Living on the Line

[Cyrisnyte]

So that's how easy it is!

Some players are more aggressive than others. While some players in the CSL may have that "catch and shoot" style of play, today we are going to look at the top 5 players in the CSL who "live on the line" day in and day out.

5

132 Made Free Throws

At just 21 years of age, the Philadelphia 76ers star finds himself already on this list. The 6'9" Small Forward is putting up some great numbers, with 29.4 points per game in his young career. Jabari is is averaging 7.3 free throws made per game while attempting 9.4 free throws per game for a 78.1% success rate from the free throw line. Jabari's biggest night at the line so far this year came in a 124 - 101 victory over the Suns in which he went 21 of 24 from the free throw line. 132 made free throws puts Jabari at #5 on our list.

4

137 Made Free Throws

Ahhh, Dwight Howard. Impressive to be on the list with the 4th most made free throws. What more could you ask for right? While he does make our list at #4, he also only hits 54.2% of his free throw attempts. 137 extra points from the "free throw" line is nice, but Dwight also attempted 253 free throws so far this year. While it is impressive to see a young man like Jabari Parker go to the line an average of 9.4 times per game, Dwight attempts 12.7 free throws per game. The difference between he and Parker is that while Parker hits 7.3 of his free throws, Dwight hits 6.9 of his per game. This gives Dwight Howard a free throw percentage of 54.2% for the year so far. While Dwight may suffer at the line, also keep in mind that the other team is having to foul so while he may not reap the rewards in points, he certainly is helping his team by having other players quickly get into foul trouble.

3

176 Made Free Throws

This is where the jump happens for the top 3 players in the CSL in regards to made free throws. Russell Westbrook puts some distance between himself and Dwight Howard with 39 more free throws made. Russell is hitting an amazing 11.0 free throws per game while attempting 13.4 free throws per game. His efficiency at the line with 82.2% made is what helps him into the 3rd spot on this list. Russell is a guard that loves to drive to the basket and the big bonus for him is that he is skilled enough to maintain his focus when he does draw contact which is shown in his 46.9% shooting percentage. His free throws go a long way in helping him to his amazing 34.8 points per game average.

2

194 Made Free Throws

The Magic's superstar Paul George is second on this list in the CSL. As impressive as Russell Westbrook is, PG13 takes it up a notch with a 36.0 point per game average. How much of that is a benefit from his trips to the charity stripe? Paul George make 10.8 of the free throws he attempts per game while going to the line an average of 12.7 times per game. So in actuality, Paul George goes to the line less than Russell Westbrook, he is just more efficient at the line, taking advantage of his time there with a 85.1% success rate at the free throw line.

1

213 Made Free Throws

The soon to be hottest free agent in the CSL for the 2nd year in a row comes in number 1 on this list in the CSL. No one is the CSL draws more contact than KD does. Kevin finds himself at the free throw line 14.2 times per game and converts on 12.5 of his attempts for a 88.0% success rate at the free throw line. He is the man when it comes to the Spurs as his 31.6 point per game average is more than double that of any of his teammates this year on the Spurs roster.

So how do these players stack up against one another in overall comparison to Free Throws? While there is a lot of information here in what you just read, let's take a look at a chart so you can easily see what these players bring to their teams on a daily basis!

Name	Minutes Per Game	Points Per Game	Free Throws Made	Free Throws Attempted	FT%	Most FTM in a Game	15+ FTA Games
Jabari Parker	38.3	29.4	7.3	9.4	78.1%	21	3
Dwight Howard	28.5	22.5	6.9	12.7	54.2%	18	7
Russell Westbrook	40.0	34.8	11.0	13.4	82.2%	21	5
Paul George	36.6	36.0	10.8	12.7	85.1%	23	5
Kevin Durant	31.8	31.6	12.5	14.2	88.0%	31	8

In the end, I'm sure everyone in the CSL could agree, try...try...try not to put these guys on the free throw line. And while you may try as hard as you can, these guys make a living on the line.

[Dennis]

haha, thanks for summarizing the actual "cheat" perfectly Jeff! The problem is that the DRFL of many players is too high. I think you cant even track Harden's FTAs as soon as he's back from injury. Against Orlando I run 1 FCP, 1 DI, 1 Pace and 9 zone and PG went to the line 18 times.. haha.
Normally we shouldnt have any players above 60 DRFL in the league.

[Chilikonkarne]

Interesting analysis.
As said by Dennis, wait for Harden to come back from injuries...

