They’re even attacking free-throw line
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — All those free throws the Clippers attempt and make have become another staple of their efficient offense.
Because of their high offensive pace and attacking style, the Clippers led the NBA in free throws made (22.6 per game) and attempted (30.1) before they played the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
The Clippers attempted 26 free throws against Detroit, making 20 of them. The Pistons were only five for seven from the line.
Although his team ranked 20th in free-throw shooting percentage at 75.3%, Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said “it’s important for us” to keep attacking the rim so they can put more pressure on the defense.
Blake Griffin is 10th in the NBA in free-throw attempts (7.8 per game) and Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan are tied for 24th (5.3).
Jamal Crawford is ranked 10th in free-throw percentage (91.4%), J.J. Redick is 12th (91.1%) and Paul is 19th (88.1%). Griffin is shooting 77.6% from the free-throw line and Jordan 50%.
“And we know if we get to the line, with the way we play defense, we can be a better defensive team,” Rivers said. “It allows us to set our defense every time. Some of that is DJ, but that’s way down, the Hacka-DJ stuff. A lot of it is our guards getting to the paint, Blake driving more. And that’s good for us.”
Football outing
Rivers is big on team events and outings together. He sees it as a way for the team to bond.
So when the Clippers all went to see the Dallas Cowboys play the Washington Redskins on Thursday at AT&T Stadium after playing the Mavericks on Wednesday, Rivers said it was great for all of them to be together.
“It was one of our better ones,” Rivers said. “What helped is we had a bunch of Cowboys fans and some bandwagon guys. But we had a lot of Cowboys fans on our team. It’s just one of those teams they like. Chris and DJ and those guys really got excited about it.
“And it was fun. They treated us great, to be able to get on the field and meet some of those guys. It was pretty cool.”