From Wikipedia (Yes, it’s not the best point of reference in the world, but for the purposes of this column, its words are spot on):
“Pandering is the act of expressing one’s views in accordance with the likes of a group to which one is attempting to appeal.”
The third line of the definition of pandering is pretty telling:
“Pandering is essentially a reaction of panic in elected officials who must either tailor their views to public opinion or risk losing their existing or potential seat.”
Enter NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. There should not be any insinuation that Silver may lose a job that he just sat down and got comfortable in. Aside from the Donald Sterling situation, Silver has not had many real league gripping issues. One that he has curbed — at least for now — came with new testing policies for HGH. That was a necessary step forward.
The issue that Adam Silver now wants to deal with (apparently) is the strategy of “hack-a-Shaq” or whatever player shoots a disgustingly low free throw percentage. Ken Berger of CBS Sports reported on Monday that the intentional foul-a-palooza known as “hack-a-Shaq” could be on its way out of the league as soon as next season.
Berger reported that a person who he is familiar with inside the league estimated that some form of rule change could be “recommended, passed, and implemented next season” at about 85 percent. The (not so sudden) need for a rule change comes soon after the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the San Antonio Spurs in a seven-game series. A series where Spurs coach Gregg Popovich implemented the “hack-a-DeAndre” strategy with Clippers’ center DeAndre Jordan who is a career 41.7 percent free throw shooter.
The timing of the news of a potential rule change to “hack-a-Shaq” also coincides with the meeting of the Los Angeles Clippers and the Houston Rockets. The Rockets employ a gentleman by the name of Dwight Howard — who isn’t as horrendous a free throw shooter as Jordan, but at 57.3 percent isn’t all that dependable, either.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for improving the flow of the game as these “hack-a-Shaq” style strategies interrupt it, but it’s also not fair to punish one team for exploiting a known weakness that another team has. Have you ever seen a wrestling match? How many times have you seen the heel capitalize on a face’s injury (usually a knee) by pummeling it into submission and then applying a figure four leg lock or something. (Ok, maybe I’m being very Ric Flair specific, but you see my point).
In sports, you have to use any advantage you can. If you do not, then you hinder your chance to win. Could San Antonio have won the series if they did not employ “hack-a-Shaq” policies to DeAndre Jordan? Maybe, but they could not ignore the fact that Jordan was shooting at or below 40 percent from the line.
If you simply change the rule to eliminate intentional fouling of bad free throw shooters, the NBA sends the wrong message to a younger generation of players. “Jimmy. It’s okay if you can’t do this one particular thing. If you’re good enough and important enough to the league, then they’ll change the rule for you.”
No!
That’s not the message you want to send. If the NBA really wants to solve such a problem, have owners and GMs actually spend time and money on the coaches necessary to improve free throw shooting. There’s nothing wrong with making a player like DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard, or Detroit’s Andre Drummond stay behind for an extra two to three hours after practice to improve their numbers from the line. If these guys were true professionals, they’d welcome the chance to fix the problem because they’re hurting their respective teams.
How has this thought not entered the mind of any of these or other guys in the league who are detrimental based on the fact they can’t hit a simple free throw?
“Damn. I’m going to cost my team a win in a really bad position. You know what? I’m going to do the work necessary to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Does the modern NBA player just not think with the same amount of common sense that I do? Probably.
Think about it. When teams routinely went with the “hack-a-Shaq” mentality for the man it was named after, Shaquille O’Neal, did O’Neal whine and complain that some rule changes needed to be made? No, he went into the gym, stayed after practice, and attempted to remedy the situation.
“I don’t like it. Aesthetically, it’s not good, I think, for a fan to watch it — even though I find the strategy fascinating.” – Adam Silver in the same CBS Sports article
Adam, I get that, I really do, but it isn’t the fault of your league’s rules that strategies are employed that take away from the aesthetic beauty of your sport. It’s your players’ fault. The league average for free throw shooting is about right in spite of the individuals who have horrid free throw numbers. There’s no reason to change a rule for one or two guys in an entire league.
That solution is the equivalent of dropping a nuclear bomb on one ant hill … with one ant in it.
I prefer Spurs coach Greg Popovich’s position:
“There will be a lot of discussion about the fouling, as there should be. But principle-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.”
Old man Pop is 100 percent correct. It’s the PLAYER’S problem, not the LEAGUE’S problem.
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