Poor Free Throw Shooting Continues to Plague Mavs

The Dallas Mavericks are among the NBA's worst free throw teams this season. It plagued them in their loss to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.

The list of problems for the Dallas Mavericks to address is long at this point. In their 131-125 overtime loss to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, the team missed more free throws (15) than they made (14) on 29 attempts, shooting just 48.3 percent as a team. 

It's genuinely rare for a team to attempt that many free throws but shoot so poorly on them. In fact, the Mavs are just the second team this season to shoot at least 20 free throws and convert at a rate of 50 percent or worse. In a game that went to overtime, this area should top the list of concerns. 

When the Mavs needed execution from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, they shot just 2-5 as a team, including an 0-2 trip to the line from  Luka Doncic with 1:00 remaining in regulation. Dallas overcame that to tie it up 117-117 with a layup on a cut from Reggie Bullock out of a 4-on-3 situation, but regardless, better free throw execution could have helped avoid overtime. 

There wasn't even a genuinely good individual free throw shooting performance from the Mavs in their loss. Dallas had seven of the 10 players that received playing time attempt at least one free throw. None of them shot better than the 66.7 percent clip that Davis Bertans and Christian Wood converted overall.

It's been a concerning trend for the Mavs to underwhelm at the free-throw line throughout the season. They entered Thursday's game ranked bottom five in free throw percentage, and after their poor shooting display against the Pistons, they are shooting 71.4 percent on the season, ranked 29th in the league. 

It's difficult as it is to win on the road, and the Mavs understand that firsthand as they are 1-8 when playing away from the American Airlines Center. They make it all the more challenging to win in these situations with poor free throw shooting. They convert at a 65.5 percent clip on free throws on the road, which is the worst road free throw percentage in the NBA by a 2.3 percent margin. 

With how inconsistent the Mavs' 3-point shooting has been, along with their struggles at the free throw line, it begs the question: What are they doing about it? Poor shooting results aren't like a sickness that comes and goes. It takes discipline and attention to detail to maintain consistency. 

With how reliant Hardaway is at perimeter shooting to make a positive impact, why did it take 20 games for it to be pointed out that he is shooting on the way down on his mechanics? 

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