Milwaukee Bucks: The costly free throw problem

As the Milwaukee Bucks look to overcome a variety of early season issues, their problems with free throws may be one of the most troubling.

While major and obvious problems with the Milwaukee Bucks’ play on both ends of the floor have been standout factors in some of the difficulties the team has faced in the early stages of the season, a much simpler issue is proving equally costly.

As anyone who has watched the Bucks so far would be able to tell you from anecdotal evidence alone, Milwaukee has generally been on the wrong end of a significant free throw differential through their first nine games.

Generally when that’s the case, fans, players and coaches alike will be quick to point to unfavorable decisions from officials, but in the Bucks’ case the root of the problem is based more in sloppy and reckless decisions defensively, and a habit of settling on offense.

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Jason Kidd admitted as much in speaking to Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Saturday, acknowledging that his team’s own failings were the cause of the deficit.

"“A lot of them are fouls. They’re right, so we’ve got to do a better job of playing without fouling.”"

The Bucks rank fourth in the NBA in terms of most personal fouls committed, which when added to ranks of 26th in free throws attempted and 26th in limiting opponent free throws does not make for a particularly pretty picture.

Milwaukee’s place near the very bottom of the respective free throw attempt numbers on both ends of the floor places them firmly among the teams who are being hurt most by free throws.

So far, the Bucks are attempting an average of 7.3 free throw attempts less than their opponents per game (third worst mark in the NBA), which translates to 5.5 less makes than their opponents too.

Considering the Bucks are failing to create second chance opportunities through forcing turnovers or grabbing offensive rebounds, they can’t afford to lose the free throw battle and still expect to have any chance of success. In fact, as the league’s worst team when it comes to overall rebounding and scoring second chance points, Milwaukee’s need for free points is even more pressing.

Greater discipline on the defensive end could help the Bucks to limit opposition opportunities from the stripe, but considering the nature of Jason Kidd’s defensive scheme and how often it leaves his team scrambling, it’s unsurprising that Milwaukee’s players are often left reaching.

Still, there are obvious ways in which the Bucks could improve the regularity of their trips to the line on the other end of the court.

The Bucks are attempting 3.6 less free throws than they did last season, which considering Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s incredible start to the year and growing respect around the league would seem somewhat surprising. The Greek Freak’s own attempts per game are even down slightly from last year, in spite of increased minutes and a higher usage rate.

Explanations as to Milwaukee’s trouble could possibly come from other departments where the team has regressed from last year. The Bucks finished third in the league in points in the paint last season, averaging 48.6 per game, while so far this year that number has dropped to 45.3 per game and a rank of 13th.

The Bucks are also down significantly in terms of fastbreak points. Having averaged 13.8 per game last season (13th in the NBA), the Bucks are managing just 9.0 points per game in transition so far this year (19th in the NBA).

It’s worth noting that the team’s shooting, once Milwaukee’s greatest weakness, has significantly improved over the past two seasons. The Bucks are currently fourth in the NBA in terms of three-point percentage and 10th in terms of makes from deep per game, but that isn’t something that should be causing their looks at the basket to drop.

Instead of building their offensive efforts around a steady diet of paint and three-point attempts, the Bucks are actually increasing their scoring output from the midrange. The Bucks have made a nominal 0.3 percent increase in the percentage of their points scored from midrange this season, but with that their attempts from the restricted area are down to 26.3 per game from last year’s mark of 31.2 per game.

All signs currently point to Milwaukee’s players being less aggressive in terms of getting shots close to the hoop this year, and the negative impact of that is noticeable in their low free throw output.

Next: Milwaukee Bucks: Staying the course with Thon Maker

Of course, it’s so early in the season that the Bucks do have plenty of time to make significant strides on both ends of the floor. As an obvious source of some of their early struggles , though, the Bucks will need to address the issue sooner rather than later at the risk of the season getting away from them.