Collins cries foul about lack of Sixers free throws
THERE REALLY hasn't been any offensive consistency so far when it comes to the 76ers, and when you look at the numbers, a lot of them are topsy-turvy.
THERE REALLY hasn't been any offensive consistency so far when it comes to the 76ers, and when you look at the numbers, a lot of them are topsy-turvy.
Consider:
* Their leading scorer, at 19.8 points a game going into last night's win over Indiana Pacers, was Lou Williams, a sub who is averaging the fifth-most minutes.
* Their second-leading rebounder is rookie Evan Turner, who is only playing 27.5 minutes a night.
* Their starting center, Spencer Hawes, hadn't gotten to the foul line yet this season, before last night when he was 2-4.
* And speaking of foul shooting, in his 106 minutes before last night, Williams had gotten to the foul line 35 times, making 31 of them (88.6 percent). The starting lineup going into last night's game had played 560 minutes and attempted just 32 free throws.
When a team is struggling, as the Sixers obviously are, sometimes getting to the basket and looking to draw contact is a way to break out of the doldrums. And lo and behold, they went to the line 25 times last night and got their first win.
"That is something I thrive on, getting to the basket and looking to draw contact," said Williams, who poured in a game-high 30 points while going 15-for-17 from the line in Tuesday's loss to the Washington Wizards. He scored 11 points last night and was 2-for-2 from the line in 24 minutes. "When I do drive to the basket, I'm looking to get one foul shot as opposed to two. After contact, I concentrate on keeping my body in a position to get a good shot and try to make the basket and then the foul shot. It's something that I've always done and I am comfortable doing."
He was pretty much alone on the team in that respect, at least before last night. The starters went to the line 20 times, including Hawes' four attempts.
"Our starters are averaging nine free throws a game combined," Collins said disgustedly before last night's contest. "Jrue [Holiday] has shot four in 124 minutes compared to Lou who has 35 in 106. I've talked to Jrue. He just can't flip the ball when he drives into the basket. He needs to create and continue strong to the basket. Same with Thad [Young]. He's gone to the line five times in 87 minutes."
After four games, the Sixers had gone to the line 89 times and made 65 for 73 percent. Their opponents were 103-for-130 for 79.2 percent. Further broken down, the Sixers, on average, are scoring about 11 less points a game from the foul line than opponents.
"Getting to the foul line is something, I think, that could help us a great deal," Williams said. "We have guys that can do it, but it just hasn't happened a lot this year. For me, if I'm struggling offensively, I find that I like to take the ball to the basket and get some contact and try to get to the line to sort of get my game going and get into a rhythm."
Last night, the Sixers outshot the Pacers at the line, 25-17.
Inactives
For the fifth straight game, guard Jodie Meeks and forward Craig Brackins were inactive.
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