The Atlanta Hawks are a team that is looking to get better across the board this season. One of the areas that they can do this is their starting center at the free-throw line. Last season Clint Capela went 57.3 percent from the line, which is better than his career number of 53.4 percent.
This is a major hole in his game given that Clint Capela is crucial for the Hawks’ defense. The problem is that opposing teams may use the hack-a-Clint strategy to slow the Hawks offense down towards the end of games. This will potentially take him out of games at crucial times.
As the Swiss pivot is in the seventh season of his career, it is unlikely that he will develop into an 80 percent shooter from the line. However, if the big man can get to near the 70 percent mark, he becomes more able to be on the court in all situations.
The Atlanta Hawks have some of the best free-throw shooters in the league
The Hawks have some of the best free-throw shooters in the league playing for the at the moment. They have Trae Young, Danilo Gallinari, John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Lou Williams all hitting more than 80 percent from the line. Bogdanovic and Gallinari hit them at over 90 percent last season.
The chemistry and camaraderie of this team is incredible and was on full display at the end of the Hawks’ most recently concluded practice session. Clint Capela, being the consummate professional that he is, stayed behind after practice to work on his free throws.
The player who stayed behind after practice to work with him was Bogdanovic. If a player is going to help me improve my shooting I can think of very few better than Bogdanovic. He hit 90.9 percent of his attempts from the line last season.
This just shows that this team is in it together, they are here for each other and will sacrifice their free time to help each other. This is another example of the sacrifice which Nate McMillan is talking about which will help them win. It is not just on the court but also in non-game situations.