Hack-a-(bad ft shooter) strategy

[Biggems]

i love the move....and have often pondered why opposing teams dont return the favor and make Timmy or Tiago shoot FTs....i know they have done hack a bowen and such....but no one has really retaliated with the tactic on a regular basis.

if i were del negro, once Pop did it to me, i would do it to him. hopefully if we missed, they would miss too and any advantage the Spurs were trying to gain would be negated....and Pop would eventually stop the tactic.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

It helps the Spurs hang onto their " boring" mystique. CIA ftw.

[joeyjfive]

I can definitely see how other teams can hate the out of it, but if the Spurs are winning I dont give a damn.

[Bartleby]

I wasn't aware that Popovich invented the practice. Could have sworn it had been done before.

I remember Don Nelson used it to bring the Warriors back from a big deficit against the Spurs and ultimately win the game in 1992 or 93. It was maddening because he sent Larry Smith to the free throw line something like five times (and Smith was a terrible free throw shooter) and Smith kept missing. Pop was an assistant coach for Nellie at the time.

[MannyIsGod]

As long as fouls are allowed at the end of games to extend the game and let a team back in I don't even want to hear anyone about this.

Pop uses it better than anyone in the NBA, tbh.

[CitizenDwayne]

Honorable or not, it is hilarious to see.

And yeah, you're getting paid millions, make your damn free throws.

[phyzik]

For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.

[Holt's Cat]

It's a part of the game. It kills momentum and it makes the opponent pay for having a poor FT shooter on the court.

[TDMVPDPOY]

most of teh complainers so far has been clipper and non playoff team wankers

ur en led to ur POV, but keep it to urself since ur opinions hold no weight when ur team isnt in the playoffs....

[mVp]

Pro ballers should make their free throws, period. I know I would if I'm getting paid millions just to play basketball.

[baseline bum]

It was an obvious move to completely negate Jordan and Evans. Too bad the contenders the Spurs will face later on don't have those kind of holes.

[k_nguyen93]

^Perkins and Rondo come to mind.

[InK]

..they're allowing a professional basketball player the chance to throw it freely...twice.

[DMC]

I trust Pop.

We have hindsight, Pop coaches up coming plays.

We all knew it was coming, and if the Clippers didn't, they are fools.

[pgardn]

I watched a kid in HS make 153 FT in a row at the end of a practice. We all stayed to watch for what seemed an hour. And he was a better tennis player, not a starter.

I like it because it exposes an essential part of BASKETball.
There is a ball.
There is a basket with TWICE the diameter of the ball.
The ball needs to go through the basket.
If you are huge, and cannot put the ball through the basket, get your butt off the court. Coach is calling you out. He dont think you can shoot.


I like it as a change of pace as well.

[Keepin' it real]

I wonder if OKC will hack-a-Tiago as a counter measure. Can you imagine? Spurs intentionally foul Perkins on one end, the OKC intentionally fouls Tiago on the other end. And then they do it again and again. I wonder how long they'd have to do that for David Stern to go ape .

[DMC]

You have to be in the bonus, else it doesn't matter.

[MannyIsGod]

Comparing NBA FTs to HS practice FTs is hilarious. NBA FT shooters are almost always terrible due to mental issues and not due to bad form or any other physical thing. You can practice FTs with bad form and end up a super high percentage in practice but its a lot harder to replicate when it actually matters for some players.

Nick Anderson is the perfect example.

[024]

tbh, the clippers are practically asking for it with the two worst free throw shooters in the league

[SA210]

I thought it was great to end the half since we needed to catch up, it clearly helped. I don't think we needed it to end the game, but we won, so I'm happy.

[spurraider21]

I was at the game today and it completely killed the crowd. Excellent tactic if the opportunity provides itself. Anytime an NBA player has an obvious weakness, it is attacked. When the Lakers played us in the first game, Blair started and was defending Bynum at first (lol). The Lakers kept dumping it down to Bynum and he controlled the game. When Evans and Jordan are piss poor free throw shooters, we would rather let them shoot then let them work through a red hot Mo Williams or Blake

[BigTex342006]

It is an uncontested 15 ft shot....make the friggin shot. I like it especially against potentially dangerous teams when leading by 10-13 pts or so. It makes the opposing coach have to make a decision to change a line-up when he hadn't planned on doing so... Makes a lot of sense...

[polandprzem]

I love it.

It absolutely kills any momentum. You can allow other team 2 pts.
No 3pointers, no drives and fouls on better shootes/ no and 1s/. You do not need to rebound missed shots.

Of course you need to use it properly. Pop doing it best. And because of Pop they changed the rule to not allow it 2 minutes b4 the geme ends

[Spursfanfromafar]

I am ambivalent.. When up 13 there was necessarily no need to foul even a bad shooter like Evans.. Because the time doesn't get reduced and the possibility of evening the score in 2 minutes (with 10 points to overcome) is not much higher than in 3 minutes per se (with 13 points to overcome).

But I think in Pop's mind, it was important to halt CP3's momentum. He had just taken two quick shots in the early seconds of the shot clock and had made them. Pop obviously was not going to take any chances and thought it better to ride Evans' bricklaying arm than chancing CP3's shooting. And it worked..

[senorglory]

I really liked it when used to gain a two-for-one for the Spurs/ kill the two-for-one for Clippers.