Lakers set NBA record with shockingly bad single-game free throw percentage
Longtime NBA star Rasheed Wallace was famous for saying (among other things), “Ball don’t lie.”
Friday night was just another example of the basketball being a truth teller.
The Los Angeles Lakers came into their game against Indiana as the worst-free throw shooting team in the league, at just 68.8 percent.
After beating the Pacers 99-86, you can bet that coach Luke Walton would have been thrilled for his team to shoot that well.
LA set an NBA record, going just 2-14 from the alleged charity stripe — a robust 14.3 percent.
As ESPN points out, even free throw-challenged Shaquille O’Neal was that bad only once in his career.
The Lakers shot 2-14 on free throws Friday, the lowest FT pct (14.3%) by any team in a game in NBA history (min. 10 FTA).
Shaq only had 1 worse game in his Lakers career with at least 10 attempts (0-11 FT on Dec. 8, 2000). pic.twitter.com/RipS1SJiAF
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 20, 2018
Guard Jordan Clarkston made the most of his night, erupting for 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
But who knew none of that would be his most impressive stat of the game?
Clarkston was 2-for-3 from the line — the only Laker to make a free throw, with the rest of the team going 0-for-11.
“Oh s—.” the understated guard said after the game. “For real? Dang, that’s crazy. We got to fix that. We got to [work] in the gym.”
On the plus side, the Lakers held Indiana to 38 percent shooting. That wasn’t lost on Walton.
“Our defense was awesome tonight. … It shows just how hard our guys played on that end to overcome what’s — I got to look — it’s got to be the worst of all time from the free throw line,” he told reporters. “It was all defense for us tonight.”
LA was playing without Brandon Ingram (a lifetime 65 percent free throw shooter) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (76.5 percent).
But the team probably figured with Lonzo Ball and his 48 percent mark sitting out as well, they would have a fighting chance to make a free throw.
They were wrong.
The Brick Layers — err, Lakers host New York (an 80 percent free throw shooting team) Sunday in LA.
You can probably guess what the theme of Saturday’s practice will be.
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