On the TUNNEYSIDE of SPORTS May 18, 2015 #541 Coming next…“Hack-A-Whoever?”
After further review…Shaquille O’Neal was a professional basketball star for 12 years (1992-2011) playing for six different NBA teams. “Shaq,” as he is widely-known, is 7’1” with hands the size of a baseball catcher’s mitt. Ranked third all-time for his field goal percentage, he was conversely known for his poor free-throw shooting. His 52.7% shooting was not far behind Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time worst 51.1%.
O’Neal’s exceptional height and strength might help explain his basketful (pardon the pun!) of NBA awards. His career 23.7 points-per-game were largely due to close-in shots and his “slam-dunk”. Opponents would rather foul him than let him dunk or employ a lay-up. Thus the term “Hack-a-Shaq,” the bane of watchable basketball.
These days, and quite pointedly during these playoffs, is the practice of “Hack-a-Whoever.” NBA coaches are using, as a defensive strategy, the intentional fouling an opponent who is a poor free- throw shooter, whether he has the ball or not. Strategy? Yeah, that’s what they’re calling it. San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich has said, “Practice-wise, I feel really strongly that it’s a tactic that can be used. If someone can’t shoot free-throws, that’s their problem.”
A tactic or strategy is, by definition, is part of a plan! Should that be the plan of a T*E*A*M: to foul an opponent with intent? It’s against the rules! The penalty for that tactic is to award an uncontested shot (a free throw) from behind a line 15 feet from the basket. Fouling is illegal, and that’s why there is a penalty for it! Former NBA player, coach and Hall-of-Famer, Don Nelson said, “You’d be silly not to use it.” Then he added “It’s not good for basketball.” Huh?
In game two of the playoffs between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Houston Rockets there were 96 free throws. Is that what fans want to watch? Every intentional foul dulls the action, and the crowd along with it, eliminating possibilities for classic tactics such as the fast-break (aka ‘transition’), quick ball-passes, the legal ‘pick & roll,’ or the simple finesse of a player speeding around his opponent for a clean shot.
“I don’t like it” (Hack-a-Whoever), said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “Aesthetically, it’s not good for a fan to watch it, even though I find the strategy fascinating.” Talk about spin –“fascinating,” yet he doesn’t like it. He’d do well to remember where the buck stops. If coaches won’t do it, the commissioner and the NBA owners must uphold proper player conduct and the integrity of the game.
Will you watch the NBA if this mislabeled ‘strategy’ continues?
To contact Jim go to www.jimtunney.com or email him jim@jimtunney.com.
Three of Jim’s books: (“101 Best of TunneySide of Sports”, “It’s the Will, Not the Skill”, and “Impartial Judgment”) are available at the value price of $40. – a $20. discount off the list price. Please email him at the above address.
