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I looked this up after the recent Knicks article suggesting that the triangle offense limits ability to draw free throws and forces low percentage (mid range) shots. Without checking the rest, the first thing that surprised me was how below average the Bulls were during that time in terms of free throw rate despite the presence of Jordan who basically acknowledged to have created the superstar call.

Just looking at the title winning teams:

1990-91: 22nd
1991-92: 16th
1992-93: 26th
1995-96: 28th
1996-97: 29th
1997-98: 24th

Is this down to the offense or was anything else in play here?

Slava wrote:I looked this up after the recent Knicks article suggesting that the triangle offense limits ability to draw free throws and forces low percentage (mid range) shots. Without checking the rest, the first thing that surprised me was how below average the Bulls were during that time in terms of free throw rate despite the presence of Jordan who basically acknowledged to have created the superstar call.

Just looking at the title winning teams:

1990-91: 22nd
1991-92: 16th
1992-93: 26th
1995-96: 28th
1996-97: 29th
1997-98: 24th

Is this down to the offense or was anything else in play here?

A few things contributing to this:
1-frontcourt personnel. Bigs get more trips to the line in general and the Bulls bigs weren't big offensive players. Grant was the best one and he played away from the basket more.

2-Points on the fastbreak. The Bulls got a lot of baskets in the open court compared to other teams. Defenses didn't bother trying/couldn't foul in many cases. That's more FGAs and fewer FTAs. When a lone defender chasing Jordan or Pippen with a full head of steam 10 feet from the basket had a choice to foul or get out of the way, they got out of the way. Both players were so strong and athletic that you weren't going to be able to close space consistently and if you could, there was a good chance they'd get an and one.

3-Scoreline toward the end of games. The best way for a team to get a high FTr for a game is to be up by just a few pts with a couple minutes left. In over 40% of their games over this period, the Bulls net Ortg was +10 or greater. That's a lot of wins without end of game fouling. When the Bulls had a net Ortg of 4 to 6 pts, their FTr was over 7 pts higher than when it wasn't. Most teams play a lot of games that they win with that sort of advantage. With the Bulls over those 6 years, that was a once every 13 games played margin.

The Lakers ran the triangle during their threepeat and got to the line a lot. Fewer fast breaks. Shaq inside. They weren't as statistically dominant as the Bulls. (averaging about 5 wins less per season with a net Ortg that was 3 pts worse).

Great explanation by Chicago76. One other thing about free throw rate in general: it "penalizes" players for making baskets when fouled, because he gets 1 less free throw attempt (or 2 for a 3-point attempt) and one extra field goal attempt. So if a player is particularly good at getting And-1s, his free throw rate will be deflated relative to a player who is not as good at making such baskets. I don't think data exists for And-1s during the Jackson-helmed Chicago days, but it's another point to consider.

It's worth noting that Phil Jackson's & Michael's interpretation of the Triangle was not the end all be all of the offense, like Tex Winter would have liked.

Tex Winter often complained, and Phil Jackson allowed, the star players to ignore the triangle offense. In particular Michael Jordan, Shaquille, and Kobe Bryant. These guys were allowed to go iso and simply create on their own. PJ mentions in his books that Kobe would often try to force the game and shoot his way out of a slump...this basically reinforces that Phil was not controlling how Kobe played and allowing to do whatever he wanted, even if Phil disagreed.

The standard formula would be that Scottie or Pax/Kerr initiated the Triangle. When the shot clock ran down and nothing came of it, Jordan would just take over. In the 4th quarter or whenever Jordan deemed necessary, he would just take over.

So while MJ generated a lot of FTAs, everyone else on the Bulls strictly ran the triangle and got very few FTs including Pippen. Lakers got a ton of FTs because Shaq simply attacked the basket, and defenders often fouled because of his FT shooting, and Kobe was allowed to just attack like MJ.

This is why i think the role of the Triangle is a bit overblown. There's a system there so it's not 48 minutes of chaos, but during tough moments PJ allowed his stars to run with their instincts and just create.

kodo wrote:It's worth noting that Phil Jackson's & Michael's interpretation of the Triangle was not the end all be all of the offense, like Tex Winter would have liked.

Tex Winter often complained, and Phil Jackson allowed, the star players to ignore the triangle offense. In particular Michael Jordan, Shaquille, and Kobe Bryant. These guys were allowed to go iso and simply create on their own. PJ mentions in his books that Kobe would often try to force the game and shoot his way out of a slump...this basically reinforces that Phil was not controlling how Kobe played and allowing to do whatever he wanted, even if Phil disagreed.

The standard formula would be that Scottie or Pax/Kerr initiated the Triangle. When the shot clock ran down and nothing came of it, Jordan would just take over. In the 4th quarter or whenever Jordan deemed necessary, he would just take over.

So while MJ generated a lot of FTAs, everyone else on the Bulls strictly ran the triangle and got very few FTs including Pippen. Lakers got a ton of FTs because Shaq simply attacked the basket, and defenders often fouled because of his FT shooting, and Kobe was allowed to just attack like MJ.

This is why i think the role of the Triangle is a bit overblown. There's a system there so it's not 48 minutes of chaos, but during tough moments PJ allowed his stars to run with their instincts and just create.

Actually they ran a lot of triangle sets to setup the Kobe, Jordan, and now Melo iso.