[rh0xxy]

haha, thanks for summarizing the actual "cheat" perfectly Jeff! The problem is that the DRFL of many players is too high. I think you cant even track Harden's FTAs as soon as he's back from injury. Against Orlando I run 1 FCP, 1 DI, 1 Pace and 9 zone and PG went to the line 18 times.. haha.
Normally we shouldnt have any players above 60 DRFL in the league.

So what's next? Lowering of high drfl ratings?

[Dennis]

haha, thanks for summarizing the actual "cheat" perfectly Jeff! The problem is that the DRFL of many players is too high. I think you cant even track Harden's FTAs as soon as he's back from injury. Against Orlando I run 1 FCP, 1 DI, 1 Pace and 9 zone and PG went to the line 18 times.. haha.
Normally we shouldnt have any players above 60 DRFL in the league.

So what's next? Lowering of high drfl ratings?

Editing ratings after the start of the league is a death sentence.

[Marcos_Beck]

Gosh Durant made 31 FTs in a game!
Gotta buy some ice for that shoulder after games, cause man, that's a lot of work in one night!

The "cheats" as Dennis likes to call them hahaha

I'm actually impressed with my 40 draw foul D-Rose who's going to the line a whopping 8 times a game!

[rh0xxy]

Gosh Durant made 31 FTs in a game!
Gotta buy some ice for that shoulder after games, cause man, that's a lot of work in one night!

The "cheats" as Dennis likes to call them hahaha

I'm actually impressed with my 40 draw foul D-Rose who's going to the line a whopping 8 times a game!

I believe it coincides generally with the score ratings and preferences of the player meaning if a player has high score rating+ high drfl+ High preference to drive = FT attempts.

[Ocons]

I don't really see what the problem is. It's a part of the game, IRL and obviously in a PC. Might be a little high but Harden gets to the line over 11 times a game in the NBA. . . from what I see he has averaged 8 and 9.5 the past couple seasons here?

Always gotta complain about something

[NanashiWake]

Shit's realistic unfortunately. The guys on this list scare me more than horror stories. Lol

[StOfTheStep]

Ha love the physics! It's even more enjoyable when you know exactly what it all means! Nice article!

[blackice]

Great article, and it's nice to see Dwight on the list. I agree when Harden comes back he takes the #1 spot.

[NuggOlesk]

In real life also, Dwight has had like 39 FT attempts in a game, and Iverson had 11,5 tries per games, Harden is having 12 per game this year.
Durant 14,2 isn't so far fetched, to call it a "cheat".

[WillyJakkz]

Great article idea and very informative.

Durant is killing it getting to the line and agreed Harden may be number one when he returns.

PG was at 90+% but hasn't shot as well recently. Nevertheless 10+ makes per game is outstanding.

[Dennis]

In real life also, Dwight has had like 39 FT attempts in a game, and Iverson had 11,5 tries per games, Harden is having 12 per game this year.
Durant 14,2 isn't so far fetched, to call it a "cheat".

I will give you an overview of FTA in the NBA/csl this past season later today. Then you will know what I mean.

[NuggOlesk]

In real life also, Dwight has had like 39 FT attempts in a game, and Iverson had 11,5 tries per games, Harden is having 12 per game this year.
Durant 14,2 isn't so far fetched, to call it a "cheat".

I will give you an overview of FTA in the NBA/csl this past season later today. Then you will know what I mean.

CSL has about 28,67 FTA per game, real NBA has 23,37 FTA. That's 5 FTA a game, not SO big dif. and this isn't really showing in Win % also:

Also as top 5 FTA teams are:
Orlando - .750
Minnesota - .632
Washington - .611
Indiana - .500
Phoenix - .400

15.-20. FTA teams are:
LAC - .571
TOR - .474
NOP - .700
SAS - .600
BOS - .833
DET - .750

So FTA are not really changing winners also as 17.18.19.20. are better teams as 1.2.3.

Sacramento Kings are 26. at FTA,(having 25.1 FTA per game) and they have .700 Win %

And..
76ers, Thunder have 32 and 31,7 FTA per game and are 7. and 8. teams on that list, they are what .429 and .333 teams.

----

In real life also... a lot of FTA do good, but are not the best, good FTA teams are losing a lot too, and bad FTA teams can win a LOT, but most good teams are in the middle (real life 16. GSW, 17. CLE).

[Dennis]

Okay, I see you didnt even get the problem. I will explain the matter to you later.

