How much greater would Shaq be if he had a decent free throw

[Suns_fan_2007]

Shaq is one of the most dominant big men in the history of the NBA, but his biggest weakness of course is his free throw percentage.

Would he be one of the best if he had a decent free throw percentage, say 75-80%?

I think in this Suns/Spurs series it could have made a profound difference if he could hit his free throws...

[blazersmaniac8]

he IS one of the best, not sure though if he had an 75-80% ft shooting he would move up, but might cause extra ring he coulda possibly won if he shot better throughout the game?

[chrice]

In his prime, without Kobe hogging the ball and having an 80% free throw percentage, he'd average 40 ppg.

[Arles]

Shaq hit some key FTs down the stretch. It was Nash's 3 turnovers and terrible shooting that killed us. I'll even forgive Diaw the bad pass since he'd been all our offense for 2 games straight.

But Nash's performance was extremely disappointing.

[The Hypnotoad]

How can you honestly not ever get ANY better at freethrow shooting when its ALL you do? At some point... i mean....goddamn....

[chrice]

How can you honestly not ever get ANY better at freethrow shooting when its ALL you do? At some point... i mean....goddamn....

Shaq hit the free throws when it mattered. Shaq had 1 good season of free throw shooting, and that was wear he worked with a very special free throw coach for an hour+ a day.

If this is a serious question and you honestly don't know why Shaq hasn't improved, there are two main reasons. First is his hand size and his arm strength. It's extremely difficult for players with large hands to hold the ball in the correct position each and every time. Second, when you are as strong as Shaq, you don't have as much feeling or touch on the ball during the release. Notice how he basically has to either palm the ball or tap it in using his finger tips?

Second is Fatigue. He's older, and his leg strength and endurance are down. Any shooter will tell you that you get your lift from your legs. Not from any other part of your body. Also, when you are fatigued late in game, the level of difficulty on shots increases exponentially.

Note how some players like Arenas can hit 70-75% of their 3 point shots when their muscles are rested in an open gym, and they're lucky to shoot half of that percentage in a real game? It plays a big factor, moreso on Shaq, who has to do all the dirty work on the inside.

[captainrebel]

I hated the two biggest trades of this season and now my predictions have come true. I just didnt think Shaq would be of much help to the team and that for financial reasons they should have kept Marion. The Kidd trade I thought was the Mavs giving up tooo much youth especially in Haris, two picks and cash, not to mention the other players for a great PG who has past his prime and has a big contract. I just believed that Dallas could have done just as good or better had they not trade for Kidd.

[The Diesel]

The main reason Shaq can't shoot them is because he's played his whole career with a partially broken right wrist.

I remember reading about this somewhere...

[The Hypnotoad]

I think Shaq made us better. Nash, Amare, and Diaw just don't know how to execute at the end of games anymore apprently.

[~OhMyBosh~]

I think that if my right wrist was messed up and I had to shoot free throws lefty, w/ a little practice I could make them pretty consistently. Especially if I did it for a living. Or maybe just try baseball throwing it off the front rim and see if you can grab the crazy bounce offensive rebound.

[Uncle Mxy]

Keep in mind that if he had a better FT%, he wouldn't have drawn as many fouls as he has, or gotten opponents in the penalty so others could get Shaqtacular FT attempts.