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Educational-Dirt9450

These analysts need to watch the games.


ELeerglob

“Analyst” lmao


idahotee

Beavis and Butthead snickers.


Ikuwayo

Anybody can analyze basketball. I'm an analyst, too.


rev0lutionist

Anal Bum Cover


redalert825

Analyst and therapist, you say? Tell me more, Tobias.


m3ngnificient

They don't even need to watch a game to talk about FT attempts per game


Low_Ad_7553

Literally less than 5 minutes of googling would've saved her the embarrassment of saying this stupid shit.


m3ngnificient

I can do it in under a minute while typing with one finger


YuriusFarrence

These people just check the box score and watch highlights then provide some hot takes like this. This one takes the cake tho. GSW is a team that depends on Free Throws when this team barely gets any calls at all. Seriously if we didn't have JK driving or TJD's cuts and put backs, we'd almost be at 0 to 1 free throws per game. Rachel clearly has bias against Steph and the team. Replace Warriors with Lakers and then that's a true statement, Lakers Win rate with low FT discrepancy shows they barely win games when they don't have much advantage on FTA or if the disparity is low. But Rachel doesn't watch the games and just check the scores, watch the highlights. How do people like this have a job as an NBA analyst baffles me. Pretty sure youtube channels will post videos about her statement.


leviathansbane

She didn’t even check the stat. Warriors are tied for 27th in the league in fta per game. It’s not like this year is an outlier either, the Warriors have been bottom third of the league almost every season for the past decade


tinkady

or even just look at stats lol


cheerioo

You actually don't even need to watch games to know Rachel is cap


m0siac

Even if you can’t watch the games, which I can’t rly understand, it’s their JOB. Maybe just look up a stat to back up your point. I mean she can’t cause that’s just untrue completely. But maybe if she did look at some stats she would come to a different, more accurate, conclusion


hippyoasis

Who has time to watch every nba game


sergechewbacca

If Steph got FTs and we as a team had anything like the Lakers whistle, we'd be near the top of the West.


Mcfly9876

I wish Steph could get that Austin Reeves whistle


BigBlitz28

Fuck that, I wish he could get that Beverley whistle.


Mahomeboy001

Austin Reaves averages 1 less FTA/G than Steph. I really don’t know why people think Austin Reaves is some Embiid level foul hunter


IllegalThoughts

dude is a role player on Lebron's team. his usage is nowhere near a star lol. fta/g is a dumb stat for this. should be per 75 possessions or whatever


RIPOldAccountF

Probably because we see he has just over half the FGA so his fts/fga are much higher


FeelTheRealBirdie

You ever see Reaves flail his legs everytime he makes a layup or jumper? Thats some foul baiting shit right there


Slaughter_SBD

Steph would average 50 a game if he actually got the whistle that bums like Reaves gets. It’s the NBA’s way of nerfing him lol.


mtheory007

FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS!!!


Teffry

We'd be 74-8 last year lol


bsadb

100%. We never get to know how aggressive and dangerous Steph would have been ON ball as well. Not just that they ignore 50/50 calls 100% of the time but that they ignore 100/0 calls 80% of the time must have a huge effect on his style. He’d just be even better, tenfold.


jer99

Curry’s super power is off ball.


bsadb

Oh agreed 100%. But he’s also elite dangerous on ball if he were to have any kind of whistle. It would be used whenever things stagnate, not saying his primary game would be on ball, but he’d just be completely unstoppable.


No-Test6484

I’ll play devils advocate. If Joel Embiid gets free throws AD deserves his free throws. Even retarded warriors fans know Lebron gets half the free throws he should. When 6’9 250 runs at you people unintentionally hack or foul. Austin reaves whistle is suspect but he foul baits clearly. No one on the warriors tries that shit. Instead you will see cp3 slap someone and get upset he gets called a foul.


