Many teams have began relying on Hack-A-Blake or Hack-A-Jordan, fouling the Los Angeles Clippers big men in a late attempt to get back in the game – strategic brilliance or NBA annoyance?
Originating from the once called “Hack-A-Shaq” to make an attempt at derailing the Los Angeles Lakers due to Shaquille O’Neal‘s notoriously terrible free throw shooting, many players now feel the need to commit “Hack-A-Blake” or “Hack-A-Jordan” against Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers. They too are integral pieces of a championship-caliber team, and they too…are terrible at free throw shooting.
Fouling an opposing player, mostly aimed at the worst free throw shooter on the team, should be banned in the NBA. It’s not only happening to the Clippers but rather every single NBA team.
Fouling a player who doesn’t even have the ball should be penalized either way, but continuously sending the same player to the free throw line should have an even bigger consequence. The NBA already has a rule denoted to the last two minutes of the game – fouls off the ball result in two shots + possession. This rule should be enforced for every minute of the game, less Hack-A-Whoevers and less cheap ways for the opposing teams to stall time. If a team needs to rely on fouling the same player to win, they’re not playing the game right. The NBA wasn’t created for cheap loopholes to win basketball games.
It’s a true struggle when it comes to teams ganging up on a “Hack-A-Jordan” against the Clippers center Jordan. Jordan isn’t the most impressive free throw shooter, with a .443% this season alone. He’s a player who has high attempts with a low success rate.
Yet, Even when teams send Jordan to the line multiple times, LA still wins games regardless. In february when the Clippers faced the Toronto Raptors, the Raptors sent DeAndre to the free throw line so many times adding up to 22 free-throw attempts. Jordan only made 10 of the 22 attempts taken. Even if the Raptors somewhat affected the Clippers with their Hack-A-Jordan party, Los Angeles took the win over Toronto with a final score of 118-105. So, evidently the player hacking doesn’t always end well for the committing team.
Another player the off-ball-fouling is increasingly taken upon is Clippers’ forward Griffin. With his offensive and defensive ability, ball handling, and diverse play – it makes Griffin a big threat to any defender who has to face him up. Griffin is only improving, and will continue to becoming an even bigger hazard to rivalry teams. Which is why teams turn to fouling the big man to get him either out of the game, or extremely off his game.
What players who commence in Hack-A-Blake don’t realize – is that they’re making a big mistake choosing Griffin. It’s just like if they were to foul Clippers point guard Chris Paul, who shoots a 86.1% at the line. Not the smartest idea. Griffin doesn’t shoot quite as well as Paul does, yet sending him to the free throw line won’t help the opposing team, it’ll only help the Clippers. Griffin is shooting a .703% at the line this season, the best of his career, so teams continuously fouling him only gives Los Angeles more leverage and points on the board.
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