59% free throws

[TVDirector]

still concerns me...
get in a close game, and the ft's make all the difference.

fortunately we had breathing room tonight that the 16 of 27 didn't make or break the game.

great win, warriors!

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

What else concerns you about this WIN

[Silkk the Shaka]

Luckily 59% is not the norm.  The only one that worries me at the line is Crowder (the only one that gets there frequently, anyway).

[RubyWiscy]

Wow! The glass isn't even half empty and that's all you see?!

[PGsHeroes32]

Definitely need to work on them. I do love Davantes stroke though for a big man

[nyg]

Luckily 59% is not the norm.  The only one that worries me at the line is Crowder (the only one that gets there frequently, anyway).

Yes in a close game, Junior and Blue will not be there.

[willie warrior]

Yeah, Crowder, Jr. and definitely Blue are huge FT liabilities.

[chren21]

It's wierd though. 15 games ago I would have given it to Jae at the end of the game to nail some free throws.  Now he looks lost.

[pbiflyer]

[NersEllenson]

The reality is MU still MAKES MORE FREE THROWS THAN ITS OPPOSITION ATTEMPTS.

Though we may shoot a lower percentage than some teams - a 5-8% variance in make percentage generally isn't going to be the reason we lose.  We'll lose due to poor FG% offense and defense, far more frequently than due to FT shooting woes.

rocky's edit: removed unnecessary tangents.

[TJ]

The reality is MU still MAKES MORE FREE THROWS THAN ITS OPPOSITION ATTEMPTS.

Though we may shoot a lower percentage than some teams - a 5-8% variance in make percentage generally isn't going to be the reason we lose.  We'll lose due to poor FG% offense and defense, far more frequently than due to FT shooting woes.

rocky's edit: removed unnecessary tangents.

That's true, but sometimes we get free throw opportunities instead of baskets.  It seems like most of the time we don't make the shot on shooting fouls (last night was an exception - plenty of made shots with fouls called).  Therefore, drawing a foul IS our possession/shot for a lot of possessions.  So if we're not hitting our free throws, we're essentially getting nothing for that possession, while the opponent is likely taking a shot that goes in 40% of the time.  I'm not really explaining it well, but the idea is that we get more free throw attempts & makes, but the other team might get more FG attempts. 

I didn't look up stats, so I might be completely off base.  Just seems to me that making free throws is a substitute for a certain number of made FG's for this team, so making the FT's is still very important.

[Stretchdeltsig]

Agree that free throws are huge.  We need to make more free throws.  Blue needs to improve his shooting mechanics period.  It's painful to watch him shoot from the line or field.  His mechanics are terrible.  He needs coaching and practice to correct his shooting form.

[Silkk the Shaka]

That's true, but sometimes we get free throw opportunities instead of baskets.  It seems like most of the time we don't make the shot on shooting fouls (last night was an exception - plenty of made shots with fouls called).  Therefore, drawing a foul IS our possession/shot for a lot of possessions.  So if we're not hitting our free throws, we're essentially getting nothing for that possession, while the opponent is likely taking a shot that goes in 40% of the time.  I'm not really explaining it well, but the idea is that we get more free throw attempts & makes, but the other team might get more FG attempts. 

I didn't look up stats, so I might be completely off base.  Just seems to me that making free throws is a substitute for a certain number of made FG's for this team, so making the FT's is still very important.

Shooting 59% on 2 FT's gets you more points for each possession than effectively shooting 50% from the field, which is excellent.

0.59*2 = 1.18 points per possession
0.5*2 = 1.0 points per possession (assuming only 2's taken)

If we got to the line every trip down and shot a paltry 59%, we'd have the best offense in the country.  If we got to the line and shot our current average of 69.4%, we'd have the best offense in history.

Unfortunately, we don't get to the line every possession, although we are quite good at it.  Fortunately, we usually don't shoot 59%.

[TJ]

Shooting 59% on 2 FT's gets you more points for each possession than effectively shooting 50% from the field, which is excellent.

0.59*2 = 1.18 points per possession
0.5*2 = 1.0 points per possession (assuming only 2's taken)

If we got to the line every trip down and shot a paltry 59%, we'd have the best offense in the country.  If we got to the line and shot our current average of 69.4%, we'd have the best offense in history.

Unfortunately, we don't get to the line every possession, although we are quite good at it.  Fortunately, we usually don't shoot 59%.

I understand that, just wanted to point out that free throws are very important, and one of the reasons is because they generally happen instead of a field goal attempt.