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“Again, as I travel around the league, there’s that one school of thought ‘Guys have got to make their free throws,’ ” Silver said. “But then at the end of the day, we are an entertainment property, and it’s clear that when you’re in the arena, that fans are looking at me, shrugging their shoulders with that look saying, ‘Aren’t you going to do something about this?’ ”
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NBA data through Tuesday’s games reveals that teams use the Hack-a-Player strategy more often when trailing (68 times) than when winning (21 times). But teams have won 16% of the time using the strategy when trailing but 61% of the time when using the strategy while ahead.

“All the analytical people say the best time to use it is when you’re up, not when you’re down. That’s the best time to do it,” Rivers said. “It prevents you from making a comeback. A couple of teams have done that, and it’s pretty smart.”

If the strategy rarely helps a trailing team win, why do coaches use it?

“Because you never know … if you’re down, you might as well try something,” Rivers said.

From a pure data standpoint, the strategy is sound way to keep a team from piling up points. Avid NBA observer and data cruncher, Haralabos Voulgaris, said on Twitter recently that teams using Hack-A-Player allow .82 points per possession – which is better than NBA-best .951 points allowed per possession by the San Antonio Spurs.
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But he has also heard from coaches, team executives and youth coaches about the value of the strategy and the importance of free throws, an integral part of the game that shouldn’t be minimized to cover up a flaw in a player’s game.

nickhx2 wrote:i hate that logic at the end there so much. of course you shouldn't have to cover up for a player's flaws and make them play less basketball.

but what the HELL part of basketball is jumping up on a dude's back like you're tackling a bear?