Fans that have been clamoring to get rid of the old “Hack-A-Shaq” rule may finally get their wish next season. The rule, which has contributed to games running longer and being much uglier than they need to be is set to go up for a vote from the leagues owners.
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“It’s not unanimous, but there’s clearly an emerging consensus that we need to address the situation,” Silver told attendees of The Associated Press Sports Editors meeting on Thursday. “Exactly what the new rule should be is open for debate, and at least I’m hoping that between now and the next owner’s meeting in July we can create and form a consensus as to what the change in the rule should be.”
It’s referred to as “Hack-A-Shaq” thanks to the way he would be fouled purposely in the 90’s and 2000’s cause he couldn’t hit free throws worth a damn. In today’s game, DeAndre Jordan is the main target of the rule and why wouldn’t he be? He has shown no ability to get better at hitting foul shots, despite knowing each game he will be fouled on purpose many times.
“One of my concerns from a business standpoint is when Hack-a-Shaq happens three or more times in a game, it adds approximately 11 minutes to the game,” Silver said, according to the Washington Post’s Tim Bontemps.
“From our national broadcaster’s standpoint, it’s become a real business issue when many of our games are dramatically exceeding two-and-a-half-hour windows we have scheduled in our national broadcast window. That’s one of the reasons why I feel the need to address that rule.”
It sucks that they will likely get rid of the rule instead of forcing players like Jordan to actually learn how to hit the shots. Players like him will get bailed out if they do away with the rule but like everything else, change always comes.
