OKC Thunder: Examining team’s most fatal flaw – historically poor free throw shooting
By Alex Mcewen
The OKC Thunder have established themselves among the elite in the NBA this season. However, the team’s fatal flaw could derail their promising season.
On opening night the OKC Thunder faced the mighty Golden State Warriors on ring night inside Oracle Arena. Despite the absence of starting point guard Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City kept the game competitive, before ultimately coming up eight points short.
There were many more layers to that game than the final score indicates. Trends were established on opening night, such as OKC’s dominance in the third quarter. OKC dropped 32-points in the frame after intermission.
That trend has held up, for the most part, all season. Currently, Oklahoma City is plus-87 in the third quarter, second in the NBA. Another trend was established on opening night. However, this one is more alarming, it concerns the charity stripe.
Oklahoma City went to the line on 37 occasions on ring night, but they connected on just 24 attempts. Leaving 13 points at the line in an eight-point loss is costly, the situation has occurred several other times this season, but more on that later.
To this point, a trio of OKC Thunder players has been particularly putrid from the foul line, Westbrook, Steven Adams, and Jerami Grant. In fact, through 39 games the trio has shot 273 of 453 attempts or 60.3 percent on freebies.
Those numbers are atrocious, what makes them worse is there are nine teams who have missed fewer free throws than that trio:
Free throws made/attempted
- Spurs: 717-869, difference 152
- Warriors: 719-869, difference 154
- Trail Blazers: 748-920, difference 172
- Raptors: 728-920, difference 175
- Celtics: 602-754, difference 152
- Suns: 651-823, difference 172
- Cavaliers: 634-804, difference 170
- Bulls: 592-766, difference 174
- Magic: 562-730, difference 168
*As of games played through January 6, 2019
The free throw factor
Losses are going to occur within an 82 game season, when there is a recurring theme within losses, that is when defeats become worrisome. Including the opening night loss to Golden State 78 percent of OKC Thunder losses have involved missed free throws.
In 11 of Oklahoma City’s 14 losses, the Thunder have missed equally as many or more foul shots than the margin of defeat. In the three losses in which free throws were irrelevant, OKC lost by 18, 15, and 16 respectively.
Odds are not in OKC’s favor
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In the 3-point era, 69 teams have shot 70.6% or worse from the foul line. Among the 69 teams, 38 qualified for the post-season, 19 of which did not advance beyond the first round. Only four of the 38 teams won the championship (three were Shaq’s Lakers). Therefore, history indicates it is incredibly difficult to win a title with substandard free throw shooting.
It remains to be seen what, if anything the Thunder can do to alleviate or correct their troubles from the charity stripe. Ideally, a shooting coach (SC) would be the solution, but at this junction of the season, it’s unclear how much even a SC would help.
Due to limited practice time, there would be few opportunities for the SC to develop good habits with each player. At the same time doing something would be better than watching the team further deteriorate at the foul line.
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If the issue is not addressed the Thunder’s fatal flaw will prove to be quite costly after all.