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Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander unstoppable as a result of he shoots a ton of free throws, or does he shoot a ton of free throws as a result of he’s unstoppable?
SGA is second within the NBA with a wholesome 8.9 free-throw attempts per game and that has turn into the topic of a fairly deceptive on-line dialogue. Sure, he leans into contact, and sure, his scoring is buoyed by tons of free throws. However his 8.9 just isn’t truly an outlier within the historical past of the NBA’s prime scorers, as free-throw makes an attempt fairly routinely get above 10 for the highest guys (take a look at these James Harden numbers).
Nevertheless, that’s additionally not the purpose. As a result of when you’re keen to return on this journey with me, I believe we’ll discover that guys like SGA — foul-hunting and all — are literally wholesome for basketball.
First issues first: the flexibility to get fouled makes somebody unstoppable, not the opposite manner round. Isn’t the flexibility to get to the free-throw line an enormous a part of Joel Embiid’s greatness? And Giannis Antetokounmpo’s…and James Harden’s…and Michael Jordan’s and LeBron James’ and—oh wait, each superior participant in NBA historical past’s greatness?
Harden gained an MVP award taking pictures far more free throws than Shai, and all this has me questioning if asking “is SGA a free-throw merchant?” is the unsuitable query. Hidden inside it’s the larger, realer query: is searching fouls truly dangerous for the NBA?
Let’s contemplate the implications of every reply: if foul-hunting is dangerous, then the NBA must make an enormous change to their officiating guidelines. Making an attempt to get fouled is absurdly efficient, and there’s a motive all the very best scorers are additionally the very best at attending to the road. SGA is not any exception, and the NBA’s scoring chief is almost always within the Prime 3 in free throw makes an attempt (Stephen Curry is the most important exception, a operate of how a lot of his scoring comes from three).
If the NBA had been to make fouling much less efficient — by penalizing offensive gamers for initiating contact or by increasing the methods defenders can legally contest — superstars must seriously change how they play. Most followers would invite these adjustments, wanting the sport to be extra “moral” and see fewer stoppages.
However there already is an unofficial deterrent to the technique, as foul searching is arguably why guards like SGA and Harden have traditionally been much less profitable within the playoffs, when whistles get tighter. But when the league had been to truly lean into this and attempt to formally “repair” this “problem,” it might take greater than subjective officiating; radical adjustments can be crucial. And would all that truly be good?
Decreasing the effectiveness of foul searching would drastically cut back the worth of driving to the basket, which might, after all, imply gamers would take extra threes. It might flip a statistical sport that’s already stacked towards the paint utterly towards it. Positive, the sport would turn into “extra bodily” at first… till offenses hand over on physicality totally and simply house, house, house for leap photographs. And will we truly need extra threes? The league certainly doesn’t seem to think so.
What about eradicating free throws? That’s nonetheless no good. Any penalty beneath “factors” will trigger the identical three-point apocalypse, and a few out-of-the-box concepts like 5-on-4 energy performs or eradicating the bonus would make fouling an offensive participant absurdly efficient, the other of what all of us need.
In brief, I don’t see how the watchable NBA survives a world the place drawing fouls isn’t a official technique. It tilts the courtroom to be extra balanced, and makes offenses truly use all 94 ft. Maybe all SGA is absolutely doing is exploiting guidelines that preserve the sport the place it’s speculated to be. We want foul searching to ensure that the league to look how we wish it to. It’s not unethical, however somewhat completely pure. As a result of true basketball isn’t clear, which the very best gamers have understood for many years. SGA is simply the newest instance.
