Stats review: Making noise from the foul line

Maximizing trips to the free-throw line is having an impact on the EuroLeague's offensive renaissance this season

It was an eventful week in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague capped by a tense duel between Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade and Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in the Belgrade derby that did not see either team ever lead by more than 6 points.

In victory, Zvezda did not convert a single catch-and-shoot jump shot, but went 20 of 24 from the foul line to close out a two-point win after Partizan had pulled things even in the final minutes. With seven different players making at least 2 free throws, the away team’s poise in front of one of the sport’s greatest atmospheres was critical to the win.

Zvezda’s free throw shooting in the Belgrade derby was just another example of how teams are finding ways to win games on the margins this season. There are currently seven teams with a point differential of under two points per game; the details matter more than ever in the EuroLeague.

The table above shows which teams have gotten to the line at the highest rates this season, the percentage of their total points that have come from foul shots, and their free-throw percentage.

Olympiacos Piraeus and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan have gone to the line more consistently than any other teams on the year and rank first and second in overall offensive efficiency, respectively. While Olympiacos has been able to rely on its back-to-the-basket threats to draw fouls in one-on-one situations, it has been Milan’s ability to draw contact driving closeouts and using advantages off screens from the perimeter that has driven its placement on this list.

The EuroLeague at large has an interesting relationship with the foul line relative to other top-tier leagues at the moment. And there is one big reason: the four players who have made over 100 free throws so far this season are shooting a combined 90% at the line. Perhaps just as notable is the fact that only one of those players — Theo Maledon who has made 47 more free throws than anyone else this season by drawing fouls in bunches — is a primary ball handler. The other three players above that mark are Sasha Vezenkov, Nikola Mirotic, and Zach LeDay. Olympiacos and Milan have been as deliberate about the process of getting their versatile frontcourt stars to the line as any teams in the sport, and the payoff for them has been staggering.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna represents a more conventional free-throw generating profile. The collective effort and physicality of its lineups in transition and on the offensive glass bolster the efforts of its main offensive options. Twenty-three-year-old center Momo Diouf is the most glaring example of how the aggressiveness of Virtus's role players has contributed to the team's success as he’s drawn a staggering 8.7 trips to the foul line per-40 minutes in his 15.7 minutes per game on the floor — one of the highest marks in the EuroLeague.

Among the other leaders in fouls drawn per-minute: Filip Petrusev of Zvezda and Tyrique Jones of Partizan. While Jones led the Belgrade derby drawing 5 fouls, he only attempted 1 free throw as it is not always the player drawing the fouls reaping the benefits in the box score. Regardless of how teams manufacture and maximize their trips to the line, there’s little doubt that it is having an impact on the league's offensive renaissance this season.