LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick dismissed suggestions that his club benefits from preferential officiating after a lopsided free-throw tally in a 42–15 win over the Brooklyn Nets on March 8, 2026, at Crypto.com Arena.
“You know, people say Lakers shoot a lot of free throws, that’s how teams guard us,” Redick said during his postgame press conference. “They foul on every possession. That’s another team that fouls every possession. And so you have to factor that in. You’re tired and cranky and you gotta play through stuff and I thought our guys, they managed it.”
Redick’s remarks came after Los Angeles, paced by Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James, reached the foul line nearly three times as often as Brooklyn. The Nets entered the night ranked fourth in the NBA in fouls committed per game, while the Lakers own the league’s highest number of free-throw attempts.
According to Redick, the disparity is rooted in the team’s interior-focused offense rather than any officiating bias. Los Angeles ranks 24th in three-point attempts, emphasizing drives to the basket by its primary playmakers. Brooklyn, conversely, launched 14 more three-pointers than the Lakers, a style that traditionally yields fewer fouls.
The first-year head coach also highlighted his squad’s efficiency. “From a field percentage standpoint we were over 50% for nearly the whole game; we just didn’t get a lot of threes up and didn’t make a lot of threes,” he noted. “Then we made five of our last seven and that really opened things up for us.”
Reaves, considered one of the NBA’s most adept foul drawers, echoed the approach earlier in the week, stressing timing and body control as key components rather than simply seeking contact.
Los Angeles continues to top the league in free-throw differential, a statistic that figures to draw scrutiny as the season progresses. For now, Redick maintains that the numbers are a byproduct of style, not favoritism.
Source: Lakers Nation
