Indiana Pacers: 4 goals for TJ Warren in the 2021-22 season

The Indiana Pacers will get a massive boost if TJ Warren goes to the charity stripe more

One thing holding TJ Warren back from tallying a better scoring average, aside from his dilly-dallying on three-pointers, is his low number of free throw attempts. Throughout his career, he’s been only averaging 2.5 attempts per game, which equates to just slightly more than a single trip per outing.

Part and parcel of what makes his free throw attempts a marginal part of his game is his non-reliance on contacts to bail him out in tight situations. When running into a traffic, he prefers to out-finesse his defender with his footwork. This is not a clear negative and actually speak volumes to his prowess as a scorer, but going to the charity stripe more will certainly help the team.

Last season, the Indiana Pacers only attempted 20.7 free throw attempts per game, which ranked a measly 26th in the association. In Warren’s last full season in 2019-20, the team ranked dead-last.

With the Blue and Gold’s bevy of capable attackers, there’s no excuse for the team to rank so low in the free throw department. Warren as the catalyst for a more aggressive scoring attack will put more pressure on the defense and open up a lot of opportunities without players resorting to tough fallbacks in the process.