hack-a-dwight: a closer look

[cranrab]

for those not familiar with the concept of "hack-a-_______", it is the strategy whereby an opposing team will intentionally foul an opponent who is a notoriously poor free throw shooter.

the theoretical reward being that the poor free throw shooter will miss 1 or both free throw attempts, allowing the fouling team to gain another possession with minimal cost/risk.

dwight howard is a career 58.3 FT% shooter, which is well under the league average of 75.4 FT%

dwight howard over his career averages 9.3 FTA per game.

so let's look at how dwight howard performs when he gets more FTAs.

 

[cranrab]

this season, in games where dwight howard shoots at or below his career average in FTAs (9.3)

the fakers are 13-10 (.565)

this season, in games where dwight howard shoots over his career average in FTAs (9.3)

the fakers are 4-11 (.267)

 

[cranrab]

those empirical observations tend to suggest there is some merit to employing the "hack-a-dwight"

is there something more to it?

in the games where dwight howard had 10 or more FTAs, he shot 47.4 FT%

in the games where dwight howard had 9 or fewer FTAs, he shot 54.6 FT%

dwight howard's season FT% average is 50.4%

 

[cranrab]

are there any mitigating factors?

other aspects of dwight howard's offense that might tend to better explain the wins and losses?

something other than the "hack-a-dwight"?

in losses, dwight howard plays MORE minutes (36+) but has FEWER shot attempts (9.19)

in wins, dwight howard plays FEWER minutes (34+) but has MORE shot attempts (12)

 

[letsshoot]

u must be a Slipper Fan

 

[cranrab]

u must be a Slipper Fan

not remotely.

what helped you form that incorrect conclusion?

 

[RunawaySlave]

Interesting


I think Howard succumbs to the pressure a little. Where a cat like O'Neal sort of thrived on it
That's not to say O'Neal was a better FT shooter, he just seemed to welcome the challenge more
It would probably help if Howard got a little more moral support

 

[RunawaySlave]

He was awful tonight...I think he was like 1-9 or something?? Wow