I think to properly assess Free Throw Defense, we'd actually have to look at the difference relative to expectation. Teams in the Atlantic division (outside of Philly) play Embiid more often than other teams and he takes more FTs and hits at a higher rate than most other players (and they had him and Harden simultaneously!). Surely that accounts for some of the variance.
I also wonder if some teams are smarter about fouling bad free throw shooters than others? Though this may have been filtered out more recently with some rule changes discouraging intentional fouls.
I think to properly assess Free Throw Defense, we'd actually have to look at the difference relative to expectation. Teams in the Atlantic division (outside of Philly) play Embiid more often than other teams and he takes more FTs and hits at a higher rate than most other players (and they had him and Harden simultaneously!). Surely that accounts for some of the variance.
I also wonder if some teams are smarter about fouling bad free throw shooters than others? Though this may have been filtered out more recently with some rule changes discouraging intentional fouls.