Warriors missed 10 free throws in their defeat to Clippers on Monday.
The Golden State Warriors are off to a blistering start this season, boasting a 10-3 record and becoming the top-seed team in the NBA Western Conference. Their offense has been the driving force behind their success at the start of the season.
With the combination of Stephen Curry’s usual brilliance and the sharp shooting of new addition Buddy Hield, the Warriors have made 212 three-pointers, the eighth most in the league.
Their bench has also been a revelation. The likes of Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, Kyle Anderson, and Lindy Waters III, have proved more than capable of scoring. The bench is averaging a historic 58 points per game, which is the most in NBA history.
While the Warriors have mastered the tough part—shooting from beyond the arc—they’ve stumbled on the easier task: free throws.
The Dubs have always been a team that thrives on efficiency. They don’t take bad shots, and they excel at generating open looks.
However, when it comes to free throws, Golden State has been anything but efficient. They are shooting just 69.7% from the charity stripe, a far cry from the league’s best, and far below what you’d expect from a team with their championship pedigree.
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The Warriors have now missed the most free throws of any team this season, with a staggering 91 misses to their name. While it may not grab attention like Curry’s dazzling three-point shooting, it’s a problem that has persisted repeatedly this season.
While their winning streak initially hid their free-throw struggles, the defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday brought it into the spotlight.
Both teams committed turnovers—19 for the Warriors and 20 for the Clippers—but it was the Warriors’ struggles at the free-throw line, converting just 9 of 19 attempts, that made the difference.
Steph Curry, who has been the only silver lining for the Dubs from the free throw line, admitted that it is a “glaring” issue.
“It’s a glaring issue we need to correct”, Curry, who is shooting 94.3% from the free throw line said after Clippers game.
“But it’s not like we’re going to spend an hour at practice and everybody’s going to shoot free throws. It’s what you do pre-practice, post-practice to get your confidence right.
It is correctable, that’s a good thing. We understand that the details matter and (if) you make five more, it can change the game, so get your work in.”
To be fair, the Warriors’ offense is still one of the most potent in the league, and their record (10-3) reflects that. But with how competitive the Western Conference has been, the persistent free throw issue could turn into a serious headache for Curry and Co in the later stages of the regular season.
Image Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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