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5 burning questions heading into the final stretch of the 2021-22 season

By Jacob Ellerbee

Feb 10, 2022; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) talks with center Steven Adams (4) just after the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 10, 2022; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) talks with center Steven Adams (4) just after the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dillon Brooks, Memphis Grizzlies
Dec 17, 2021; Sacramento, California, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks (24) talks with Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield (24) after the Grizzlies attempted a free throw in the fourth quarter at the Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

No 3. Will poor free throw shooting lead to the team’s demise in the playoffs?

It’s definitely something that’s been on the minds of the players and coaching staff. Memphis has one of the worst free-throw percentages this season in the entire league.

The team recently had a free-throw tournament during practice to get the players to focus in and knock down their free-throws in a pressure situation. For the record, John Konchar defeated Dillon Brooks, according to the Daily Memphian’s Drew Hill.

The Grizzlies rank 27 out of 30 teams for the best free-throw percentage this season, despite shooting the fourth-most free-throws per game.

Memphis is currently shooting an abysmal 73.1%. Only the LA Lakers (72.7%) and Houston Rockets (70.7%) shoot worse from the charity stripe than the Grizzlies.

For the sake of comparison, the best free-throw shooting team in the NBA this season is Philadelphia, which boasts a percentage of 82.1%.

The Grizzlies are going to have to do something about this, or it will come back to bite them in the playoffs. If Memphis is ever up by just three or four points near the end of a game, the opposing team will foul us to stop the clock and put us on the line.

Missing those end-of-game free throws will leave the door open for the opponent to tie the game or take a lead.

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