Will Warriors overcome The Wall, free-throw struggles vs. Clippers? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Steph Curry, listed as questionable with left knee bursitis, took on a challenge that already has beat many in its short lifetime Monday morning. Following shootaround, ahead of the Warriors’ game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Curry scaled one of Intuit Dome’s main attractions: The Wall. Each step was steeper until he reached the top, taking in a seat to watch his teammates get shots up.
Teammates Brandin Podziemski and Draymond Green later climbed the many steps, too. Hours later, numerous Clippers fans will do their best in distracting Warriors players at the free-throw line, perhaps the only area on the court that hasn’t been kind to them in their 10-2 start to the season.
Podziemski tried to run up the wall, but admitted after getting three-quarters of the way up, he walked the rest.
“It’s a crazy view from up there,” he said.
But he isn’t worried about fans lining up along The Wall being a factor in the outcome of Monday night’s game. Road teams get to choose which basket to shoot on first, and Podziemski expects the Warriors to pick the side of The Wall to begin the game, making things easier for the second half.
The Wall is in direct view behind one of the baskets at the Clippers’ brand-new arena. It’s 51 rows of uninterrupted seats, with the first 13 rows being filled with die-hard Clippers fans. The team even vets their fandom ahead of time, and those in the first 13 rows are encouraged to stand and cheer for all four quarters as a unique home-court advantage.
“I think it’s more for an atmosphere purpose, to encourage them to stand the whole time,” Podziemski said. “I think it’s more so for the atmosphere than to distract free throws and stuff like that.”
The Clippers are one of only two teams to beat the Warriors this season, defeating them 112-104 at Chase Center on Oct. 27. Though the Warriors were the home team then, that loss was one of many examples where free throws haven’t been their friend this season.
While the Warriors are averaging more free-throw attempts this season than last – from 20.0 to 23.4 – their shooting percentage at the charity stripe has taken a hit. The Warriors shot 78.0 percent last season on free throws, ranking 17th in the NBA. They’re dead last thus far this season.
In their previous loss to the Clippers, the Warriors went 14 of 22 at the free-throw line, good for a 63.6-percent clip. As a team this season, the Warriors are only making 71.2 percent of their free throws.
Coach Steve Kerr used to take 100 free throws a day with a toss back at practice, something he remembers being very meditative. The results speak for themselves, too, as Kerr was an 86.4-percent free throw shooter in his 15-year career. He always has pushed his players to do the same, or at least take 50, knowing how mental the isolation of free throws can feel on the floor.
“Obviously it needs to improve from a numbers’ perspective,” Podziemski, who is shooting 66.7 percent at the line this season, said. “But also a lot of us don’t really get to the line like that. Our personal percentages, like I’m 8 for 12 this season. I’ve only shot eight free throws in 12 games. Even Steph, he doesn’t shoot a lot, but he shoots a high percentage.
“I think it’s about, especially in the middle of the season when you’re doing your individual work, fitting them in when you can fit them in and when you’re fatigued. That’s the most common place you get them in the game.”
There’s no emulating the power of The Wall in an empty arena. Curry, Podziemski and Green felt the physical toll of it already. Now, the Warriors have to overcome the mental barrier as well in order to win their fourth straight game and remain atop the Western Conference standings.
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