Did Pop learn not to Hack-a-shaq yet?

[spursfaninla]

Shaq gets into a rhythm if you keep fouling him one shot after another. If you just foul him every other possession, at LEAST, MAYBE it works.

We would have held the Suns to under 10 in the quarter for SURE if we don't do this stupid stuff.

THE ONLY thing I can think of, in terms of why the did this, was to throw off the Suns' offense. It messed up their offense and was a psyche job.

Points-wise, I think shaq scored something like 5 out of 6, which is more than I would hope they would have scored on those possessions.

This strategy, unless used rarely, fails.

Please Pop, make it stop.

[bdictjames]

I always thought they should have hack-a-Shaq when the Suns started cutting down on the lead a little.

[sabar]

Pop did it to bait D'Antoni into idiotically benching Shaq. Unfortunately D'Antoni figured it out.

[T Park]

Shaq gets into a rhythm if you keep fouling him one shot after another. If you just foul him every other possession, at LEAST, MAYBE it works.

We would have held the Suns to under 10 in the quarter for SURE if we don't do this stupid stuff.

THE ONLY thing I can think of, in terms of why the did this, was to throw off the Suns' offense. It messed up their offense and was a psyche job.

Points-wise, I think shaq scored something like 5 out of 6, which is more than I would hope they would have scored on those possessions.

This strategy, unless used rarely, fails.

Please Pop, make it stop.


So you'd rather Bell and those other guys have jump shots than Shaq a 40% free throw shooter shoot?

Right on :tu

[Spurminator]

Pop may be creating a rift between Shaq and D'antoni.

[spursfaninla]

I guess some people were not watching the game.

Sure, in general Shaq shoots ft's very poorly. Around 50%.

BUT, (AND PLEASE READ CAREFULLY HERE) shaq shoots FT's BETTER when you send him to the line SEVERAL TIMES IN A ROW.

This is not news, or a fluke. He does that all the time. He gets better.

If the guy has already been missing FT's early in the game,

OR

If you need to slow the clock down,

OR

If you want to prevent possible 3 pt shots,

then, MAYBE, it makes sense.

But it is stupid to foul the guy 3 or 4 times in a row. It looks cheap, and it doesn't work.

[K-State Spur]

the only problem i had with it was that Amare and Nash were on the bench, PHX was going to have trouble scoring regardless.

but, that was not a bad time to give it a shot. it puts an upper limit on PHX's points in each individual possession and you can easily ditch it while still holding a multiple possession lead (which Pop did).

[Whisky Dog]

The hack a shaq did what Pop wanted because it allowed the Spurs to get some rest going into the 4th after the Spurs had been spending a ton of energy on defense. It was like having 3 extra time outs. Sure it would have been nice if shaq missed more, but it did what Pop needed it to.

[SequSpur]

I thought it was fukin brilliant.

[SPARKY]

Pop may be creating a rift between Shaq and D'antoni.

ROFL. Well, you could be on to something.

If anything, it kills Phoenix's offensive rhythm. Still, why exactly were the Suns running their offense through Boris Diaw within the last two minutes?

[T Park]

the only problem i had with it was that Amare and Nash were on the bench, PHX was going to have trouble scoring regardless.

but, that was not a bad time to give it a shot. it puts an upper limit on PHX's points in each individual possession and you can easily ditch it while still holding a multiple possession lead (which Pop did).


Yeah, that was an oppurtune time to beat the crap out of shaq and make him beat you shootin fadeaways.

Gauranteed those 15 footers aint goin down as frequently next time.

[T Park]

ROFL. Well, you could be on to something.

If anything, it kills Phoenix's offensive rhythm. Still, why exactly were the Suns running their offense through Boris Diaw within the last two minutes?


Why exactly is Boris Diaw in the game to begin with period?

Sure to try and guard Parker, but hes too stupid and a choke to have in key moments like that.

[spursfaninla]

That is an interesting observation, that the ft's were like a time out.

Tony and Tim played too many minutes, so that is a good observation.

Manu played 33, not so bad.

I think next time they should foul every other time instead of all three in a row.

[Joe Schmoogins]

The hack a shaq did what Pop wanted because it allowed the Spurs to get some rest going into the 4th after the Spurs had been spending a ton of energy on defense. It was like having 3 extra time outs. Sure it would have been nice if shaq missed more, but it did what Pop needed it to.



+1

[sabar]

Hack-a-shaq in game 1 allowed us to get more possessions with the time remaining, I thought it was brilliant considering that we were having trouble closing the gap.

Shaq is streaky at the line. In 2002 he shot around 37% when hacked, which is awesome, but he has gotten it up to 66% in other series where he was hacked, which is not awesome.

But the reason Pop is a genius? He doesn't need Shaq to miss them, he needs the extra time and the ability to slow the game down to a crawl throws off the game's pace. Pop knew when Shaq nailed his shots to not stubbornly keep fouling. Put your feet in the water before jumping in.

[Phil Hellmuth]

I thought it gave rest to a much deserved all out defense applied in the early 3rd quarter, also gave TD and TP extra air.

[baseline bum]

Hacking O'Neal shut their offense down in the third right when they scored on a couple of possessions in a row.

[SpurOutofTownFan]

shaq missed more than 50% of legit FTs and made over 90% of the HaS ones

[SPARKY]

Hack-a-shaq in game 1 allowed us to get more possessions with the time remaining, I thought it was brilliant considering that we were having trouble closing the gap.

