The Line Is Not So Free For Blazers At Charity Stripe
Clink. Clank. Clunk.
These are ugly times for the Portland Trail Blazers. They’ve lost five in a row, their longest skid in six seasons. Their 11-14 record is their worst this far into the season since that same 1988-89 season.
And they’re missing free throws at a record pace. If they don’t improve, they’ll become the worst team from the foul line in the history of the NBA.
Through 25 games, the Blazers are shooting .622 from the foul line (465 for 747). The all-time record for free throw futility is .635 by the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1967-68 season.
“There’s not much more I can say about free throws,” Portland’s Clifford Robinson said. “I wish I had a magic remedy, a magic spell I could put these guys under. But right now you just have to continue to play through it.
“For me to continue to try to make up excuses for why we’re not making free throws is ridiculous.”
The Blazers were 21 for 36 (.583) from the line in Saturday night’s 102-99 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. It was the third straight game, and 13th time this season, that Portland had shot below 60 percent at the line.
The problem is starting to feed on itself, Rod Strickland said.
“I know I’m struggling mentally at the free throw line,” he said. “You just have to try to come out of it and try to stay positive.”
It’s not that the team doesn’t practice. Coach P.J. Carlesimo kept the players an extra 20 minutes at Saturday’s shootaround just to shoot free throws. The problem is beyond practicing, Strickland said.
“You can shoot 500 in practice and make 500 of them,” he said. “But once you step on the line in a game, it’s a different thing.”
Robinson and Strickland, the team’s leading scorers, are shooting .623 and .633, respectively, from the line. But the problem is epidemic throughout the roster. Rookie Randolph Childress is 17 for 20 from the line, but no other player who sees regular action is shooting better than 75 percent.
Opposing coaches are beginning to use Portland’s free throw ineptitude in their strategy, fouling the Blazers rather than giving up an easy basket.
Not that free throws have been the entire problem. The team’s field goal shooting has been erratic, as has the players’ effort.