[WillyJakkz]

In real life also, Dwight has had like 39 FT attempts in a game, and Iverson had 11,5 tries per games, Harden is having 12 per game this year.
Durant 14,2 isn't so far fetched, to call it a "cheat".

I will give you an overview of FTA in the NBA/csl this past season later today. Then you will know what I mean.

CSL has about 28,67 FTA per game, real NBA has 23,37 FTA. That's 5 FTA a game, not SO big dif. and this isn't really showing in Win % also:

Also as top 5 FTA teams are:
Orlando - .750
Minnesota - .632
Washington - .611
Indiana - .500
Phoenix - .400

15.-20. FTA teams are:
LAC - .571
TOR - .474
NOP - .700
SAS - .600
BOS - .833
DET - .750

So FTA are not really changing winners also as 17.18.19.20. are better teams as 1.2.3.

Sacramento Kings are 26. at FTA,(having 25.1 FTA per game) and they have .700 Win %

And..
76ers, Thunder have 32 and 31,7 FTA per game and are 7. and 8. teams on that list, they are what .429 and .333 teams.

----

In real life also... a lot of FTA do good, but are not the best, good FTA teams are losing a lot too, and bad FTA teams can win a LOT, but most good teams are in the middle (real life 16. GSW, 17. CLE).

I love how we're being overlooked at 15-5

I think this DRFL thing has gotten way overblown, Dennis has 2 guys combining for 14 FT's per game (Smith Jefferson), McGee (5 FTA's/ game) added equals 20 pretty much.

Should focus on an article discussing Zone Defense Full Court Press "cheat/ tactic" and how they factor into the team win equation as well vs a scoring player as that's more unrealistic than the FT argument in my view.

[Dennis]

I think even you noticed that we all know that the high steal rate etc. is unrealistic. That's the reason why we adjusted the strategies. Also, I said "cheat" with which I wanted to say it is a significant advantage over others as DRFL (+decent scoring rating) is the most important rating in the game by far. For example, FCP doesnt matter at all if you are playing against a decent foul drawer. I think we all know that the game is completely unrealisitc and we all try to abuse certain bugs/advantages. IMO right now the amount of FTA is the biggest advantage, which doesnt mean there are other advantages too. The problem is, it is nearly impossible to counter high DRFL. If you play 1 DI, 9 zone, 1 FCP the real DRFL stars still go to the line 12-16 times.
If you have an effective team, you can counter the high amount of FTs, but the real problem is that the major part of your team fouls out and one is left with his bench scrubs or 3rd string guys.
You know what I mean? There is nothing wrong with DRFL, it is a tactic anybody can use, it is just nearly impossible to counter.

[NuggOlesk]

One game you held Paul George to 8 FTA's and you still lost, BOS had 35 FTA, ORL had 22 FTA.
So Orlando managed to play with "3rd string" players and win. The FT isn't nearly unrealistic or unbeatable you sound it to be...
And that other game he had 18 FTA, your main guys still played big minutes, the loss is more of the ORL made 10 threes, you made 2, and your team only had 6 FT less than ORL anyway.
Really doesn't matter if one player gets a lot to the FT line, if teams overall get to the FT line about the same amount!

[bt]

Why don't we just stop being critical and enjoy it? People don't call LeBron or Curry cheats in the NBA because they're better or can expose a team/player. LeBron, a freight train at 6'8", 250lbs yet we would label it cheating. Harden does take a ton of free throws in the NBA but it's not cheating. It's not cheating, it's an advantage that good players have and why we all want them.

Teams should just play to their styles or strengths. If Paul George at high usage means pushing for more free throw attempts, it's a great advantage to have and you surround him with players as to not affect that usage (or increase it). There are plenty of advantages that teams can't counter. It's exactly as it should be. Not everything can be countered just as it is in real life.

A cheat or exploit is doing something not within the moral confines of the game, like the strategy exploit. I run a high press because it suits my team with Payton (85 defense/75 steal) and Porter (82 defense/87 steal) and I cater it to the talent I have. Although Porter has played mixed SF since Parsons was injured. If I was running this with low rated defenders and low rated stealers, that would be using an exploit like before (assuming it even works with the limited strategies nowadays. Not true to the talent you have and choosing to try and exploit. If I didn't have Payton or Porter there, I'd be running something else that's for sure. It works because of the talent I have.

There is no cheat if you're using your talented players as is and that goes for having guys like LeBron, Durant, Harden and George. They're super players that you just can't counter. Although Otto did have a go at George holding him to 10 for 25 and only 10 free throws to go with 10 turnovers