Tomorrow night is the NBA lottery. It's when we find out which number combinations are winners in the 2014 NBA draft. With the opportunity to have one of the top picks, the Celtics may be suitors for a trade with Minnesota Timberwolves. As a Celtics fan I absolutely love this.
Obviously, Kevin Love is a great player. What's not to like about a forward who is 6'10 243 and was in the top 5 for both points (26.1 per game) and rebounds (12.5). Well, there is another part of Kevin's game that could really benefit the Celtics. Kevin is one of those players who gets the benefit of the doubt from the referees. This is sometimes called the "Jordan treatment". Love has the ability to get to the free throw line. This is something the Celtics have really struggled with as of late. We all know how good Paul Pierce was at getting to the line during his games in Boston. Unfortunately, as he got older and started playing against guys like LeBron James, he no longer got the calls he was accustomed too. Instead, he would end up on the sideline with foul trouble.
Although they used be in or near the top ten in free throw attempts per game, the Celtics are now at the bottom. The past four seasons the Celtics were 22nd, 27th, 22nd and 27th in free throw attempts. Since Love became a starter in the NBA, he has never averaged less than 6.8 free throws per game in a season. Typically, he averages over 8 free thows per game. With a career free throw shooting percentage of 81.5, that's roughly 7 points when the clock is stopped.
Getting the benefit of the doubt from the referees can also keep a player out of foul trouble and prevent the other team from getting to the charity stripe. Love's career average for personal fouls is 2.2. This season his average was 1.9. In six season in the NBA he has only fouled out one time.
256 career double doubles, 3 triple doubles, 1 DQ, 0 ejections, what's not to love??????
Getting the benefit of the doubt from the referees can also keep a player out of foul trouble and prevent the other team from getting to the charity stripe. Love's career average for personal fouls is 2.2. This season his average was 1.9. In six season in the NBA he has only fouled out one time.
256 career double doubles, 3 triple doubles, 1 DQ, 0 ejections, what's not to love??????
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