Free throws are the achilles heel for many a talented player, be it Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal, or Dwight Howard. For some reason, hitting a set shot from about 15 feet away with nearly 20,000 screaming fans and no one defending you can be a difficult thing to do in the NBA.
However, if you’re one of the centers who struggle, your position is mainly about power and not finesse. When a guard or a small forward can’t hit free throws, it’s a little bit more of a problem, being that the wing position in the NBA is more about finesse than power.
Enter Andre Roberson, a man whose shooting ability caused Chris Paul to not even bother chasing out to the three point line to defend one of his jumpers, and Roberson promptly airballed a wide open three. So surely, things cannot get any worse for the offensively challenged wing, could they?
Apparently they did on Sunday when Roberson, a career 49.3 percent free throw shooter, stepped to the line against the Timberwolves. Early in the third quarter, Roberson went to the line with the Thunder up seven, looking to add on to the Oklahoma City lead. Roberson went the line on the first one and looked like he missed to the side.
Roberson, clearly embarrassed, searched for as many teammates to dap him up as possible, trying to regain his composure. From there, Roberson airballed the second, leading to a lane violation that stopped the game and rubbed a little salt in the would.
Roberson is primarily known for his stellar defense, and has never been what one would call an offensive dynamo. Now, he’s kind of become a running punchline in terms of offensive ineptitude. If anyone were to suggest anything to Roberson, it might not be a bad idea for him to call Rick Barry and learn how to shoot free throws underhanded.
