The idea for this one came to me when I noticed that San Antonio are by far dead last in the league, attempting just 17.8 free throws per game. I knew some of that had to do with the Spurs historically playing at the slowest pace in the NBA, but I wasn't sure how much.
For those not familiar with efficiency statistics, this table is sorted by the number of free throws a team attempts per 100 possessions. It's hardly perfect since it includes free throws taken from technicals etc... but after being adjusted for pace I think it's a slightly better indicator of how much a team "attacks the basket" then just standard FTA.
RNK | Team | Pace | FTA PG | FTA EFF |
1 | Denver | 97.5 | 31.9 | 32.72 |
2 | Boston | 94.5 | 29.7 | 31.43 |
3 | Golden State | 99.3 | 30.4 | 30.61 |
4 | Cleveland | 91.7 | 27.7 | 30.21 |
5 | New Jersey | 93.4 | 27.8 | 29.76 |
6 | Phoenix | 93.7 | 27.4 | 29.24 |
7 | Orlando | 96.1 | 28 | 29.14 |
8 | Charlotte | 89.5 | 25.5 | 28.49 |
9 | Detroit | 92.1 | 26 | 28.23 |
10 | Milwaukee | 93.7 | 26.4 | 28.18 |
11 | Washington | 94.2 | 26.2 | 27.81 |
12 | Utah | 92.8 | 25.7 | 27.69 |
13 | Toronto | 93.4 | 25.7 | 27.52 |
14 | L.A. Lakers | 98.7 | 26.6 | 26.95 |
15 | Atlanta | 93.2 | 25.1 | 26.93 |
16 | Chicago | 98.7 | 26.4 | 26.75 |
17 | Memphis | 95.5 | 25.4 | 26.60 |
18 | Miami | 93.5 | 24.5 | 26.20 |
19 | Houston | 91.5 | 23.6 | 25.79 |
20 | Portland | 89.3 | 22.7 | 25.42 |
21 | New Orleans | 89.9 | 22.8 | 25.36 |
22 | Dallas | 96.1 (10th) | 24.2 (19th) | 25.18 |
23 | Oklahoma City | 97.8 | 23.7 | 24.23 |
24 | Minnesota | 93.9 | 22.6 | 24.07 |
25 | Indiana | 97.8 | 22.9 | 23.42 |
26 | Philadelphia | 96.1 | 22.5 | 23.41 |
27 | Sacramento | 94.1 | 21.5 | 22.85 |
28 | New York | 100.5 | 22.2 | 22.09 |
29 | L.A. Clippers | 95 | 20.8 | 21.89 |
30 | San Antonio | 88.6 | 17.8 | 20.09 |