The NBA is seriously considering a rule change that would further penalize teams for intentionally fouling opponents, according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports. The amendment -- which would “severely” punish teams who use the “Hack-a-Shaq” strategy -- is already an “unofficial agenda” for the competition committee, which will meet in Las Vegas this July. Berger’s source states that there’s “about an 85 percent chance of the rule being passed and implemented for next season.”
Hack-A-Shaq will likely be outlawed next season, according to report
The NBA’s competition committee will likely change the intentional foul rule to further penalize teams that use the tactic strategically.
The rule -- or loophole in the rule -- is nothing new, but it has been thrown into the spotlight in recent weeks after the San Antonio Spurs' decision to liberally use the strategy against Los Angeles Clippers big man and horrible free-throw shooter DeAndre Jordan.
On Sunday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was a guest on Bleacher Report Radio and was asked his thoughts on the topic.
“This is one where I really am torn,” Silver said. “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 ... I’m not saying we shouldn’t make the change. But I think we’ve got to be really careful in how we go about doing it.”
But coaches looking to take advantage of the rule have pushed the NBA’s hand. Since the start of the playoffs, many have been asking the league office about the rule and different loopholes that are involved in it. One, according to Berger, “asked the league if the player being intentionally fouled can simultaneously foul the fouler, so as to create offsetting fouls with no free throw.”
Continues Berger:
Another problem for officials occurs when the ball is being advanced and a defensive player runs the other way to intentionally foul a player who is still near the opposite basket. (This happened in Game 5 of the Clippers-Spurs series, when Matt Bonner ran the wrong way to foul Jordan, stopping a Clippers fast-break opportunity.) So the trailing official, who is supposed to be watching the action in the frontcourt for fouls or violations, has to look away and call a fake foul in the backcourt? It's completely ridiculous.
The league does not wish to outlaw intentional fouling, writes Berger. Rather, it wants to tweak the rules in a way that further punishes teams who adopt this strategy.
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt was asked his opinion about the rule on Sunday. Here's what his answer was:
David Blatt says that Hack-a-whomever is not allowed overseas. His explanation makes a lot of sense. pic.twitter.com/g2JM9m1wJL
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 3, 2015 Of course, a vote still needs to take place, and this is just one source talking to one reporter. But it sure sounds like Hack-A-Shaq will soon be a thing of the past, which will make people who enjoy watching super-talented athletes fail over and over at something very sad.
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