Shaq is streaky at the line. In 2002 he shot around 37% when hacked, which is awesome, but he has gotten it up to 66% in other series where he was hacked, which is not awesome.

But the reason Pop is a genius? He doesn't need Shaq to miss them, he needs the extra time and the ability to slow the game down to a crawl throws off the game's pace. Pop knew when Shaq nailed his shots to not stubbornly keep fouling. Put your feet in the water before jumping in.

That was also more possessions with Nash out. Shaq goes 5 for 6. Oh well.

[Slomo]

I thought it was fukin brilliant.

:tu

Give this man some pie. It threw their offense out of whack, and gave the starters a breather. Pop is an evil genius.

[pawe]

Its hard for a team to get their mojo trying when the other team keeps on fouling you. the suns rely on momentum and shooting streaks for their offense so by fouling Shaq, you throw them off their game. It also affects them psychologically, imagine what would that do to Shaq's confidence if he cant deliver and he knows the team needs to score.

[Popo>Phil]

I guess some people were not watching the game.

Sure, in general Shaq shoots ft's very poorly. Around 50%.

BUT, (AND PLEASE READ CAREFULLY HERE) shaq shoots FT's BETTER when you send him to the line SEVERAL TIMES IN A ROW.

This is not news, or a fluke. He does that all the time. He gets better.

If the guy has already been missing FT's early in the game,

OR

If you need to slow the clock down,

OR

If you want to prevent possible 3 pt shots,

then, MAYBE, it makes sense.

But it is stupid to foul the guy 3 or 4 times in a row. It looks cheap, and it doesn't work.

IMO, The point is not whether Shaq made his free throws, but to get the Suns away from their offence rhythm

[Borosai]

BlubberLips shot 50% from the free throw line. I'll take it.

[SenorSpur]

That strategy made sense when the Spurs were behind, but it looked idiotic tonight. Even Pop, during his post-game show, admitted that Shaq made the strategy look stupid.

[ShoogarBear]

Eh, I didn't like it at all. Even if Shaq had missed the FTs.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

On paper it didn't look like it worked, but the explosion that was Tony Parker in the 4th was a result of the extra time it bought. And with Nash and STAT on the bench at the end of the third it was no secret the ball was destined for Shaq down on the block. In the last two games of the regular season that was the exact time when the wheels completely fell off for the Spurs. The Suns fed Shaq the ball, got in a rhythm, and never looked back. This let the keep that from happening and kept their bigs out of foul trouble by giving them at least some control over foul distribution.

[Kori Ellis]

In the post game, Pop said that Shaq made his Hack-a-Shaq strategy look totally stupid tonight.

[jmard5]

I'm no coach, but with Stoudemire and Nash at the bench. Spurs should have used the opportunity to extend the lead. Should they want Shaq to shoot FTs, make him earn it when they passed the ball to him into the low block. Play honest defense and make the Suns work for their points. Suns were a little disorganized during that stretch.

[Whisky Dog]

In the post game, Pop said that Shaq made his Hack-a-Shaq strategy look totally stupid tonight.

You think Pop's going to say "Even though he made the FT it did exactly what I wanted by buying my stars extra rest and keeping my bigs out of foul trouble on the low block"?

Come on, you know better than that. Pop is one cold, calculated general. He's not going to give his reasoning away, especially since D'Antoni is probably too stupid to realize it anyway.

[Loose Cannon]

Shaq gets into a rhythm if you keep fouling him one shot after another. If you just foul him every other possession, at LEAST, MAYBE it works.

We would have held the Suns to under 10 in the quarter for SURE if we don't do this stupid stuff.

THE ONLY thing I can think of, in terms of why the did this, was to throw off the Suns' offense. It messed up their offense and was a psyche job.

Points-wise, I think shaq scored something like 5 out of 6, which is more than I would hope they would have scored on those possessions.

This strategy, unless used rarely, fails.

Please Pop, make it stop.

Wow, you're a fucking idiot.

Look at the scoreboard. Look at what Pop did at the slightest hint of the Suns regaining momentum in the second half.

Spurs dominated from the get go and Pop headed the run off by slowing the game down and making Shaq shoot. And it worked like a motherfucker.

Take those 20 seconds you took to start this thread and try to grow an opposable thumb. Please.

[BiZNicK]

Damn shaq was on fire for a while, hitting those turnaround hookshots... he won't be getting that in the next game.

[Whisky Dog]

This tactic was about rest tonight to ensure the legs were there for the 4th. TD and Manu got several minutes of not having to play D while TP got a long stay on the bench.

Absolutely Brilliant.

[BonnerDynasty]

It's a weird feeling seeing Spurs do it again and again, but I love the idea of putting Shaq on the line to back up his talk the two previous days.

[Borosai]

Sure, it didn't actually work, but it did keep the Suns from getting into a rhythm as a team. It was DooDooButter at the line and everyone else watching. In the end, I think it helped a bit.

[Princess Pimp]

Cheap artists, floppers and Shaq-a-hackers!

[jmard5]

Cheap artists, floppers and Shaq-a-hackers!

:lol Is that all you can come up with?

[MannyIsGod]

The only time it failed was in the 3rd. In the 1st and 2nd quarters it got Shaq off the court for the last minute of each quarter which in turn gave the Spurs some easy inside scores.