Mark Cuban disagrees with David Stern on Hack-a-Howard issue – NBA Update
Mark Cuban of Dallas Mavericks is one of the most famous owners in NBA, and has over the years made a name for being blunt, especially when it comes to criticizing some of the league’s policies and ranting against the Los Angeles
Lakers.
When David Stern recently spoke out against the Hack-a-Howard strategy that teams have been employing against the Los Angeles Lakers big man Dwight Howard recently, he irritated Cuban not only because he is one prominent owner
who was against making this tactic illegal this summer, but also because the commissioner’s comments indirectly (not intentionally) supported the Lakers.
And it wasn’t long before Cuban retorted;
“It sends the wrong message to kids everywhere that it’s OK to not pay attention to basketball fundamentals,” Cuban told FoxSportsSouthwest.com.
“You can’t give a player an advantage or reward them for failing to do something that is a basic fundamental basketball skill,” Cuban added. “When a guy can’t shoot a jump shot, whether you are in a church league or the NBA, you
do what you can to make them shoot jump shots.
“If a guy can’t shoot free throws, you should do the same thing. Do what you can to send them to the line.”
Cuban certainly has a point. If some player has a weakness, it has to be exploited. This is what competition demands and exactly what the game is all about. Howard is a weak free throw shooter, and learning the art should be the
only way out for him, not league’s interference.
Having said that, Stern is partially right as well because he is looking at things from a business perspective. Free throws are perhaps the most boring facet of the game from a spectator’s point of view and when teams intentionally
try to send oppositions on the foul line, the game stops more frequently than it should. For a league that is just starting to challenge the likes of NHL and MLB, it is a problem and hence Stern’s concern.
For Cuban though, the matter is trivial, and if anything Dwight should learn how to be consistent from the free throw line.
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