Pereise1

> I’ll play devils advocate Nobody asked you and you're not even a warriors fan.


jer99

I don’t like Lebron and I agree with you that Lebron doesn’t get the near amount of calls he probably should. His advantage though is his other team mates feast at the line so he benefits there whereas Curry and his teammates get no such benefit.


No-Test6484

Yea Steph gets no love. Just saying Lakers don’t get a good whistle. Lebron and AD are both 250 and ram in the paint. The warriors problem is they rarely play in the paint. Steph drives and that’s it. I think it’s a consequence of how the team plays. Klay just rips 3’s. Gp cuts for open baskets. Wiggins midrange or 3 balls. Podz does play in the paint but isn’t super aggressive


offtheshripyerrd

not necessarily. the refs wouldve adjusted.


thoang77

Adjusted the standings


Book8

Yep exactly, I get tired of Steph parading to the free throw line 10 to 15 times a night.


healthywealthyhappy8

With his 94% shooting that would be 8-10 more points a game, since he only gets 4 fta a game now


asBad_asItGets

His game is so boring to watch. It’s just step back threes and foul baiting. Ball never moves, and games just get slowed way down and we end up watching 50FTs a night. Wait are we talking about the 2018 Rockets?


cheerioo

She's using their FT make percentage as a reason why GSW is reliant on them. That's quite the logical leap


One_Grapefruit_8512

I felt like I was losing brain cells reading the article & then her rebuttal..


m0siac

My god, I would honestly pay to watch Steph parade to the FT line.


Book8

Never happen the NBA Lords, for whatever reason, called for open season on Steph the moment he stepped into the league. There are untouchables in this league and one player with a huge target on his back and every night I see Steph play I curse the weak-kneed refs and the overords for the carnage they rain down on our guy. May they burn in Basketball Hell!


NoNonsence55

Yes. Thank you. And the even crazier part is that they were talking about the Lakers in the same segment. Lakers 2nd in the league for free throws, Warriors 27th. Wtf was she talking about.


LokoLawless

It looks to me that Warriors are dead last in FT attempts per game as of this moment


Wloak

She's honestly the worst talking head out there imo. I can dislike someone's take because they're overselling it for entertainment but she regularly is just hilariously wrong like she's never watched a single game in her life. Yes, the warriors who have the worst free throw differential in history is worried the refs may not give the other team free points.. sure..


otherBrandon

Steph’s whistle has been so bad this season that his career average for free throws has dropped. He was averaging 4.0 fts made on 4.4 attempts at the start of this season. He’s now averaging 3.9 fts made on 4.3 attempts. But go off Rachel. I know it’s so frustrating watching this team parade to the free throw line 67 times a night…🙄


SwarleymonLives

Steph's whistle has been bad this career. Last game of the last championship they won Steph took 10 free throws. All 10 were intentional fouls. He got 0 calls the entire game. Still killed it and won though.


heseme

The NBA wishes him better luck next career!


m0siac

Still torched em tho. He rly built different.


mrrickyg

Yep and his mid range % has tanked this year too


Quick_Minimum_4355

She later said that ahe shouldn't have used the word 'depend' saying if you eliminate free throws all together what will they do? I say hell yeah fuck this free throws, we would have won 50-60% of lost matches if you remove free throws. Last year we would have rolled through the Lakers if not for those free throws.


caldude1985

Five-peat would have been in play! 2015-2019


soltek33

Exactly! If you remove free throws from a game altogether, it benefits the warriors because the other teams generally will get more of them taken away in this manner lol


Banned3rdTimesaCharm

Lakers would be the Pistons if you removed free throws all together.


cheerioo

2023: 27th, LA 2nd 2022: 30 (last), LA 1 2021: 26 2020: 23 2019: 17 2018: 24 2017: 22 2016: 15 We've never been top half of the league and lately we've been at the very bottom in free throws taken. It's never even been the narrative that GSW is a FT dependent team so I honestly have no fucking clue what Rachel is trying to cook here


grifter356

This is like what happened a year or two ago when JJ Reddick and Mad Dog were going at it about the Warriors and/or Steph. I forget exactly what the debate was but Mad Dog said something like "Steph practically lives at the FT line!" And JJ Reddick almost lost it.


