you get some trophy or 20 million dollar bonus for being this hypothetical "face of the league". Like who is the face of the league right now? You ask 10 people and might get 10 different answers. Anywhere from Steph, LeBron, Luka, Giannis, Durant, Joker, even Ant.

Anyways, I call it a silly topic. Just go out and win games. Forget the nonsense.

[TAFKASP]

https://x.com/CCPISASSH0E/status/191563 ... BOdQA&s=19

Worth the click!

[TheFuture]

If you think the league is going to let the Lakers lose here in LeBron's twilight years and after the Luka trade; I don't know what to tell you.

They wanted Ant as the new face of the league, but he's too stupid to have had that happen. Things would be different if he wasn't.

Ant can still be the "face of the league" despite not wanting to be. It's such a stupid and silly topic anyways. It's not like you get some trophy or 20 million dollar bonus for being this hypothetical "face of the league". Like who is the face of the league right now? You ask 10 people and might get 10 different answers. Anywhere from Steph, LeBron, Luka, Giannis, Durant, Joker, even Ant.

Anyways, I call it a silly topic. Just go out and win games. Forget the nonsense.

I'm talking the foul calls. The ref bias in your favor.

[Wolvesfan21]

If you think the league is going to let the Lakers lose here in LeBron's twilight years and after the Luka trade; I don't know what to tell you.

They wanted Ant as the new face of the league, but he's too stupid to have had that happen. Things would be different if he wasn't.

Ant can still be the "face of the league" despite not wanting to be. It's such a stupid and silly topic anyways. It's not like you get some trophy or 20 million dollar bonus for being this hypothetical "face of the league". Like who is the face of the league right now? You ask 10 people and might get 10 different answers. Anywhere from Steph, LeBron, Luka, Giannis, Durant, Joker, even Ant.

Anyways, I call it a silly topic. Just go out and win games. Forget the nonsense.

I'm talking the foul calls. The ref bias in your favor.

They are hyping Ant like crazy, he's on tons of commercials, etc... Like I said, it doesn't really matter what he wants. Nor who right now is the "face of the league". I think it's more Lakers bias / big market bias. Also it takes time to earn that respect. How about win a chip or two along with an MVP or two before crowning Ant anything.

The hype is so stupid. Win a chip, win an MVP. The media wants to crown guys for doing nothing that will really be remembered. Just WIN.

[60WinTim]

I’ll have you know that I am the only one who picked the Wolves in 5…

[Coolbreeze44]

I’ll have you know that I am the only one who picked the Wolves in 5…

I want to be wrong so bad

[Lipoli390]

Lakers in 6, but mainly because I don't think Randle shows up.

I agree with you on this, but I honestly believe the deck is just rigged against us. A Laker loss in round 1 would be a disaster for the NBA. I know this league is corrupt and they simply aren't going to let this Lebron-Luka-Tinseltown opportunity get away this year. They need the ratings, Lebron is almost done, and they have gotten away with similar things in the past. There might be an uproar about some egregious calls for a couple days, but they know that will fade away quickly. It wasn't that long ago the WNBA simply stole a championship from Minnesota for New York, and this series has far greater consequences than that one did. If you really want something close to fair and legitimate competition the NFL and NHL offer it. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but this isn't my first rodeo with this.

I think the Wolves are talented enough to take the series out of the hands of the officials. LeBron is still great but he’s 40 years old and played 46 minutes last night. Luka’s young, but looks old and beat up. He played 46 minutes last night. Donte can shoot much better than he did last night. But I also think Finch will need to ramp down Rudy’s minutes ever more. Same for Mike Conley’s minutes. Unfortunately, I don’t see Finch doing that. And I agree with Q that we just haven’t seen the improvement we should have seen in this team’s execution from the beginning of the season to now. We’re better, but not as good as we should be. It’s the same stagnant offense, which is worse yet with two of the five starters unable to contribute at all offensively. If it were up to me, I’d start Donte and Naz instead of Conley and Rudy. But I also would have given TSJ, Clark and Dilly far more minutes during the season so they’d be better prepared to step in off the bench during the playoffs.

Even with help from the officials, it will be hard for the Lakes to win three games in a row against the Wolves, which they’ll have to do to win the series. The Lakers are talented, but they’re not at the level of the Celtics, Cavs, OKC or even Denver and they’re not more talented than the Wolves. Having said all that, I agree the NBA is corrupt and I can see the officials doing everything they can to keep the Lakers going.