Lakers still hurt by missed free throws and turnovers

The Lakers are still having trouble getting wins, but heading into games Saturday they were fourth in the league in scoring at 103.1 points a night.

A big part of the problem is on the defensive end, where the Lakers are 26th overall, yielding 101 a game. Still, some of the defensive issues are created on the offensive side, where the Lakers are turning the ball over at a high rate.

The Lakers are 27th out of 30 teams with 15.4 turnovers a game. Conversely, they’re 25th in creating turnovers (13.6).

Going hand-in-hand with turnovers, the Lakers don’t generate a ton of steals (7.4 a game, 20th overall) while opponents grab 8.3, seventh best against.

Free-throw shooting is the other big issue. The Lakers are 29th in the league at 69.1%.

Given how poorly the Lakers shoot from the line, other teams rack up the fouls to take advantage. The Lakers get fouled a league-high 23.2 times a game. As a team, the Lakers defensively don’t foul often, just 19.3 a night (22nd).

In an odd statistic, opponents shoot just 72.3% at the line against (29th overall), perhaps the Lakers’ misses are contagious.

The team also shoots relatively well from the field at 45.6% (10th place). Defensively they allow teams to shoot 45% (16th), which is average but not horrible.

The team is 11th best defensively against the three-point shot, giving up 35.4% (11th) while shooting 35.7% (11th).

The Lakers are 14th with 22.1 assists per game, but their defense doesn’t do enough to disrupt their opponents, who average 23.5 assists against (second in the league).

Rebounding is a strength at 45.3 a game (fourth), although opponents collect 42.5 nightly, 14th best against the Lakers. The team also blocks 5.6 shots a night (10th) while getting blocked 4.9 (16th best).

Going through the numbers, the Lakers have some bright spots, but their poor free throw shooting and prolific turnovers put them at a disadvantage nightly.

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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.