There is only one person to blame for the Hack-A-DeAndre tactic employed by the San Antonio Spurs in their first round match up against the LA Clippers: DeAndre Jordan.

Many people have voiced their displeasure about how it has slowed the game down too much and the NBA should enact new rules to prevent it from happening. Others believe that it is simply a part of the game and that it should be allowed to continue.

I must say that I am definitely part of the second party as I think the Spurs and Coach Pop are just doing what they do best (coming up with creative ways to gain a competitive advantage). What they are doing is not against the rules and until that changes they should not have to apologize for hacking away.

I like DeAndre Jordan a lot as a basketball player. He is a tall, strong, athletic centre that is becoming a perennial defensive player of the year candidate. His impact defensively is undeniable through rebounding, blocking shots and altering shots at the rim. He has the rare ability to guard outside the paint with his quick feet and still be strong enough down on the post to not get pushed around.

However, shooting less than 40% from the free throw line is simply unacceptable. I am tired of people making excuses for him by saying that the Hack-A-DeAndre tactic is an unfair loophole in the rules and that it ruins the game. Unless DeAndre Jordan has some physical or mental limitation that makes it impossible for him to make free throws, he should have no excuses. Free throws are simply a part of basketball. Anyone who has played organized basketball knows that it is something you practice and get better at. Becoming a great shooter is part having a natural ability, but also in large part due to properly practicing your shooting form over and over in the gym to develop muscle memory.

There is no reason for him to be that poor from the free throw line. It is such a fundamental part of the game that all NBA players should be at least respectable at it. Imagine if you went to your doctor and he/she told you that they did not know how to use a stethoscope. People need to stop trying to cover for DeAndre Jordan and realize that unless and until free throws are taken out of the sport of basketball, he just needs to get better at it plain and simple.

I do not know how much DeAndre Jordan practices his free throws, but if he puts up even just 100 free throws every day in the summer (which is a lot less than what an average NBA player would do) I have zero doubt that he can shoot better than 50% from the line. Watching him shoot, you can tell he has good form but what is lacking is touch. Working with a shooting coach to refine and adjust his shooting touch just a bit should lead to his free throw percentage improve significantly next season. Not only will this deter other teams from fouling him, but it will make him a more potent offensive threat that Doc Rivers can trust to keep in the game in 4th quarters which will only make the Clippers a better team overall.

Once DeAndre Jordan is able to hit more than 50% from the line, teams will stop fouling him because it will no longer be an effective strategy.

Therefore, the easiest solution to stopping the Hack-A-DeAndre tactic and the “ugly basketball” it produces is not for the NBA to change their rules, but for DeAndre Jordan and other NBA players that have the same tactic applied to them from time to time (Rajon Rondo, Andre Drummond, Dwight Howard…) to make more of their free throws.

Who would have thought it?