Changing the Rules on Fouls & Freethrows

[SteelSmack]

But the problem being argued is the intentional off the ball fouling well before 60 seconds left.

That's part of the argument. You're missing the "and cleanup those game ending where the last 60 seconds of game time takes 25 minutes." that Douglar mentioned. In the article Silver stated that "it doesn't make for good basketball". The other part of this argument is "How can we make the basketball viewing experience better?"

I've always been a fan of forcing people like Shaq to learn to shoot free throws, but I'm also not a fan of the horrendous end to games, when a team is trailing by ~5 points in the last minute+, and the way a game grinds to a halt when a team implements hack-a-shaq. I'm somewhere in the middle on this.

 

[Lee]

Changing rules to accommodate flawed players is a slippery slope, imo.

TT shoots 64%, really not that terrible. He made 2 of the 4 intentional ft's, which doesnt help or hurt either team.

It was a stupid tactic. No one on our team is bad enough for the hack a player tactic.

 

[Otsego Mar]

TT shoots 64%, really not that terrible. He made 2 of the 4 intentional ft's, which doesnt help or hurt either team.

It was a stupid tactic. No one on our team is bad enough for the hack a player tactic.

I disagree. If you continually hit 1 of 2....it's a win for the fouling team.

I hope they don't prohibit this tactic.

 

[czvo]

I disagree. If you continually hit 1 of 2....it's a win for the fouling team.

I hope they don't prohibit this tactic.

Is it? I understand it if the fouling team is someone like the Warriors or Spurs. Teams that have amazing offenses that can score in bunches. For a team like the Celtics, I don't see the value in giving an opponent free points.

 

[Otsego Mar]

Is it? I understand it if the fouling team is someone like the Warriors or Spurs. Teams that have amazing offenses that can score in bunches. For a team like the Celtics, I don't see the value in giving an opponent free points.

You can look at it from many angles I suppose.

 

[czvo]

You can look at it from many angles I suppose.

Yeah. If you think the opposing team is a lock to score on you, giving up only 1 point is a win. I take the opposite view. The opponent hasn't scored until the score, so why GIVE them free looks? Play defense, and if they score, good on them.

 

[Lee]

I disagree. If you continually hit 1 of 2....it's a win for the fouling team.

I hope they don't prohibit this tactic.

We average 96 possessions a game. We average 98.2 pts a game. Making 1 of 2 ft's is a push.

Fouling a guy who makes 64% is stupid. You have a 14% chance of missing both, 50% of making one and 36% chance of making both. SO there is a 86% chance its a push or worse for you.

 

[Otsego Mar]

Fuck you and your statistics @Lee

 

[Lee]

Fuck you and your statistics @Lee

I think they did to stop the momentum, not to gain on a per possession basis.

 

[DougHeil]

I'm with the crowd who doesn't see a need to change things. Make your FS's. Period.

I do have an option however. Remember the 3 to make 2 days? Good times. Go back to that rule if fouled intentionally.

 

[SteelSmack]

We average 96 possessions a game. We average 98.2 pts a game. Making 1 of 2 ft's is a push.

Fouling a guy who makes 64% is stupid. You have a 14% chance of missing both, 50% of making one and 36% chance of making both. SO there is a 86% chance its a push or worse for you.

That's also ignoring the chance to get an offensive rebound on the 2nd free throw, if it's missed. So there's that.

 

[Evgeni]

Regardless of the hack a shaq argument, watching free throws is boring. Definitely eliminate them! It will make the game faster and more enjoyable for watching.

 

[Dungong]

Fouling a 64% FT shooter is like giving up 1.28 points per possession. That translates to an offensive rating of 128. The Cavs playoff offensive rating is 111, or 1.11 points per possession. The league leading offensive rating is about 110 in the regular season. Basically, fouling TT gives us better offense than normal, and that is not including 2nd chance points on a missed 2nd free throw.

So this assumes that TT continues to make free throws at a 64% rate and the Celtics don't benefit from the momentum shift. But Tristan has been 57% so far in the playoffs (pretty consistent with 64% given the small sample size) and even those numbers come out to 1.14 points per possession so getting intentionally fouled is a good thing for us.

Now, if you take the Clippers and DeAndre, he shoots 40% from the line, this is 0.8 points per possession or an o-rating of 80. The clippers led the league in o-rating at 110, and the league worst is the Sixers at 93. Fouling DeAndre is hugely beneficial.

 

[Douglar]

Fouling a guy who makes 64% is stupid. You have a 14% chance of missing both, 50% of making one and 36% chance of making both. SO there is a 86% chance its a push or worse for you.

It is a winning move if there is less than 24 second left in the quarter, because the foul gets your team an extra shot at the hoop. That extra shot to end the quarter moves the needle on the pay off quite a bit.

 

[Lee]

It is a winning move if there is less than 24 second left in the quarter, because the foul gets your team an extra shot at the hoop. That extra shot to end the quarter moves the needle on the pay off quite a bit.

I will agree with that, but that wasnt the case during the game.