One thing that’s interesting is that the best Eastern conference teams are in the bottom 10 (Boston, Detroit, New York) while the best western conference teams are near the top

Free throw differential is overrated for whistle

Sone teams foul a lot some teams don’t it’s not the refs deciding this

I’m a Thunder fan, last year the Thunder had the worst free throw differential in the league, 3.3 per game less than their opponents. But it’s cuz our defensive strategy involves us fouling a lot and our offensive strategy involves getting people to collapse in the paint around Shai and kicking out to open players which doesn’t lead to free throws (it leads to Shai getting a lot of FTs but not the team) try telling non Thunder fans the Thunder had the worst record in the league last year.

I think that the fact is that we as fans collectively are too stupid to actually identify what is ref ball and what is a foul. If you ever want a prime example listen to home town fans chanting refs you suck after an obviously correct call

Take that for DATA

I wonder if there’s information on if a team gets more calls when they are behind or leading. Who leads the league in FT’s when they’re down?

It’s actually not a worthless stat.

Don’t only look at it from the perspective of foul baiting, just think about legitimate fouls or whatever and just think about your average team.

In general, it means that a team is getting better shots and closer to the rim. You are more likely to be fouled when it’s a good shot for various reasons including because it meant the player was out of position (blocking foul or a desperate swipe at the ball as you go by, for example) or even because the defender just chose to risk sending you to the line because it was going to be a very high % shot

All stats are made up. The fact that people develop new ones to explain things happening in sports shouldn’t be treated as some negative. Whether we can derive value from new “made up” stats is to be determined but in this case, “free throw impact” does seem to be more useful in explaining “overall impact” rather than simple counting stats. Same as the difference between “assists” and something like the difference in team assist rate while x player is on the floor vs off - assists only count the passes one player makes leading to a basket devoid of any greater context while the latter not only has a comparison point (on vs off) but also can illustrate changes in team play style and effectiveness (aka better playmaker induces the whole team to find better shots and play less iso while on the floor; it also takes into account average passers whose other traits like shooting and scoring gravity open up playmaking for others like Dirk nowitzki)

I wouldn’t get too excited. OP seems to have forgotten that Denver has played 2 more games. The Lakers still have more FTA per game and a much higher FTA differential.

How much free throws the team as a whole receives when a player is on the court vs off the court.

Is it just other fandoms mad that he’s an mvp candidate?

It always goes in cycles. Tonight its Jokic’s turn, some time soon it will be SGA or someone else lmao

1% of SGA and Luka slander

Two things: 1.) Jokic can be a frustrating player to watch, because when he gets frustrated by officiating he gets petty and exaggerates to make a point of how he thinks the game is being badly reffed. 2.) There are a lot of insecure Thunder fans.

Also, less turnovers probably because less passes. Not just him passing but less ball movement in general

Complaint about Lukas whistle is something