Are Free Throws Critical for Success? Ask the New York Knicks – NBA Feature
The New York Knicks lost to the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on March 30, 2012 with the final score 100-90. The first two quarters were owned by Atlanta where they led by 12 points at half
time. However, an inspired offensive play by Carmelo Anthony brought the Knicks to within two points of Atlanta early in the 4th quarter.
Unfortunately, the Knicks could not close the game owing to a dismal performance from the free throw line. They missed six of eleven free throws in the fourth quarter alone, and could not capitalize on their paint penetration capabilities.
The Knicks were 22-33 from the free throw line for the game, and this along with below 50% field goal percentage from within the paint, were the two main factors behind their loss to the Hawks.
Free throw conversion is a critical performance indicator as a poor performance in this aspect of the game can have severe repercussions on the outcome, as we saw between the Knicks and the Hawks.
New York are a very aggressive basketball team with players that are comfortable in driving into the paint and getting close to the bucket. Players such as Jeremy Lin, Amare’ Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony love to open up the defense
with their ball handling skills. This is why we see Knicks getting above average free throw attempts. They are currently 4th in the league for free throw attempts, averaging 26 attempts per game
With Lin and Stoudemire now done for the season this number is expected to go down, but the worrying thing for the Big Apple franchise is that they are also currently ranked 21st in the league for free throws made, at
74.6% for the season. These two statistics when seen together highlight a grave weakness in their offense. They are getting inside the paint and forcing fouls, but if they are unable to convert fouls into points, then it is a possession wasted.
Landry Fields is an aggressive offensive option who likes to drive in traffic. But half of the time he drives, he gets fouled. And he is shooting under 60% for the season from the free throw line. Tyson Chandler is another Knicks
player who is not very consistent from the free throw line. He is averaging fewer than 70% from the free throw line for the season.
With Jeremy Lin out for the foreseeable future, the Knicks need to pick up their offensive game if they want to reach the playoffs.
Defense is not their strength when they are averaging 94.6 points per game to the opponent. Hence, if they are not able to plug the weaknesses in their offensive arsenal, which are getting more and more exposed as the regular season
nears completion; their playoff contention could be in jeopardy.
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