NBA makes major rule change
Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Andre Drummond has proved to be one of the leagues worst free-throw shooters
In an effort to make NBA games more watchable, the league has passed a new set of rules that will slow down the "Hack-A-Shaq" strategy.
For those unfamiliar with the strategy, it occurs when a player fouls a poor free throw shooter away from the ball.
It is helpful for these teams to do so, because if the player misses one or both free throws, it is considered a success because the team got one or zero points compared to two or three.
After the free throws, the team committing the foul was then awarded the ball, just like a regular free throw.
That will no longer be the case.
Starting next season, when a team is fouled away from the ball, they will now be rewarded ONE free throw, and possession of the ball. Instead of shooting two free throws, and losing possession they will now be gaining possession.
These were the rules that were in place for the last two-minutes of the fourth quarter of an NBA game.
These rules will be in place during the last two minutes of every quarter.
This rule change will also be in effect for every situation in which a foul is committed before the ball is inbounded.
Before this rule, there was nothing in place to prevent fouls from being committed before the inbounds.
On top of these rule changes, there has also been a change to the flagrant foul rules.
This rule now states that when a player deliberately jumps on another players back to foul him away from the ball, it will be considered a flagrant foul.
Honestly, I am on both sides of this debate. When the strategy is implemented, it makes the game unwatchable. Nobody wants to watch Dwight Howard go 19-40 from the charity stripe.
That being said, Howard is an NBA player. He should be able to make more than half of his free throws. I don't care how big his hands are, there are no excuses.
All in all, I think the NBA made the correct decision. The NBA made an effort to slow down the Hack-A-Shaq, but teams are still allowed to use the strategy and deal with the consequences.
This is a landmark decision for the NBA. They proved they are willing to tamper with rules to improve the quality of gameplay in the NBA. A lot of time, fans complain about the decisions every league makes. This time, the NBA got it right.
Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
