The term FREE-THROW PATHS can be broken down into two words, 'free-throw' and 'PATHS'. Free-throw is a basketball term referring to a shot taken from the free-throw line, which is a line 15 feet from the basket. PATHS refers to the trajectory of the ball as it travels through the air. The crossword solution ARCS is a reference to the curved path the ball takes when shot from the free-throw line. Therefore, the term FREE-THROW PATHS can be interpreted as the curved PATHS that a basketball takes when shot from the free-throw line.