2013 NBA Playoffs

[D.o.s.]

Oh my goodness, Scotty Brooks is such a scumbag for going with the extended Hack-a-Asik in the fourth quarter.  Good for Omer for making close to 70% of them, and good for McHale for sticking with him.

Go Rockets!!!!

Has the Hack-a-Whoever strategy ever worked?  Even once?  I can't think of a single time.  Not only kinda bush league but not even successful.

And then he backs off down the stretch when they need to foul.  I don't get it.  Is he a complete moron?

Anyway, happy for McHale, Asik, Harden, and the rest of that Rockets squad. 

It would be so fun to see both us and Houston force game sevens after starting off down 0 and 3 . . . and then both winning game seven on the road!!!

Under the two minute mark, the offensive team chooses the FT shooter.

I don't think Scott Brookes is a great coach, but I do think he knows the rules.

Actual rules from NBA.com:
Section X--Away-From-The-Play Foul
a. During the last two minutes of the fourth period or overtime period(s) with the offensive team in possession of the ball, all personal fouls which are assessed against the defensive team prior to the ball being released on a throw-in and/or away-from-the-play, shall be administered as follows:
(1) A personal foul and team foul shall be assessed and one free throw attempt shall be awarded. The free throw may be attempted by any play-er in the game at the time the personal foul was committed.

[Celtics18]

Oh my goodness, Scotty Brooks is such a scumbag for going with the extended Hack-a-Asik in the fourth quarter.  Good for Omer for making close to 70% of them, and good for McHale for sticking with him.

Go Rockets!!!!

Has the Hack-a-Whoever strategy ever worked?  Even once?  I can't think of a single time.  Not only kinda bush league but not even successful.

And then he backs off down the stretch when they need to foul.  I don't get it.  Is he a complete moron?

Anyway, happy for McHale, Asik, Harden, and the rest of that Rockets squad. 

It would be so fun to see both us and Houston force game sevens after starting off down 0 and 3 . . . and then both winning game seven on the road!!!

Under the two minute mark, the offensive team chooses the FT shooter.

I don't think Scott Brookes is a great coach, but I do think he knows the rules.

Actual rules from NBA.com:
Section X--Away-From-The-Play Foul
a. During the last two minutes of the fourth period or overtime period(s) with the offensive team in possession of the ball, all personal fouls which are assessed against the defensive team prior to the ball being released on a throw-in and/or away-from-the-play, shall be administered as follows:
(1) A personal foul and team foul shall be assessed and one free throw attempt shall be awarded. The free throw may be attempted by any play-er in the game at the time the personal foul was committed.

I know that rule.  But, in the last minute their only chance was to foul, not an off the ball, intentional foul, but they should have been putting the man with the ball in his hands on the line to try to extend the game at that point. 

[LooseCannon]

Has the Hack-a-Whoever strategy ever worked?  Even once?  I can't think of a single time.  Not only kinda bush league but not even successful.

It certainly worked for Popovich against the Clippers.  Deandre Jordan is especially prone to this strategy.

One needs only remember how the Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs last season to suspect that intentionally fouling Asik has some merit as a strategy.

[Fafnir]

Oh my goodness, Scotty Brooks is such a scumbag for going with the extended Hack-a-Asik in the fourth quarter.  Good for Omer for making close to 70% of them, and good for McHale for sticking with him.

Go Rockets!!!!

Has the Hack-a-Whoever strategy ever worked?  Even once?  I can't think of a single time.  Not only kinda bush league but not even successful.

It worked for the Bulls to comeback from 14 points down in 3 minutes just this postseason.

They intentionally fouled both Reggie Evans and Gerald Wallace at the 3:11 and 2:17 mark respectively. They both missed the two FTAs netting the Bulls two TOs effectively.

I know this wasn't quite the same as they did it later in the game, but it was the same principal. Only the two minute rule made them stop in all odds.

[fairweatherfan]

Oh my goodness, Scotty Brooks is such a scumbag for going with the extended Hack-a-Asik in the fourth quarter.  Good for Omer for making close to 70% of them, and good for McHale for sticking with him.

