The Nuggets entered Sunday leading the NBA with 32.1 free-throw attempts per game, which mirrors their aggressiveness from last season, when they also led the league in free-throw attempts. But this season, they are making more.
After a 19-for-24 game Sunday against Houston, Denver is shooting 78.0 percent from the line, tied for seventh in the league. Last season? They finished 19th at 75.1 percent.
“The 90 percent guy, that’s a big part of it,” Nuggets coach George Karl said.
Of course, that’s in reference to Chauncey Billups, who entered Sunday 12th in the NBA with a 90.3 percent average from the line.
“I believe shooting is somewhat contagious,” Karl said. “If you make shots, it has a tendency of making other guys make shots. And Chauncey makes shots every day, so I think there’s a little bit of a confidence that comes with that.”
Linas Kleiza, for one, has exemplified that theory. Entering Sunday, he had made 28 of his past 31 free-throw attempts.
This season, Denver has remarkably had eight games in which it made more free throws than the opponent even attempted and, understandably, the Nuggets are 7-1 in those games.
Remember Wafer?
Former Nugget Von Wafer, who had been an NBA Development League project, is now with the Houston Rockets.
The 6-foot-5 reserve scored six points in 19 minutes Sunday.
Before the game, Nuggets equipment manager Sparky Gonzales put Wafer’s old Nuggets jersey in Wafer’s Rockets locker.
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