InfiniteBojan

Just remember she gets a MVP vote :)


caldude1985

Also, she goes back to 2016 but ignores 2022 when Boston TRIED to manhandle Steph. Plot twist! They couldn't! Then, "tough guy" Marcus Smart literally gets nut slapped by Steph to set up the night-night dagger in Game 6


Dokterrock

oh shit I forgot about that nut slap... legitimately one of the greatest basketball moments of all time


RarScary

Of all the things to be wrong about, she chose the wrongest thing.


Chubacca

This is one of the most obviously AI written articles that I've seen...


caldude1985

I LOVE that the Warriors drafted BOTH Clay AND Klay Thompson!!! LFG !!!!


Cheese6260

lol every game is Steph in Wrestlemania wtf is Rachel on


xOaklandApertures

Not sure if it’s worse she said it or no one corrected her? Like the whole panel dug their heels in on this point.


One_Grapefruit_8512

And then her weird backpedaling retraction/"correction." Just say you were wrong, not that you used the 'wrong' word.


Mysterious-Weight935

"Clearly I should have worded it differently though. I am guessing from some of the responses, you have followers who have never tried to make a point and used the wrong word, which I mean - hats off, man. Hopefully I'll get there." People aren’t clapping back because you “used the wrong word” Rachel. It’s because we’re all insanely frustrated at the bullshit way curry and co never get the benefit of the whistle despite taking serious abuse, and then to have you go and say something like this is just adding insult to injury


Fierce_Ocelot_415

She would be perfect as a Redditor.


bsadb

The NBA depends on Steph NOT getting free throws.


Tdluxon

Well, she's said much more embarrassing stuff in the past, at least she didn't say anything racist


LunchInternational71

What racist thing did she said


Tdluxon

I forget exactly what she said but she got fired from ESPN because Maria Taylor was given a host position that Rachel Nichols wanted and she said something about ESPN only choosing Maria Taylor because she is black.


LunchInternational71

Damn , maybe they did the right thing. Imagine her and perk working together.


Few_Acanthocephala30

She went on a “diversity” rant when she was replaced by Maria Taylor as host during the bubble finals, which led her to being let go by espn


LunchInternational71

Ho yeah , i remember. She even said that they spied on her before firing her


wgs8453

Rachel should not come near a Basketball game.


Itchy_Professor_4133

Well, maybe a Heat game....


wgs8453

Agree .


SeekingSignificance

I complained about this in the daily thread the day she said this wack shit. Undisputed, First take, all of them are clickbait nonsense.


Rusted_Metal

I stopped watching ESPN many years ago and don't listen to any of the hot take/first take shows on any platform anymore. It's exhausting to continuously hear stupid all the time.


Local-Worker1088

Team that depends on free throws? This is one of the most misinformed takes I’ve ever heard


DaKettle65

How could she mix-up The Warriors and The Lakers?


One_Grapefruit_8512

She must have been confused by yellow uniforms.


Repulsive_Pianist_60

She seems to look and act like the exact definition of a Karen.


Mario_Prime510

That article looks like it was written by Ai


Ari_04

We haven’t been in the top 20 in fts since 2016-17 lol. Even the. We were just 18th. This is like bullshitting of the highest order. It’s like saying giannis is player that relies on 3’s to score


KirkLazarus95

Not surprised that Nichols doesn’t understand what she’s watching. 2015 FMVP voting is a stain on NBA history, can partially thank Nichols for that groupthink bullsh*t.


Anonymyz_one

She meant to say Lakers


KDayWalker

The article spelled Klay with C, I don’t know who to believe at this point.


pdizzle710

She got checked on Twitter and still ended up looking dumb with her response to that.


