OT: Hack-A-Shaq cowardly?

[dpc]

First of all, I'm not sure if OT basketball threads go here or in the OT board, move accordingly.

In a article on espn.com, Shaq said that the hack-a-shaq maneuver was cowardly. Do you consider it cowardly? It is perfectly legal, and if it's legal and you win the game doing it, is it considered cowardly?

 

[BenDavis503x]

Of course it is. Any couch who would do that falls in the same category as the Patriots recording other teams, IMO.

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

Nope. If he can't hit a FT, tough.

 

[gambitnut]

It is probably somewhat cowardly, but perfectly legal and quite smart as long as you don't foul out all of your players in the process. Use any legal advantage you can get.

 

[BlazersBlood]

Cowardly? Yes. Legal? Yes.

To prevent from seeming too cowardly, teams should have waited until he at least touched the ball.

 

[ABM]

It's called taking advantage of mis-matches. And, Shaq is mis-matched against the free throw line.

 

[dpc]

Of course it is. Any couch who would do that falls in the same category as the Patriots recording other teams, IMO.

Big difference. What the Pats did was illegal, what the spurs do is perfectly legal.

I'm still indifferent, I think its sort of cowardly, but then again at the same time as mentioned above, if he isn't talented enough too hit a free throw, tough luck. The team is exploiting his weakness. Would it be cowardly for a big point guard to post up a little guard? Or outrebound a smaller team? I just changed my mind while writing this. It's not cowardly. It's exploiting weakness.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Let's put it this way, if there was a boxer who was ponderously slow, but had a devastating left upper cut, would it be cowardly to dance around him and throw jabs instead of closing and going "mano y mano?" I say no, in sports it's your duty to exploit your opponents weaknesses and maximize your strengths. Shaq should have nutted up and learned to hit foul shots if he didn't want to get wrapped in a bear hug every time he touched the ball back in the day.

 

[DaRizzle]

Shaq is an idiot. Its always everyone elses fault according to him

 

[Ed O]

Not cowardly in the least. Free throws are part of the game. Opponents only get a finite number of fouls, and if they choose to use a lot of them giving him free throws, then it's HIS failure as a player that he can't make them.

People leave Andre Miller wide open at the three point line because he's a terrible three point shooter... should he call collapsing defenses cowardly?

(Also: as far as OT goes, basketball-related OT stuff should be labeled OT and posted in the main forum; non-basketball OT stuff goes in the OT forum.)

Ed O.

 

[TowelBoy]

As many have caught on to, whether or not it works and whether or not it's legal have nothing to do with whether or not it's "cowardly."

The issue, of course, is what gets to count as cowardly. Cowardly is basically defined as lacking courage, but then again, courage in excess certainly must be considered a vice (even ask Aristotle). So, to sit on the knowledge that Shaq will miss his free throws and watch as he devastates double-teams and scores or finds open shooters at will, while certainly courageous, is undoubtedly foolishly so.

We can call someone cowardly for lacking courage, but can we call them cowardly for not having courage in excess? In my opinion, that doesn't make much sense.

There we go. Case closed. Hack-a-Shaq is not cowardly. The Voice of Reason has spoken.

 

[BenDavis503x]

Big difference. What the Pats did was illegal, what the spurs do is perfectly legal.

Yeah and the Spurs let Bruce Bowen purposely injure players on the court. I don't care if it's legal or not. It is still cowardly and falls in the same category, IMO.

Play better defense in the previous quarters so you do not have to resort to cheap play like hack a Shaq.
Score more points.

 

[e_blazer]

Of course it's not cowardly. A large part of basketball is about forcing an opponent to play to their weaknesses. Force a guy who's a bad shooter to take the long shot as the clock is winding down. Force a guy who likes to drive to his right to go to his left. Shaq's got nobody but himself to blame for being a crappy FT shooter after all of these years. Opposing coaches would be stupid to ignore his glaring weakness.

 

[gambitnut]

Yeah and the Spurs let Bruce Bowen purposely injure players on the court. I don't care if it's legal or not. It is still cowardly and falls in the same category, IMO.

