The hack-a-Shaq strategy is rarely utilized in the NBA these days, but it's a tactic the Golden State Warriors have implemented against Steven Adams in their first-round series against the Houston Rockets.
As the teams head for a do-or-die Game 7 in Houston, it will be interesting to see if it's used again on Sunday after Adams shot 16 free-throws in his team's 115-107 victory in Game 6.
Outside late in Game 4 where Ime Udoka abruptly pulled Adams from the court, the tactic hasn't particularly worked for Steve Kerr and is getting worse the further the series goes. The biggest issue for the Warriors is that they're admitting defeat in the process, rather than sending Adams to the line because he's actually missing all his free-throws.
Steven Adams has been a huge factor against the Warriors
Quinten Post and Kevon Looney have not been solutions in a way the Warriors may have thought, with Adams continuing to have a strong and decisive presence that's stunningly helped his team back from a 3-1 deficit.
Adams has 21 offensive rebounds through the first six games, but more importantly he leads all players in the series in plus-minus (+53). The Kiwi big man is a +46 over the last three games alone, and has also recorded seven blocks during that span.
Golden State's only hope of eliminating Adams' impact therefore has come by sending him to the free-throw line and trying to get him out of the game entirely. Their desperation tactic was more evident on Friday as they repeatedly fouled him off the ball, only for the veteran center to go a steady 9-of-16 (56.3%).
Adams is making just over half his free-throws (53.6%) in the series. Clearly that's a low enough percentage for the Warriors to continue with the strategy, yet it's also not low enough to force Udoka into consistently taking him off the floor. The 31-year-old has played at least 26 minutes off the bench in two of the last three games, including a series-high 31 on Friday where he went for 15 points, five rebounds and three blocks.
The fact Golden State have had to resort to this tactic, rather than play actual basketball, has exposed what could be their fatal flaw -- a distinct lack of size and ability to match Houston's interior presence.
Perhaps Adams misses some free throws and it works out positively for the Warriors in Game 7, but either way its shown a major hole in the roster they'll have to address come the offseason.