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The Lakers freethrow disparity compared to the rest of the league is an all time outlier. One could try to argue that they are really good at drawing fouls and not fouling on defense but they would have to be the best to ever do it by a decent margin to explain the disparity.


I wouldn't call it rigging (except for the gambling stuff) but just like any other human being refs have biases that influence their decision making. Intentionally or not they are going to make decisions that favor one team over the other. Maybe because they are facing a tough home crowd. Maybe because they have personal issues with certain players on the floor.
But that's not the real issue. The problem is the lack of accountability and control. NBRA is in control and blocks independent third party evaluations. Mistakes and issues are handled by former refs and other league officials. Resulting in nepotism and a frat mentality where members protect each other instead of trying to improve the product/performance.

The way the league officiates the Lakers is what bothers me.  It's not merely the free throw disparity which is absurd.  It's what you witness when you watch a lot of Laker games.  They reach and grab and foul on defense more than any other team in the NBA-  and they get away with it.  

I don't really see too strong a bias regarding any other team.  There is some favoritism toward established stars but not to entire rosters.  This is unique to the Lakers.  It bothers me.  I hope the Nuggets destroy the Lakers in 4 and I don't have to see any more of that.