Quote Originally Posted by Nukem2 View Post
All true, but missed FTs (especially front ends of on-and-ones) at the end of a game can truly have major significance in the outcome of a game. The real issue there is that you give the other guy possession of the ball on top of missing scoring opportunities. Hard to measure that. Have seen it time and again over the decades. Stats be damned in that case.

You are cherry picking end of the game scenarios. Better shooting earlier in the game would have rendered those free throw situations less important.

And again, no one is saying that hitting free throws in the situation you are describing aren't important. Just not as important as other factors.