Gallinari Getting the Grind

The free-throw line is nicknamed "the charity stripe" because that's where NBA points come easiest. For Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari, it's the gift that keeps on giving. By one metric, he's one of the NBA's most skilled players at earning a trip to the line.

Mr. Gallinari currently makes 0.36 free throws for every one of his possessions—good for second-best in the league. Using this statistic, a player is credited with a possession when the play ends with him either shooting the ball, turning it over or getting to the free-throw line. Mr. Gallinari's rate is exceeded only by Dallas's Tyson Chandler among the 150 players who average at least 25 minutes per game. Mr. Chandler and many others near the top in this statistical ranking play almost exclusively in the paint, where fouls are more frequent. Incredibly, according to play-by-play data at 82games.com, a team-high 84% of Mr. Gallinari's shots are jumpers. Therefore, Mr. Gallinari seems to draw an inordinate number of fouls for a player who rarely goes to the basket.

Mr. Gallinari easily tops the Knicks in free throws made per possession. Amar'e Stoudemire is 30th best in the league (0.24 free throws made per possession), and no other Knicks player is in the top 95. While Mr. Gallinari rarely misses from the line (87.8%), he's also sixth best in the NBA if we sort by free-throw attempts per possession.

Drawing fouls at an elite rate can limit the playing time of opposing starters and create penalty situations where all Knicks get to shoot free throws when they otherwise would not. The mystery is why don't the Knicks opt to have the ball end in Mr. Gallinari's hands more frequently? Currently, he only ranks fourth on the team in overall possessions.

—Michael Salfino

The Charity Stripe

The NBA players who make the most free throws per each one of their possessions (a possession is credited to a player when he either shoots the ball, goes to the free-throw line or commits a turnover).

Rank	Player*	FGA	FT	FTA	TOV	FTM Rate
1	Tyson Chandler	212	143	181	48	0.42
2	Danilo Gallinari	432	208	237	41	0.36
3	Kevin Martin	708	353	401	103	0.36
4	Chauncey Billups	435	231	252	107	0.35
5	Nene Hilario	354	171	227	74	0.32
6	James Harden	330	150	180	59	0.32
7	George Hill	319	136	157	54	0.31
8	Rodney Stuckey	490	210	242	87	0.31
9	Dwight Howard	625	308	527	156	0.30
10	Kevin Durant	878	348	394	138	0.29

* min, 25 minutes per game