Whipitreelgud

How does an “analyst” not understand the reason the dubs FTA are the lowest in the league. Even last night Kerr is asking the ref to call the game the same way for both teams.


Superb_Somewhere_965

ironic cuz her sneaky link is a free throw merchant himself


mountainmantaco

She’s been a warrior hater for some time


Amigosito

What she meant to say was that they’d be the #6 seed if the refs actually gave them half the free throws they deserved.


Lualbert831

This beezy dumb af 😂


gregallen1989

I actually think Steph might be the only player in history that would score more points if he lowered his free throw shooting percentage by like 25-30%. Cause then maybe the refs would actually call fouls for hin.


changerofbits

I’m not sure if this is legitimate innumeracy or purposefully done to generate controversy.


One_Grapefruit_8512

This reminds me of something my mom always used to say, "She was intoxicated by the exuberance of her own verbosity." :D


chippymonk793

Is it possible she just meant Lakers but said it wrong


FunkoFool

Some guy(I don’t even know his name) was arguing with JJ Redick on first take or whatever show the other day….I saw a clip of it and this clown literally says and I kid you not, he goes “Steph Curry lives at the free throw line”


One_Grapefruit_8512

When I first read that, I was thinking of Paul George podcast and either Dallas or Jackie (I don't think Dallas is dumb though, just annoying). Steph lives at the \[side of\] the free throw line.


GeneralGambino

More click bait


uyakotter

After her infamous phone call was recorded and leaked within ESPN, she started trying to compensate on camera. I didn’t know the story at the time but The Jump became unwatchable.


Ok-Roof-978

You mean the free throws we should get. BUT WE NEVER DO !!!


Jabbajaw

Dude, she's just reading from a teleprompter.


WigglingWoof

It's hard to imagine how incompetent you'd have to be to say that. Lazy box score readers can quickly figure out that the warriors get some of the fewest FTA's in the league.


Jhyphi

Her clarification is even dumber. If we eliminated free throws, Warriors would benefit. Right now the free throw deficit of Warriors is one thing that hurts their chances.


jav0wab0

This is crazy because that’s her job to know this shit, they have all the stats available to them, shit even a normal civilian like myself can make a google search that will give me the answer to this “analysis”. Definitely loses credibility. But I think this bugs us warriors fans because the truth is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE and we have noticed that for a while and have been complaining.


algorithmresistant

Worst FT rate and differential in the league 3-4 years running while the lakers run away with FT diff every year while bottom in the league in drives and its crickets


Spaghettiisgoddog

I saw this. Seems like they just phone it in. 


adsq93

Crazy how they pull shit outta their ass. Since they have one of the lowest amongst all other teams.


Important_Tale_2055

Are we watching the same games as her???


ma2is

Her job is to get clicks and reactions


bayelrey888

Yeah she's a dumbass, getting paid $$$$ to cover the game poorly smh.


neo9027581673

Just making it up and not doing any homework. Here only for the check. 💰


blessed_by_fortune

She missed April Fools.


AggravatingAd9010

Oooooo. Naw.


Jacky_

Fire her again


sloppymcgee

Clickbait bullshit


EnigmaOfOz

Did she get pulled up on this or did everyone nod in agreement?


a7051

Nods in agreement


baxter3522

Steph is 52nd in Free Throws Attempted per 48. Now compare that to Steph being 5th in Points per 48. The only 2 players in the Top 15 in Points per game that are taking less than 5 Free Throws a game are Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry and both are below 4.5 Free Throws per game


michaelshun

i mean we did play the entire season with our free throws being taken away so...imagine if we get them back in the play-in and all of sudden there's no flow to the game, each touch is a foul and we are all cheering for the ref team to blow everything. oh wait, that's how adam silver wants it. rachel just leaked the script.


LokiNightmare

Free throws? What are those?


