After much debate in the offseason, the NBA decided to keep the Hack-a-Shaq strategy perfectly legal. F Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder thinks it sounds like a good idea. You’ll never guess what he said about it.
And I agree with the 88% free throw shooter. As a professional basketball player who’s been playing the game for the majority of his or her life, the player should be able to shoot at least 65 to 70 percent from the charity stripe. After all it is a FREE basket.
It’s muscle memory. It’s practiced at the beginning and end of every practice from elementary school to the pros. There just shouldn’t be players who shoot a mere 40% from the free throw line.
Therefore, the idea of putting poor free throw shooters on the line by intentionally fouling them as some sort of ‘punishment’ and strategy is a good idea.
Many people and fans, however, do not think so. Probably because it makes for boring basketball. It stops the clock and makes viewers watch players miss free throws.
While it seems to be an effective and intelligent strategy, it may cause NBA viewership to decrease. However, like Durant, I think players like the Detroit Pistons‘ Andre Drummond (39% career FT shooter) and the LA Clippers‘ DeAndre Jordan (41% career FT shooter) should be forced to work on their free throws, then the strategy will no longer work.
So keep the Hack-a-Shaq strategy alive! And learn from this great free throw shooter:
All Thunder, All THE TIME! 