Nic Claxton had a rough night.
Claxton actually shot 6-of-6 from the floor with 13 points, tying a series high for the 6’11” forward. However, Claxton melted down in one of the worst free-throw shooting displays in NBA playoff history, coming up empty on his first 10 attempts before finally getting one to fall. Claxton’s nightmare performance at the line was arguably the difference in the game, leaving precious points on the table in Boston’s series-clinching 116-112 victory at Barclays Center.
For those familiar with the Hack-a-Shaq technique employed by teams in the early 2000s (and later applied to Dwight Howard during his Orlando heyday), the Celtics took a similar tact in Game 4, making Claxton earn it at the line by fouling him every chance they got. For the series, Claxton shot an embarrassing 18.2 percent from the charity stripe, giving Boston’s league-best defense another weakness to exploit.
Throughout their four-game sweep, the Celtics outscored Brooklyn by a combined 18 points, which ironically was the exact number of free throws Claxton missed (4-of-22). A 53.8-percent free-throw shooter for his career, Claxton’s 10 misses to open Monday night’s game set a playoff record previously held by Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal, who bricked his first eight attempts at Dallas to begin the 2006 NBA Finals.
Claxton’s struggles Monday were undoubtedly a factor in Blake Griffin seeing his most minutes of the series as the Nets went to a small-ball lineup, giving up length in a last-ditch effort to save their season. It’s hard to pin this all on Claxton, a role player not counted on for his scoring, though it certainly didn’t help, leaving Brooklyn with little margin for error.
Free-throw shooting, at least relative to other facets of the game, has a huge mental component, leaving players alone with their thoughts, stripped bare of all lifelines. As experienced by Claxton’s teammate Ben Simmons (whose mental block from the line has led to a yearlong spiral), the result can often be a debilitating snowball effect.
It’s back to the drawing board for the underachieving Nets, who face an offseason of deep soul-searching with questions surrounding coach Steve Nash, who could be sacrificed as a scapegoat for Brooklyn’s postseason failures.
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