I'm kind of a throwback. I remember as a kid, when my mom introduced me to
Boston Celtics Basketball, how Bob Cousy used to emphasize hitting free
throws. I would be out in my driveway practicing, and eventually, I was
hitting over 90% of my free throws routinely. This continued in games, and
to me, a free throw is exactly that--a free shot at the basket that you
should consistently hit nearly every time, if you have good habits at the line.
To my mind, anyone in the NBA hitting less than 80% on the line is a
liability at the line. The very best in the NBA should be hitting
routinely in the high 90% range. I've lambasted Shaq often enough for his
incompetence at the line, I can hardly go easy on my favorite team. Pierce
especially needs to maintain a consistent shooting form at the line, then
he wouldn't be so erratic.
The Celtics can expect to get fouled a lot because they've been
inconsistent at the line. If the quality improves, then there'll be fewer
fouls because it'll become a low percentage play for the other team.
This is not something that can wait. They need to have the discipline to
go to the line and make the free throws like it's part of breathing--or
don't they want the easy points Jason Kidd gets because he creates a foul
and goes to the line knowing he's going to shoot an uncontested basket?
Snoopy the Celtics Beagle
At 12:24 PM 10/11/02 -0300, Cecil wrote:
here is what our core
players have done thus far:
Pierce: 14/16 = 87.5%
EWill: 9/11 = 82%
Vinny: 7/10 = 70%
Bruno: 5/7 = 71%
Toine: 4/6 = 67%
SWill: 5/6 = 83%
Delk: 2/4 = 50%