Pistons: How Jerami Grant can make next year’s All-Star Game
By Duncan Smith
3. Get to the free throw line more
The easiest points in basketball are the ones you score from the free throw line. It’s getting there that is the hard part. Unfortunately, Jerami Grant has struggled to get there in spite of taking plenty of contact in and around the paint.
His free throw rate (number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt) is 35.3 percent, and he averages 6.3 free throws per game. That’s below players like DeMar DeRozan (who makes his living inside the 3-point line, to be fair) and De’Aaron Fox.
Grant’s free throws aren’t a pittance, but for a player that gets into the paint with the frequency he does, you’d like to see him get a bit more respect and favor from officials. Maybe it’ll just take some time for referees to get accustomed to the idea of Jerami Grant as a lead dog for a team, and next season might be year that kicks in.
He makes the most of his opportunities when he does get to the line, shooting a career-best 88.9 percent from the stripe, so bumping those free throw attempts up will pay dividends on the scoreboard next season. More points, more All-Star votes.