The Houston Rockets Continue to Struggle From the Free Throw Line

The Houston Rockets poor free-throw shooting has already cost them a few regular season games and could become a major issue in the playoffs.

Dec 8, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) shoots a free throw as LA Clippers fans in ‘the wall’ attempt to distract him during the second quarter against the LA Clippers at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images | Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

For the Houston Rockets, it is becoming an unfortunate common theme. Close game in the fourth quarter, which means every possession counts, but more times than not lately falling short at the end of the game.

There have been a few reasons for the Rockets' recent struggles. From injuries to a much tougher schedule, the Rockets have gone from a top-two seed to fifth in the Western Conference. Another reason for some of the close losses is the Rockets' poor free-throw shooting.

A lot has been made about the Rockets' struggle from 3-point range, and it has been a struggle at times, but free-throw shooting has been an even bigger issue that has not been brought up as much. The Rockets were in another close game Monday against the Indiana Pacers and, at one point, took the lead before fading late in the fourth quarter.

The Rockets shot an abysmal 13-of-26 from the free-throw line, which is bad enough on its own, but factoring in their loss by 13 points makes that statistic even worse. The poor performance from the line has now moved the Rockets to last in free-throw shooting in the NBA at 74.3%.

If the Rockets finished last in free throw shooting this season, it would only be the second time in the last 28 years. The other time they finished last was 2021-22 when they shot only 74 percent from the charity stripe.

Of course, the difference was that the Rockets were not a good team that season. They only finished 20 wins that season as they were in the midst of rebuilding after trading away James Harden. The Rockets are trying to make the playoffs this season for the first time in four seasons, which makes the poor shooting stand out more.

Another part is that the Rockets are in the top five in attempts, so they are coming away from alot more possessions with only one point or sometimes zero. Opposing teams know the Rockets are a poor free-throw shooting team and are starting to foul the Rockets to make them earn it instead of giving up a layup.

This specifically applies to players like Alperen Sengun, whose teams are playing much more aggressively this season. They are sending constant double teams, and even when he gets to the basket, they foul him instead of giving up an easy basket.

Teams are going to continue to make the Rockets earn points from the free throw line instead of letting them get to the basket. Even Jalen Green who started the season shooting almost 90 percent from the line has struggled in the last month.

The Rockets are losing regular-season games because of missed free throws, which is a problem. But the real problem comes at playoff time when every game is magnified, and more often than not, it will be a close game.

The Rockets travel to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans Thursday night.

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