Hoops

Simmons breaks NBA single-quarter FTA record

Freethrows knows what he’s on about. I can tell by his name.

You make it sound so simples

AKA, you're right. Free throws should always start with the legs, but you've got to have your feet in the right position, even before that.

Making free throws easy is largely about getting your elbow under your hand for the release of the ball. Anatomically, the best way to do that is to stand at an angle to the line, so that if you load the ball properly in your hands, your elbow is directly under the ball, and your forearm and wrist release in a straight line to the basket as you shoot.

All you have to do then is push up from the floor, all the way through to releasing your elbow and wrist, spinning the ball backward, so that it has the best ball flight to the hoop, and splashing it at an angle of just under 45 degrees.

Simples.

One thing I have noticed in his free throw form is that there is no squat or drive from his legs. It's all arms, which with his poor form, will never become consistent enough to deter teams from purposefully sending him to the FT line.

So, does he shoot left or right handed? His left handed ft shot is terrible. There is no way he will ever be a consistent ft shooter with that action.

Thanks for the links, anon 9925/96.

Free throws are a repeatable, mechanical action. It's not at all hard to teach someone to shoot free throws at a good percentage, and there is no reason someone who is fit enough to play pro ball should not be able to hit at least 80% of free throws at practice, and shooting below 70% in a game should result in pay penalties.

Once you teach someone the physics of how shooting a basketball works, and the basic mechanical features of the shot, in relation to the biomechanics of the human body, it's not hard to turn someone into a good free throw shooter.

When I coached basketball, I taught experienced players, kids and adult beginners how to shoot the ball from the line (and a basic jump shot), and I always loved to see the look of amazement on people's faces when they realised how easy it is.

I haven't seen Simmons' action, but I'm willing to bet it's a big part of his problem.

(It's not a reliable option so I'd rather you didn't. I only did it in that case because I knew it would fit and that I could edit it if it didn't.)

There will be a live stream of the press conference too.

Croc TV Announcment.

My money would be on Holmes, but maybe they have done the impossible and got Bogut.... nahhh.