30Q: Can the Kings Do Better at the Line?

Raising the draw rate to league average but maintaining the team’s 2009-10 free throw percentage would add an average of about 1 point per game for the team.

Raising the team’s free throw percentage to league while maintaining its draw rate would add an average of about 1 point per game for the team.

What the hell – let’s do both!

But this is a very nice breakdown of the actual cost. Thanks for keeping it simple!

Evans shot 75% from the line last year, taking 6.5 free throws per game. Add 1 more free throw attempt per game and up the percentage to 80% and that adds 1.2 points per game.

Landry shot 5.3 free throws per game for a Kings team that did not really run a lot of low post offense for him. He also dropped from an 85% FT shooter in Houston to 74% for the Kings. Get him another free throw attempt per game and get his percentage back to about 82%, and that adds 1.3 points per game.

Combined, these two guys would add 2.5 points per game, which would have vaulted last year’s Kings team from 18th in the league in scoring to tied for 7th. That’s substantial.

Yes, Casspi and Greene and JT and Cousins all need to become better free throw shooters (note – JT is the best of these guys at 72%). But the improvement has to come from the guys that have the potential to be volume free throw shooters. For next year at least, those guys are Evans and Landry.

He said

What’s the bigger problem, drawing the fouls or shooting the free throws?
Raising the draw rate to league average but maintaining the team’s 2009-10 free throw percentage would add an average of about 1 point per game for the team.

Now, I realize that this isn’t in the true context of the post, but I think the bigger problem is committing fouls and sending the opponent to the charity stripe.

The Kings committed the 5th highest number of fouls per game in the league. The were the 22nd team in getting fouls, which combined to make the Kings #1 in foul differential. So, their opponent got 2.2 more FTA’s per game than the KIngs did. The KIngs opponents scored 233 more points then the Kings did on made FT’s, on 180 more attempts, so we gave 139 of those 233 extra points because we fouled too often. And, by my calculations the Kings lost at least 9 games when they outscored their opponent in FG’s but were outscored at the FT line.

I don’t know how you can force your opponent to foul you more often, but you should be able to learn to play proper defense so you don’t foul your opponent as often. Of course, improving both would be best, and might move those 9 lost games over onto the Kings win side which is what’s probably necessary for the Kings to move into the .500+ range in wins.

Sammy was 11th among centers in fouls per 48 minutes at 5.7 per 48. Landry was 33rd among Forwards at 4.5 per 48. But, JT was 13th among forwards with 5.7 per 48. Where I think the addition of Sammy & Cousins could hurt is that their presence will force JT to play more PF. And, it was when he played center last season, that he seemed to improve his defense and commit fewer fouls.

When he’s forced to play more PF and defend his man further away from the basket, that’s where I think JT’s foul problems will return. He uses too much hands and arms to defend and not enough feet.

So, we add Dalembert who fouls more than Hawes. We add Cousins who’s still an unknown but who probably isn’t going to get any favorable calls from the refs as a rookie. And, we force JT back to the position where he has the most problem defending. I think PW is going to have to do a superior job, to keep the Kings from leading the league in fouls. But, on the bright side, teams aren’t going to be thrilled about going to the rim with the Kings having 30 hard fouls to give in the paint.