Go Rockets!!!!

Has the Hack-a-Whoever strategy ever worked?  Even once?  I can't think of a single time.  Not only kinda bush league but not even successful.

It worked for the Bulls to comeback from 14 points down in 3 minutes just this postseason.

They intentionally fouled both Reggie Evans and Gerald Wallace at the 3:11 and 2:17 mark respectively. They both missed the two FTAs netting the Bulls two TOs effectively.

I know this wasn't quite the same as they did it later in the game, but it was the same principal. Only the two minute rule made them stop in all odds.

Interesting - well I have learned something new today.  Still seems to backfire more often than not, though.

[Fafnir]

Oh my goodness, Scotty Brooks is such a scumbag for going with the extended Hack-a-Asik in the fourth quarter.  Good for Omer for making close to 70% of them, and good for McHale for sticking with him.

Go Rockets!!!!

Has the Hack-a-Whoever strategy ever worked?  Even once?  I can't think of a single time.  Not only kinda bush league but not even successful.

It worked for the Bulls to comeback from 14 points down in 3 minutes just this postseason.

They intentionally fouled both Reggie Evans and Gerald Wallace at the 3:11 and 2:17 mark respectively. They both missed the two FTAs netting the Bulls two TOs effectively.

I know this wasn't quite the same as they did it later in the game, but it was the same principal. Only the two minute rule made them stop in all odds.

Interesting - well I have learned something new today.  Still seems to backfire more often than not, though.

I agree, I mean a player who hits just 55% of his FTAs is giving you an 1.1 points per possession, which is a top 5 scoring rate.

This is why the C's never saw people intentionally fouling Rondo very much. Even a 60% free throw shooter was likely to do more damage than our relatively limited offense.

The biggest advantage I can see to it is that it mucks up the flow of the game and hopefully gets the other team's offense mucked up for when you stop hacking.

[Fafnir]

Actually I think the strongest place for an intentional foul strategy is if you're up a lot (10 points or more) against a team with a guy like Asik or Howard who they want on the floor.

You don't really make up 10+ point leads by getting 1.1 or 1.2 points per possession on average. Instead its by hitting 3s and 2s all in a row while getting stops.

[fairweatherfan]

The biggest advantage I can see to it is that it mucks up the flow of the game and hopefully gets the other team's offense mucked up for when you stop hacking.

I can see that but it also seems to disrupt the flow for the team that's trying to come back, and they still have to earn their points instead of just making FTs.  No stats to support it, though, just my impression.

I agree with Barkley that the time to stop that strategy was when the Thunder got within 6 with 3+ minutes left.  Plenty of time left to win the normal way at that point.

[kozlodoev]

Under the two minute mark, the offensive team chooses the FT shooter.

I have a better idea: learn to shoot free throws.

[LooseCannon]

Another time the strategy was used was when the Spurs played at Denver in a SEGABABA earlier this season.  Popovich had his team intentionally foul Javale McGee in the third quarter to slow down the Nuggets and get extra rest for his players.  The Spurs cut a 15-point deficit down to three, but Denver held on for the win.

[Who]

I love all the yellow jerseys in the crowd for Golden State. Looks fantastic.

Great atmosphere.

[SparzWizard]

Can't believe Chicago lost to the Nets. Now they force a Game 7 back in Brooklyn.

Chicago better win Game 7 on the road! Make it rough for Miami.

[Atzar]

Brooklyn wins to force a Game 7.  Series record is 3-2-1:  3 for Brooklyn, 2 for Chicago, and 1 for Nate Robinson. 

[Atzar]

I love all the yellow jerseys in the crowd for Golden State. Looks fantastic.

Great atmosphere.

I like Denver more than Golden State as a team, but I have to admit that a GS-OKC series would have an electric atmosphere.  Those are probably the two best home courts in the league. 

[Who]

Beautiful bounce pass by Bogut from the top of the key off the PnR and baseline cut by Harrison Barnes off the ball for the dunk. Lovely ball and player movement.