While I am delighted with the way this team is performing despite their schedule - and the fact that we have been really close in all games we lost except one (shades of McMillan's 52 win Sonics team, if memory serves) - one thing that perplexed me was why we lost so many games to FT shooting. I went to look at it - and our FT% is just above league average. While our FT attempted is just below league average - it is also just below average for our opponents FT attempted. What really jumped at me, however - is that our opponents FT% is highest in the league... Teams shot 87.3% from the FT against us - the league average is 76.5% - if our opponents would shoot the league average - we would have had 21 points less scored against us - and with the kind of close loses we had - probably another win or two (GSW comes to mind, obviously - but the Utah game was another one where (if memory serves) - FT shooting against us was a big issue. Interesting (and useless) stat.
Our opponents, for the most part, have been playing at home. That's the reason for their higher percentage.
Also, we've played the least amount of game at home. I would imagine we've played the most amount of games away from home then as well. That would be the reason why we're tops in the league at opposition FT%.
Detroit, the Bucks and Dallas played 8 road games like us. Dallas and the Bucks are 3rd and 4th worst - so there is something in what you say - but Detroit's FT% against is actually below league average.
Well that's easy. Sheed's persuasive mojo on the opposition's ball is clearly a factor. You know, the whole "ball don't lie" thing.
This provides a perfect example of why Nate must go. If he can't teach free throw defense, how can we expect to win too many games. I see signs in some of our players that they can be good if not great free throw defenders, like Batum's enormously long mind-span and Outlaw's amazing vertical thought, but if Nate isn't teaching these guys the mental fundamentals of free throw defense, then we can just forget about the post season. Come on, step up your minds guys! prunetang
You know what, Mr. other HCP - I think you are onto something! And to make DaRizzle happy - we found something Bynum is better than Greg at!
A lot of team based statistics are pretty irrelevant this far into the season because the sample size is so limited and our schedule has been so skewed toward not only good teams, but an inordinate amount of road games. Once our strength of schedule evens out to around .500 and we've played as many home games as away games then I think it's OK to start wondering why we're above or below some league average. As they say there's three kinds of lies: Lies, damn lies and statistics. And a too-small sample size is one of the best ways to make stats "lie".
Far and away the leader here is that damn Golden State game. They were 32-34 from the line, like 94%. Prior to that they were LAST IN THE LEAGUE in FT%. I was beside myself this game because of the officiating but then to have Golden State have a wildly statistically significant positive deviation from their norm was just too much. We should have one that game for a myriad reasons.
