If a player is a terrible free throw shooter, then some teams’ game plan may be to intentionally foul them in order to stop the clock and ultimately increase their lead by grabbing the rebound and scoring on the other end. We saw this type of play in the Clippers/Spurs series where DeAndre Jordan missed an inexcusable amount of free throws. The league could out-law this type of play though. Click more for the full story!
It is an age old strategy, the “Hack-A,” that has was most famously coined with NBA Champ, Shaq, was in the league. Teams figured that since Shaq was such a terrible free throw shooter, why not send him to the line intentionally? Can’t front at all, its a great game plan because it actually works. The downside though? These games can end up going on for hours because of the continuous clock stopping.
Now, at this season’s playoff end, the league could very well start penalizing teams for instituting the intentional fouls in their game plan. Thank San Antonio for OD’ing. I guess penalizing a team is better than not allowing a team to foul a player, no matter how bad they are at shooting free throws. But is that really fair?
We know the games go a lot longer than scheduled when teams intentionally foul and the action is slowed; but who cares, rgiht? The fans would definitely be getting their money’s worth. More importantly though, this speaks to the league copping out for bad free throw shooters. Free throws are apart of them game and simply put, if you’re bad, you should work on them more. Plain as day, to me. I do not think it will be fair for the league penalize another team because their opponent lacks skills in an area of the game. Just makes no sense to me.
The league will have a meeting on the subject in July and according to the SB Nation, there is an 85% chance of the new rule being passed. When the game is on the clock and titles are on the line, I can guarantee you that teams will be willing to accept whatever “penalties” comes with the “Hack-A” play.
Source: SB Nation
