|
Man, people have to stop taking things so damn literal...what Freeman is saying is that this is a team that can't do a very basic, fundamental act--shooting free throws--well. And honestly, it's probably one that can be worked on. For a team as good as Memphis to be so poor from the line suggests that they aren't working to improve on this obvious weakness. What makes it easier to correct than say, a transition game, or ability to rebound is that it's something the other team has no ability to stop or make difficult.
For example, Michigan State tends to be a good rebounding team, so, when you play them, your ability to get rebounds is hampered by their ability to do so better. As such, it's more difficult to change because your poor rebounding may just be a function of the other team's good rebounding.
But free throws are an independant act. If you're bad at them, you have to improve your ability to make them and if you can't, you have no-one to blame but yourself. It shouldn't be difficult for a team to make free throws, or to fix their problems from the line. But Memphis' inability to hit them smacks of the lack of attempting to improve.
Look at it this way: If you were a basketball team who was really good at playing fast-paced and really bad at playing a slow-down style, you'd try to play as fast-paced as often as you could. Freeman is basically saying that's what Memphis is doing. They're playing, and trying to do so in a style that works for them. The problem for Memphis is, that no matter how you play, at some point, you have to hit free throws. They can run and dunk and that's great, but you're going to shoot free throws in every game. If you shoot 20, would you rather be the team that makes 12 or the team that makes 16? If you're trying to run the clock out with a lead, the inability to hit free throws can hamper your ability to do that. If you're trying to come back from a defecit, you want to score with the clock stopped. And if you're in a close game, that 12-20 from the line might spell a loss where going 15-20 might be the win.
Does anyone remember when the Kings went like, 50% from the line in a Game 7 against the Lakers? Or when Nick Anderson missed the four free throws for the Magic at the end of Game One of th 95 finals? Or--and I might have the wrong team here--when the kid from Memphis went to the line for three shots and his team lost by one when he missed two? These were isolated incidents, yes. The problem is, with a team like Memphis, who constantly misses their free throws is that eventually, they're going to get into a game where they need to hit some, and they will struggle
|
