Cavaliers are the NBA's third-worst, foul-shooting team at 69.9 percent
View full sizeTristan Thompson had a respectable game everywhere except at the foul lineCLEVELAND – Tristan Thompson had supplied eight points, nine rebounds and no choice but to remove him from the game. At least that’s how Cavaliers coach Byron Scott viewed it.
The rookie power forward was showcasing his best assets -- his athleticism and rebounding – yet hurting the Cavs at the foul line in a game where every point was precious. And, so Thompson played just 4-minutes, 35-seconds in the second half of the Cavaliers’ 89-84 loss to the New Orleans Hornets at The Q.
In the 3-minute, 31-second stretch Thompson played in the third quarter he converted 1-of-4 attempts. He entered the night shooting a team-worst 46.2 percent from the stripe. It’s the first time the Hornets had seen the spring-loaded 6-foot-9 Thompson who probably can stack dimes on the tops of backboards. But Scott feared the Hornets would start to foul him any time he got the ball in scoring position, a la Hack a Shaq.
“That was probably the biggest concern,” Scott said. “I just figured I would bring him back a little bit later . . . It’s something he’s got to continue to work on. He’ll get at it.”
The 20-year-old hardly has been the only free(throw)mason on the Cavs. They were 24-of-37 at the line Wednesday in a game they lost by five points. It’s been a problem all season for a club shooting 69.9 percent, third worst in the NBA. The inability to convert fouls shots has cost the Cavs several games – with no greater example than on Feb. 10, the night Antawn Jamison needed to sink just one of two free throws in the final seconds of regulation against Milwaukee.
Little blemishes become magnified in a playoff pursuit. (Scoff if you like, but the Cavs are hanging around at the All-Star break.)
Obviously, they couldn’t hit a shot from anywhere on the court against the hapless Hornets. They were 31.8 percent from the floor, including 22.2 percent from behind the 3-point arc. Teen phenom Kyrie Irving was shooting (2-of-13) as though the jerseys on the opponents read “Toronto” not “New Orleans.”
But neither Irving nor the club is usually that poor. These kind of cold-shooting nights occur on occasion. There was nothing uncommon, however, about the free-throw woes. Once you get past Irving (85.5), Ramon Sessions (83.8) and Daniel Gibson (86.4) there’s nobody who inspires confidence in the clutch. In fairness, Alonzo Gee (77.7) has hit a few big ones, but not like the type Irving delivered against Sacramento.
Each player has a designated number of foul shots he must hit before he can leave the practice court. Scott said sometimes when a team is really shooting poorly – at the line or from the field – a coaching staff might assign no additional attempts just to take the players’ minds off the struggles.
Are the Cavs there?
“We’re close,” Scott said recently.
Thompson arrived in Cleveland with a reputation as a poor foul shooter. He classifies some of his misses as “good misses.” (In the spirit of full disclosure I have similar views about deadline that are not shared by our outstanding copy desk.)
Obviously, some of the game’s top big men like Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard have suffered from the same malady. Thompson isn’t on that strata, yet he’s playing well since his ankle has healed. He finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds against the Hornets.
All Thompson and the Cavaliers can do is keep working at their free throws. But if they want to be treated as a playoff-caliber team they need to understand the price for 69.9 percent.
The rookie power forward was showcasing his best assets -- his athleticism and rebounding – yet hurting the Cavs at the foul line in a game where every point was precious. And, so Thompson played just 4-minutes, 35-seconds in the second half of the Cavaliers’ 89-84 loss to the New Orleans Hornets at The Q.
In the 3-minute, 31-second stretch Thompson played in the third quarter he converted 1-of-4 attempts. He entered the night shooting a team-worst 46.2 percent from the stripe. It’s the first time the Hornets had seen the spring-loaded 6-foot-9 Thompson who probably can stack dimes on the tops of backboards. But Scott feared the Hornets would start to foul him any time he got the ball in scoring position, a la Hack a Shaq.
“That was probably the biggest concern,” Scott said. “I just figured I would bring him back a little bit later . . . It’s something he’s got to continue to work on. He’ll get at it.”
The 20-year-old hardly has been the only free(throw)mason on the Cavs. They were 24-of-37 at the line Wednesday in a game they lost by five points. It’s been a problem all season for a club shooting 69.9 percent, third worst in the NBA. The inability to convert fouls shots has cost the Cavs several games – with no greater example than on Feb. 10, the night Antawn Jamison needed to sink just one of two free throws in the final seconds of regulation against Milwaukee.
Little blemishes become magnified in a playoff pursuit. (Scoff if you like, but the Cavs are hanging around at the All-Star break.)
Obviously, they couldn’t hit a shot from anywhere on the court against the hapless Hornets. They were 31.8 percent from the floor, including 22.2 percent from behind the 3-point arc. Teen phenom Kyrie Irving was shooting (2-of-13) as though the jerseys on the opponents read “Toronto” not “New Orleans.”
But neither Irving nor the club is usually that poor. These kind of cold-shooting nights occur on occasion. There was nothing uncommon, however, about the free-throw woes. Once you get past Irving (85.5), Ramon Sessions (83.8) and Daniel Gibson (86.4) there’s nobody who inspires confidence in the clutch. In fairness, Alonzo Gee (77.7) has hit a few big ones, but not like the type Irving delivered against Sacramento.
Each player has a designated number of foul shots he must hit before he can leave the practice court. Scott said sometimes when a team is really shooting poorly – at the line or from the field – a coaching staff might assign no additional attempts just to take the players’ minds off the struggles.
Are the Cavs there?
“We’re close,” Scott said recently.
Thompson arrived in Cleveland with a reputation as a poor foul shooter. He classifies some of his misses as “good misses.” (In the spirit of full disclosure I have similar views about deadline that are not shared by our outstanding copy desk.)
Obviously, some of the game’s top big men like Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard have suffered from the same malady. Thompson isn’t on that strata, yet he’s playing well since his ankle has healed. He finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds against the Hornets.
All Thompson and the Cavaliers can do is keep working at their free throws. But if they want to be treated as a playoff-caliber team they need to understand the price for 69.9 percent.
