The NBA needs to come up with a solution. The tactic originally known as "Hack-a-Shaq", has this season, devolved into multiple alternate versions. "Hack-a-Dwight," "hack-a-DeAndre," "hack-a-Bogut," "hack-a-JoshSmith" just to name a few of the more prominent playoff strategies. Intentionally foul the poor free throw shooters in hopes that they'll miss two free throws and you'll get the ball back. It's apparently thought to be a better defensive tactic than actually playing defense.
Dear NBA .... You must have noticed by now that when employed repeatedly, as it has been this post season, it's making your game highly unwatchable. It's rivaling the TV-timeout situation / fiasco in college basketball.
Don't those guys get even semi-embarrassed while they are bricking one free throw after another? Or does money in fact .... buy happiness? Or at least contentment in job performance?
The solution that would make to most sense ..... having the players spend more time working on their free throws ..... well we can't expect that from the players can we? Maybe the league can put a incentive bonus clause in all contracts. Convert better than 65% and have the option to skip out on the mandatory post game press conferences. Or shoot less than 50% for a month and you are allowed five personal fouils instead of six before fouling out. Shoot 75%, you get seven fouls. And an extra foul for every five percentage points of improvement. I wouldn't think the players union would have reason to object to that. Hell they have to also be taking notes how this tactic is uglying up their game.
Or maybe for each foul ruled to be intentional via the hack-a-poor-shooter strategy, give the shooters team one (or both) inside rebounding positions on the free throw lane.
And I'm tired of hearing how so-and-so (insert name of any poor free throw shooter) is a 95% shooter in practice. OK that's great but now how about lets attempt 95% more free throws before you exit practice if you make less than 70% in the games.
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