Play better defense in the previous quarters so you do not have to resort to cheap play like hack a Shaq.
Score more points.

There are two issues here, hack-a-shaq to take advantage of a poor free throw shooter and dirty fouling to injure. I agree that fouling to purposely injure people is bad, but that's not about hack-a-shaq, just how some people might foul wether they are playing hack-a-shaq or not.

 

[blazerboy30]

It is not cowardly.

Similar to what other posters have mentioned...

Is forcing the man you are guarding to his left hand cowardly? Nope, it is called knowing your opponents weaknesses and forcing them into those situations.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Wait a sec.....everyone keeps saying the tactic is "legal". By definition, fouling somebody is against the rules!

"Hack-a-Shaq" may be smart, and it may not be cowardly, but it is illegal.

 

[Minstrel]

It's called taking advantage of mis-matches. And, Shaq is mis-matched against the free throw line.

Most elegant statement of truth.

Trying to win, within the rules, is not cowardly, no.

 

[Chutney]

If it works and is within the rules, it doesn't matter what labels you put on it. Is double-teaming cowardly?

 

[Minstrel]

Wait a sec.....everyone keeps saying the tactic is "legal". By definition, fouling somebody is against the rules!

I think this is semantics. I would say that fouls are not against the rules. They are actions that carry penalties, but you are "allowed" six of them within the rules. You can argue it either way, I suppose. It's sort of a question of different levels of abstraction. It's "against the rules" on the micro level of a possession, but within the rules on the macro level of the game, as there are rules regarding how many a player may committ, implying it is sanctioned (six times) within the rules.

 

[slickyseenis]

if it's good basketball it's not cowardly

but it is boring

 

[KingSpeed]

Not cowardly at all to exploit your opponent's weakness.

 

[oldguy]

Not cowardly.

I like the analogy to double teaming best.

It's in Shaq's power to put an end to the tactic. All he has to do is make his FT's.

 

[bodyman5001]

Not cowardly, just something I hate to see happen. Boring and not fun too watch.

 

[mgb]

Shaq is an idiot. Its always everyone elses fault according to him

Good thing the Lakers got rid of that idiot!

Shaq just has to learn to hit FTs and no one will do it any more.

Same with a team packing it in and daring a player to take the jumper. If they can hit the shot consistently they make the other team pay, if not then that's what they'll see all the time. I actually think it's cowardly to do that to Sergio!

 

[The Professional Fan]

Definitely not cowardly. But certainly entertaining! I love watching Shaq clank FT's.

 

[hasoos]

I disagree that it is cowardly. It is smart.

Would a player be considered a coward if they didn't let guys like Michael Redd, Ray Allen or other great shooters not get open looks at the 3 point line?

Would a player be considered a coward if they worked hard to stop dribble penetration by Chris Paul, Steve Nash, or Deron Williams?

My point being, that your job defensivly, is to make the game hard for somebody to score. You do that by trying to take away what is easy for your opponent and make them work for their points. I don't see putting Shaq on the line is any different then the examples I listed above.

Maybe Shaq should quit making excuses, and start hitting his free throws.

 

[Crimson the Cat]

It's a smart move. Just like walking or pitching around a beast of a hitter in Baseball. When done strategically, it can be the difference between winning and losing. You always attach an opponents weakness. Always.

 

[alex42083]

It's called taking advantage of mis-matches. And, Shaq is mis-matched against the free throw line.

Ha. Best post in the thread.

I bet there are 29 other teams in the league that would love to get two automatic FT attempts in the fourth quarter. Why need to run an offense when the defense is just willing to give you points.. Shaq just sucks at the line, and like others said, is making an excuse for himself.

That's why Greg is going to be scary. He's got that Shaq-like presence in the post to move people out of the way and dunk on you, and you can't hack the guy because he's a potential 75-80 percent FT shooter.

 

[Denny Crane]

Not cowardly. No more than double teaming the opponent's best player. Or using a shift against a pull hitter in baseball. They used to run the 4 corners offense in college.

The only bad thing about Hack a Shaq is that he's so big that people fouling him really mug him to the point of causing him pain.