Detractors say the Lakers are just a Free Throw team, LeBron James

The Lakers weren't able to make a comeback against the Suns after playing a disastrous first quarter they weren't able to recover from as they fell to a 113-123 loss on the road to lose the momentum they had built before the All-Star break and now are 1-2 since then.

In the post-game presser, LeBron James opened up about the narrative that detractors and haters have been selling on NBA referees helping them with a big number of free throws during each game as the Lakers superstar said they lacked free throws during the game at Phoenix.

"That's who we are. A lot of coaches and teams say ‘All the Lakers do is get to the free-throw line.’ That's the narrative out there… I mean we have attackers, that's what we do. We shoot the ball from the perimeter but we're not shooting 40-50 3’s a game, we're not that team and we don't have the luxury of being that team... I know I was hit a couple of times in the paint but it wasn't called.”

Despite the lack of calls on free throws for LA, LeBron put up 28 points, seven rebounds, and 12 assists in the loss, trying his best to make something happen. But his frustration about the lack of free throws isn't surprising given they just received eight shots tonight.

The Lakers are one of the teams with free throw rate thanks to their game at the rim

They entered this game sixth in the NBA in free throws attempted per game (24.3) and tied for first in the fewest free throws allowed (18.9). Even though the Lakers are one of the worst teams at driving to the rim this season, their free throw count is very high. That could be because they rank No. 2 in the NBA in rim frequency and No. 5 in rim accuracy (per Cleaning the Glass). The Lakers rank No. 5 in post-up attempts, and No. 3 in possessions finished by the roll man. (per NBA.com)