The Spurs committed to Hack-a-Jordan in the first round, but it wasn’t good enough. The Rockets are trying the same thing but are down this series to the Clippers. So, despite less-than-favorable results, teams continue to send DeAndre Jordan to the foul line.
Watching these games have been painful and it was rumored previously that the league was going to change the rule where teams would receive technical fouls for trying to Hack-a-Whoever. But apparently, there’s not enough support to make the change.
At the annual meeting of NBA general managers Wednesday in Chicago, there was no overwhelming consensus to change the rules to discourage teams from intentionally fouling poor free-throw shooters, league sources told CBSSports.com.
“There is not enough support to change it,” one executive in the meeting said. “It’s one of those perception is bigger than reality issues.”
League officials presented data on intentional fouling that strongly suggested the problem is an isolated one, despite all the attention it has gotten during the postseason. According to the data shared with GMs at the meeting, 76 percent of the intentional fouls this season — regular season and playoffs — have been committed against five players: DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Joey Dorsey and Andre Drummond.
Jordan, the Clippers’ center who has been hacked into the next century through the first two rounds of the playoffs, has accounted for about half of all intentional fouls this season, according to the league data.
H/T: CBS sports