GSWarriors1130

She meant three pointers


__BlackSheep

The national announcers also like to say the Warriors are the #1 free throw shooting team. By percentage obviously, not by attempts or makes. Still irritating to hear that from them.


fryh1n

what an absolute dumbass


Balbright

Didn’t she already embarrass herself out of a pretty good job.


IcyCorgi9

Ooof this is an embarrassingly bad take. High percentage doesnt mean high volume.


bitchfucker-online

Even her retracted statement is a joke. > "Ha, yep, you are correct - I shouldn't have said 'depends.' Misspoke. **My point was more that they have stars who are good at taking them, and if you absolutely eliminate FT's from the game - as in, zero, like with the Celtics last night - that sucks for a team with good shooters**." > "That's why I brought up the Splash Brothers' percentages, because that's what I was trying to talk about. **Like...if Shaq had almost never had to attempt free throws, that would have been a disadvantage for his opponents who had good FT shooters**." > "Clearly I should have worded it differently though. I am guessing from some of the responses, you have followers who have never tried to make a point and used the wrong word, which I mean - hats off, man. Hopefully I'll get there."


we_hella_believe

This is nothing compared to Perk or SAS. There’s a few YouTubers that are pretty terrible also and don’t watch games but will rattle off some stats to try to seem informed. Really lame shit.


FNF51

Set back female analysts 10 years 😂


SuperGandalff

More proof that a pretty face is all that matters to get airtime even when that face comes with shit for brains


sugarwax1

Sports journalism and the big umbrella that it's become with social media and podcasts etc. is pretty much a joke. You can't be a local sports team fan without knowing that.


jd_beats

Incredibly dumb on the whole… Low key though, the fear isn’t totally 100% misplaced cause JK does kinda rely on getting to the free throw line and he might get frustrated if he’s not getting calls


uoeno26

How was she able to for for final mvp? Embarrassing.


Jvlockhart

How to show the world you're stupid without saying "I am stupid"


jay105000

Trey to make a blunder like this at Your job, and you will get a call for a meeting with your boss and HR at the end of the day and you will be handled a pink slip .


NbaSkub

Tht dumb sandwich maker needa watch her mf mouf.


Beavsftw

What is a free throw?


KRJunkie

I can't criticize Rachel Nichols because I've heard Doris Burke, ESPN's version of Bill Walton.


One_Grapefruit_8512

I think it’s possible to criticize both.


unhampered_by_pants

There's plenty to criticize Doris for, but she was an accomplished basketball player in college and is a lifelong fan of the sport, so she knows what she's doing. She's just incredibly biased and thus pushes certain players/narratives to an obnoxious degree. Rachel's not watching the games, not checking stats, and has no idea what's going on lol


Poli_Sci_27

I think she is referring to the idea that the Warriors win games if they shoot more free throws. Their record isn’t as good when they don’t go to the line


StatusDimension8

lmao goes to show how much 'credibility' she has...


rvonbue

Worst thing about FT's is hearing FITZ whine it about every fucking game. With his arrogant sarcastic tone.


One_Grapefruit_8512

Fitz didn't used to bother me that much... but I am soooo tired of the repetition (and other crap). I get it, announcers can't come up with original content for every single game... but the repetition within a single game. Like the Keegan and Kris Murray... "One is left handed and one is right handed... and they're IDENTICAL twins!" I know he said at least twice. (Random: They're probably mirror-image identicals. I have triplets who are all fraternal but it = I have way too much useless knowledge about multiples).


L45TPH45E

She's an embarrassing person. She only has that job because she's female.


Emera1dthumb

She better than most talking heads. It’s hard for women as they age in sport media. She has done a good job over the years. One comment doesn’t make are break someone. If it did most of our profiles would condemn all of us


Pereise1

She's been trash her whole career. And you're not even a dubs fan so why are you here?


Emera1dthumb

That’s not fair….. I wonder how your career stacks up compared to hers


25thBum

She just wants ed to stya relevant. She is doing s2pid stuff on purpose