Free Throw Shooting Volume was Apparent in Nets Loss to the Magic

The Brooklyn Nets suffered a narrow defeat against the Orlando Magic with a final score of 105-98. This was also an NBA Cup win, giving the Nets an 0-2 record in the group stage.

A major factor in the loss was the disparity among free throws shot between the first and second half. Brooklyn finished the game 12-for-16 from the charity stripe –– 13 of those attempts came in the first half.

While the Nets rank at the bottom of the NBA for multiple important stats, their free-throw numbers have been a bright spot. Coming into its game against Orlando, Brooklyn had the 12th most free-throw attempts per game in the league.

What looked like a contest that would continue the Nets' trend of drawing fouls and getting to the line through the first half did not hold up when the Magic went on multiple runs during the second half. Nine of Brooklyn's free throws in the game came in the first quarter, its highest scoring quarter by a wide margin with 36 points.

The Nets have only had three games this season where they shot less than 20 free throws –– losing all three –– but the offense has struggled to enough as is without having good free-throw production. Losing Cam Thomas over the past four games and into the foreseeable future has not helped this developing issue. He was averaging seven trips to the charity stripe per game.

In place of Thomas' production from the free-throw line, Noah Clowney has stepped up as a reliable force drawing fouls. The 21-year-old is averaging 3.3 free-throw attempts per game this season, nearly double his average from his sophomore campaign.

Clowney led Brooklyn with six free-throw attempts against the Magic –– he went 100% on the night. Ever since he was inserted into the starting lineup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, his free-throw rate has only gone up, averaging over five attempts per game as a starter.

Now that Clowney has added this additional layer to his game, he needs to start capitalizing more consistently on free-throw opportunities. He is shooting worse than 80% from the charity stripe, nearly five percentage points worse than the 2024-25 season.

Along with Clowney, the Nets need other options to step up and get to the free-throw line. Michael Porter Jr. scored 24 points against Orlando, but only one point came at the foul line.

Free-throw shooting can be a weapon for a struggling Brooklyn offense going forward, but it needs consistency out of high usage players.