OT Commish Silver 'on the fence' about intentional fouling

http://www.nba.com/2015/news/04/23/nba-commissioner-silver-unsure-about-intentional-fouling.ap/

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday he is "on the fence" about intentional fouling away from the ball and expects the league to be "very engaged" about the tactic over the coming months.

A day after the San Antonio Spurs sent the Clippers' DeAndre Jordan to the foul line 17 times in a playoff victory, Silver said he once favored a rule change but now isn't pushing for one.

"I've gone back and forth," Silver said during a meeting with a group of Associated Press Sports Editors.

"I've sat in meetings with some of the greatest players like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird who said that players should learn to make their free throws and it's part of the game. At the same time, it doesn't make for great television, so I'm on the fence right now."

Silver said he finds it to be a "fascinating" strategy in some cases.

"But in other games I watch it and I think, 'Oh my god, I feel people changing the channels,"' he said. "So we're also an entertainment property that's competing against a lot of other options that people have for their discretionary time."

Coaches use the strategy to disrupt an opposing team by fouling a poor free throw shooter, playing the percentages that he won't make both shots. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has said he doesn't like the way it looks but has used it against Shaquille O'Neal - where it got the nickname Hack-a-Shaq - and now against the Clippers' Jordan, who went 6 for 17 on Wednesday in San Antonio's 111-107 overtime victory.

Abolishing the tactic, also used against Dwight Howard, has been discussed before, but coaches wanted the option to use it. Silver said he expects it to be discussed by general managers at their meeting in May and by the Competition Committee in June.

The league could allow coaches to decline the foul and keep the ball, as in football; allow them to keep possession after the free throws; or do nothing at all.

"I've listened to owners change their point of view on it both ways. General managers and coaches as well," Silver said. "Sometimes the issue with coaches and general managers, of course, it depends on who's on their roster at any given time as well, understandably. So it's our job to take a longer-term view of it, but I think that's one of those issues that we're going to be very engaged in over the next few months."

The meeting Thursday came about a year after the release of recorded racist remarks by former Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Silver banned him from the league and threatened to strip him of the franchise if Sterling wouldn't sell.

"I would just say I felt the weight of the entire institution of the NBA on me, and I would say that includes all of those great players, great executives who came before me in this league," Silver said in looking back at the saga.

Now he focuses on what he calls "competitive issues" such as the draft lottery and the playoff format. Lottery reform fell short of approval in October, and Silver said it will be debated again. Owners recently discussed various tweaks to the playoffs, and if division winners should continue to get a top-four seed.

Portland is No. 4 in the West, ahead of Memphis and San Antonio despite a worse record, because it won the Northwest Division.

"I think we've got to go one way or the other," he said. "We've got to act like it really matters and it's meaningful to win your division, or decide to go in another direction and decide we should be a league without divisions.

 

I would be in favor of a rule change. Say like after you foul a player two times in a row, on the third time it's a coaches decision for more free throws or just to have another position for the team. I like that.

 

I've never liked the intentional foul. It's a cheap way to say you can't defend somebody and it makes the 4th qtr of playoff games unwatchable more often than not

 

If they made it the same as a clear path foul or goal tend they'd abandon it. 2pts and the ball.

 

It's like having 20 timeouts in the last qtr

 

I would like to keep it how it is now and just have the big guys work more on their free throw shooting. I have to admit the idea that a team could decline having free throws is intriguing. To me that is changing the game a bit much though.

 

No one is commenting about the tidbit at the bottom of the article?

 

I think if they get rid of the divisions they also should address the conferences as well. Teams with losing records in the east should not be rewarded with playoff seeds over teams with winning records in the west.

 

I like the rule as is. You are unable to do it in the last 2 mins of the game. Bottom line:

Hit your goddamn free throws. Step your game up....

 

And there you have it folks. Fuck the game. We have shoes, sodas, and shinola to sell. Same goes for officiating. Quality officiating doesn't make for great "television" when it goes against the story line or star building. And we need marketable stars to sell shoes, sodas, and shinola. So, again, fuck the game. There are more important things at stake.

 

Same could be said for defense on the opposing team though. Step your game up! Making one player hit free throws on the opposing team isn't winning it by defense.

 

Nice try.

We still give out ribbons for effort, right?

 

The game has changed over the years. I'm glad there's a 3pt shot and flopping fine, etc..I think it can be tweaked even more. I like instant replay. It did wonders for tennis when they could challenge a line call and have it proven with replay. I never liked fouling someone who doesn't have the ball and getting free throws out of it

 

That's just silly... This forces big men to learn to hit free throws. Shaq should've shot them underhanded.

 

They were discussing during the Clippers Spurs game and I found it interesting that the intentional foul gave guys a breather and allowed them to get back and set a defense without rushing. The Clipps also rebounded a couple of Jordan's misses giving them a fresh 24 seconds. As a viewer, it's hard to watch when momentum is picking up, the intentional foul just kills it like a traffic jam on the freeway.

 

I agree with Jordan and Bird. Basketball is a game of skill. I HATE anything that reduces the over all skill level of the best players in the best league in the world. Getting fouled intentionally by the other team because you can't make your FTs? Want it to stop? Learn to make your FTs. Being able to put the ball though the hoop, from 15 feet away, with no one guarding you is a pretty basic skill for guys getting paid over $10 million per year. Most 8th graders are better at it than DeAndre Jordan. He's a disgrace and should be embarrassed by his inability to master the most basic skill in the game.

Do NOT let the unskilled off the hook by legislating their weaknesses away. Make them learn make their FTs, or continue to suffer the consequences. Doc Rivers wants to take advantage of the skills DeAndre Jordan has, then he also has to accept the consequences of the skills he lacks. Stubbornly leave him in the game then you better expect the other team to exploit his weakness. This isn't baseball. There is no designated hitter (or FT shooter).

Man up and learn to make your FTs. If the Clippers don't like teams intentionally fouling DeAndre Jordan, hire a FT coach and have Jordan work on nothing but improving his FT shooting all fucking summer. A big part of FT shooting is muscle memory. During the off season, DeAndre Jordan should be shooting hundreds of FTs every day, under the supervision of a coach, to make sure he's shooting them the right way. Don't want your opponents exploiting your weaknesses, then eliminate your weaknesses.

I personally find DeAndre Jordan shooting 20-some FTs a game much better television than watching James Harden do so. At least with Jordan, there i some suspense. You have no idea what's going to happen. Is he going to miss it, or make it? If he does miss and the other team grabs the rebound, will they be able to take advantage and score. Will they do so often enough to get back in the game? I found the game when we employed Hack-a-Jordan, came back from down double digits late in the 4th and won in OT one of the most entertaining games of the year. Much more interesting than watching James Harden, flop and flail his way to 20+ FT attempts when you know he's going to make 90% of them. I find watching the pregame lay-up drill more entertaining than watching James Harden shoot FTs.

Don't dumb down the game because a few players can't be bothered to learn a very basic skill.

BNM

 

Uh, oh. Now you've done it. Don't let Silver see this.