1. The Los Angeles Lakers need to shoot better from the free-throw line
One of the most interesting thing about the Los Angeles Lakers is that they are not particularly a great free throw team. While you do not have to be the best team in the league in knocking down shots from the charity stripe to win a title, typically the most successful teams are at least decent from the free-throw line.
That is not true this year as the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks are both among the worst teams in the league in free-throw percentage. The Lakers rank 28th in the league with a 73 percent free-throw rate while the Bucks are 27th with a 74.2 percent rate.
The Clippers rank eighth. The last three champions ranked in the top 10.
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There should be some concern in the playoffs as these games, particularly in the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals, are going to come down to the final baskets of a game. There is going to be a situation where the Lakers need to knock down their free-throw shots and if they do not that could be the difference in winning a title.
Only two legitimate rotational players are shooting above 80 percent this season, Anthony Davis and Avery Bradley, and Bradley is not rejoining the tea in Orlando. On the flip side of that, there are four players, LeBron James, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee, who are shooting under 70 percent from the free-throw line this season.
The Lakers are 2-3 against the Clippers and Bucks this season. The Lakers shot above 80 percent from the line in the two wins and below 80 percent in all three of the losses.