The NBA is planning on making rule changes to reduce the Hack-a-Shaq strategy.
DeAndre Jordan, Andre Drummond and Dwight Howard were victims of the strategy this season.
“It’s not unanimous, but there’s clearly an emerging consensus that we need to address the situation,” Adam Silver said in a meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors on Thursday afternoon at the league’s midtown Manhattan headquarters. “Exactly what the new rule should be is open for debate, and at least I’m hoping that between now and the next owner’s meeting in July we can create and form a consensus as to what the change in the rule should be.”
Kiki VanDeWeghe, the NBA’s vice president of basketball operations said it has been easy to note the explosion in use of the strategy this season.
“It goes against the spirit of the rule book,” VanDeWeghe said. “Free throws were to compensate and deter fouls, not to encourage them. So I think we’re at the point where everyone agrees on that, not to belabor that, so what are the solutions?”
Silver was against a rule change as recently as last summer.
“Last year I was on the fence,” Silver said. “I said last year to this group, and over the summer, was let’s look at one more season of data. At [the all-star break in February], we were roughly at four times, in terms of that portion of the season compared to prior seasons, and by the end of the season we were up 2.5 times. By the way, last year’s playoffs were 10 times from the previous year’s playoffs as well.”
