Dwight Howard’s free throw line adventures have been the focus of much ridicule for practically his entire career. Because of this, the career 57.6% free thrower is consistently bombarded with the modern-day version of the Hack-A-Shaq tactic — now commonly referred to as Hack-A-Dwight — where teams decide to kill all that is enjoyable about basketball by intentionally fouling shitty free throw shooters in order to quickly regain possession (and decrease the other team’s chances at scoring).
Unfortunately for us viewers — and further proving God doesn’t exist — it’s a ploy that works, thus we must suffer through this charade that is passed off as acceptable basketball strategy (“acceptable”, in the sense that the NBA won’t change the rules). As Enemy #1 of the tactic, Dwight gets the most defensive about his shooting woes, claiming that it’s all in his head, and that in practice he shoots free throws just fine. Herein lies the problem(s), though: 1) practice free throws don’t count, and 2) there has never been much evidence to verify his practice prowess other than anecdotal accounts from teammates, coaches and, of course, Dwight.
Well, now we have that evidence, provided by a fan who videotaped Dwight shooting free throws before a recent game. In games, Dwight has a definite hitch in his shooting motion, whereas here, he has a smoother, more fluid form. Also, he’s making almost all of them, with no hesitation. So, the video at least supports the idea that there’s some sort of mental block at play here, rather than just plain sucking at free throws — you know, like Andre Drummond.
[HuffPo]
About John Ferensen