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Detroit Pistons’ free throw disparity is not as glaring as meets the eye

By Duncan Smith

Dec 11, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons center Aron Baynes (12) warms up before the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 11, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons center Aron Baynes (12) warms up before the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Detroit Pistons have shot fewer free throws per game than they did last year, and it’s a good thing. The offense is more efficient as a result.

The Detroit Pistons are not new to free throw problems. A season ago, Andre Drummond posted the worst free throw shooting season in NBA history, hitting just 35.5 percent of his free throw attempts.

That dragged the Pistons’ team free throw percentages down to a mediocre 67 percent, thanks to the high volume of free throws Drummond took due to being frequently hacked. As a team, the Pistons took 25.5 free throws per game a season ago.

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This season, the Pistons have seen a significant drop in their free throw attempts. They’re shooting the second-fewest free throws per game at 17.7, ahead of only the lowly Dallas Mavericks. They’re also last in free throw rate, shooting just .206 free throws per field goal attempt.

Part of that is because Andre Drummond has only been hacked a couple of times this season, down to four free throw attempts this season from last season’s 7.2 per game, but that’s still a 4.6 free throw per game differential aside from his contributions at the line.

Another big difference between last season and this season is the fact that Piston point guards haven’t been getting to the line. Ish Smith is a pass-first point guard and Reggie Jackson is struggling to get his cardio back following his layoff due to knee tendinitis, and the two (and Beno Udrih) have combined for just 69 free throws, an average of 2.6 free throws per game through 26 games.

Last season Jackson, Steve Blake and Spencer Dinwiddie combined for 392 free throws, an average of 4.8 free throws per game. Between Drummond’s reduction and the lack of aggressive drives to the paint from Piston point guards, that explains another 2.2 free throws lost per game versus last year.

Related Story: Andre Drummond is on the verge of a career year for the Pistons

As for the remaining 2.4 free throws per game, there are a few possible explanations, the most likely of which is transition offense. The Pistons are finishing better in transition this season than they were last season, and they’re going to the line less when they’re out on the break than they did in 2015-16.

Last season the Pistons scored 1.079 points per possession in transition, 22nd in the NBA. They went to the free throw line 14.6 percent of the time in transition. This season, they’re scoring 1.144 points per possession in transition, ninth best in the NBA, and going to the line just 9.6 percent of the time in transition opportunities.

The Pistons are scoring 13.5 points per game on free throws compared to 17.1 points per game last season. To ajdust for pace, this means the Pistons scored 17.55 points per 100 possessions last season, while they’re scoring 14.05 points per 100 possessions this year. In addition, the Pistons went to the free throw line 11.58 times per game last season while going just 8.64 times per game this season.

In turn, the Pistons are scoring 1.62 points per free throw trip this season compared to last season’s 1.51 points per trip.

In essence, the Pistons have swapped low-efficiency free throws from Drummond and transition opportunities in exchange for fewer free throws from Drummond and 6.5 more points per 100 possessions in transition.

This disparity compared to last year has been made to look more glaring thanks to games in which the Detroit Pistons were on the bad end of wide free throw gaps. Particularly at question, a week ago the Pistons put the Chicago Bulls on the line 32 times and only got to the line 21 times themselves because the Bulls fouled aggressively late in the game. They followed that up the next night and were outshot 29-8 from the free throw line by the Charlotte Hornets.

Next: Why the Pistons may not let Aron Baynes go easily

It’s more likely that these games with extreme gaps are the aberrations, and that as long as teams don’t resort to hacking Drummond, the Pistons will go to the line much less than they did last season.

For the Detroit Pistons, that’s a good thing.

Video courtesy of our friends at 3 Ball

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