Mark Cuban and J.A. Adande Had a Quick Twitter Spat About Hack-a-Shaq

I had a similar #debate with Kenny Smith last week. Philosophically, I agree with Cuban and Smith, and teams should not be ostensibly rewarded for having players who are atrocious at shooting free throws, which is a part of the game. However, in practice hack-a-Shaq mutilates the league’s product and makes for terrible optics when all eyes are on the playoffs.

A lot of people have had the idea to allow teams that are fouled to choose whether they want to shoot free throws or inbound the ball. This would help the game flow not just in the rare, if conspicuous, hacking situations, but also at the end of contests, which can be interminable.