Portland Trailblazers Initiate "Hack-a-Shaq"

On May 20, 2000, the Portland Trailblazers played against the Los Angeles Lakers in a playoff game, but the big news was what happened to Shaquille O’Neal on that day.

Shaquille O'Neal (right) and Kobe Bryant (left) hug it out during Game 1 of the series with the Portland Trailblazers in 2002.

For years, NBA teams had taken advantage of poor free throw shooters by intentionally fouling them and forcing them to hit freebies. The most prevalent form of this strategy was the "Hack-a-Shaq," named after Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq's 350-pound body was so strong and so imposable that teams would occasionally wrap him up in an attempt to take advantage of his weak foul-shooting.

Usually though, this type of intentional fouling was limited to only a few hacks a game. Never before had the Hack-a-Shaq technique been employed as a regular defense. Yet that's exactly what happened in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, when the Portland Trail Blazers visited the Los Angeles Lakers. Portland was so overpowered by O'Neal that they implemented the Hack-a-Shaq for the final six minutes of the fourth quarter. When it was all said and done, O'Neal had taken 25 free throws in under six minutes and made 12 of them. Overall, he finished with 41 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks.

The strategy temporarily worked, as the Blazers were able to cut it to a nine-point game with just under five minutes left. But Shaq caught fire at the line and made seven in a row down the stretch. The Lakers won, 109-94, in one of the slowest fourth quarters in league history.

"Obviously, if we get down in a game, that's what we're going to do," said Portland coach Mike Dunleavy. "Had we scored a few more times, we would have put ourselves in position to win. He's a great player. I like Shaq a lot. He just can't make his free throws."

Many were furious at Dunleavy's decision, which had reduced the pace of the game to a crawl. But many coaches were intrigued. Putting a player like Shaq, who hit less than half of his freebies, on the charity stripe instead of letting him score wasn't all that crazy an idea -- at least in a desperate situation like the Blazers were in.

Just a couple weeks later, in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Pacers coach Larry Bird took it to the next level. With his team getting stomped by Los Angeles, Bird had his team foul O'Neal on almost every possession in the fourth quarter. Shaq attempted a record 39 free throws in that game and made 19 of them. The Pacers were able to mount a slight comeback, though it wasn't enough to get them back in the game. Los Angeles won, 111-104. Shaq finished with 40 points and 24 rebounds.

David Robinson Scores 71; Wins NBA Scoring Title

On April 24, 1993, On the final day of the regular season for the NBA, David Robinson, "The Admiral," of the San Antonio Spurs and Shaquille O'Neal, then on the Orlando Magic, were virtually tied as scoring leaders on the season, as their respected teams ended the year on a Sunday.

With Robinson's Spurs on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers, his game would conclude just as O'Neal's would begin; fearing that O'Neal would simply aim to outscore him, Robinson's teammates did everything they could to get him the ball.



When it was all said done, Robinson scored a remarkable 71 points -- joining Wilt Chamberlain, David Thompson, and Elgin Baylor as the only players to reach the 70s -- as his Spurs won 112-97. Robinson shot 26-41 from the field, made 18-25 free throws, and even knocked down a three-point shot.

His teammates deferred to him on every possession and even fouled down the stretch just to get him more shot attempts. Shaquille O'Neal needed 68 points to win back the scoring title, but he finished with a quiet 32.

In the final total, Robinson finished with 29.8 points per game, while Shaq ended with a 29.3 average.

 Members of the Orlando Magic cried foul, particularly head coach Brian Hill, who called it a "farce that's bad for basketball." "We certainly wanted Shaquille to win the scoring title," Hill said.

"But we didn't make a mockery of the game like they did in Los Angeles -- I hear the Clippers just let David score whenever he wanted ... We played a game tonight -- it wasn't a mockery."



Spurs coach John Lucas defended the point total, as did Robinson himself. "It is a lot of work going after those points," he said. "The Clippers didn't want me to get it. They were bumping and grinding and double-teaming me. That's the hardest I've ever had to work for some points."

Pat Riley Gets Win 400

On March 9, 1988, Hall of Fame basketball coach and owner Pat Riley gets win number 400 while coaching. He was the fastest ever to 400, taking just 540 games to get to that mark, all of those wins came with the Los Angeles Lakers.

 

Pat Riley (center) coaching up the 1990 Los Angeles Lakers team.

Riley is widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time; Riley has served as the head coach of five championship teams and an assistant coach to another.

He was named NBA Coach of the Year three times (1989–90, 1992–93 and 1996–97, as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Heat, respectively). He was head coach of the NBA All-Star Game teams nine times: eight of the Western team (1982, 1983, 1985–1990, all as head coach of the Lakers) and once of the Eastern team (1993, as head coach of the Knicks). In 1996 he was named one of the 10 Greatest Coaches in the NBA history.

Pat Riley in 2007 with his Miami Heat NBA Finals ring.

Riley most recently won the 2012 NBA Championship with the Miami Heat as their team president. This made him the first (and so far only) NBA figure to win an NBA championship as a player, coach (both assistant and head), and executive. He received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award from the NBA Coaches Association on June 20, 2012.

Riley would finish his career with 1210 wins and only 694 losses, earning 171 playoff victories and 111 losses.

Riley has won many championships in his career as a player and as a coach including being on the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers Championship team, winning the 1980 NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant coach before moving over to head coach where he won five NBA titles with the Lakers in 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988 and then 2006 with the Miami Heat.

Since 2006 Riley has stepped over to the front office with the Miami Heat, and has tacked on two more NBA Finals championships behind his name with the team winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.

Lakers Shaquille O'Neal Scores 61 On Birthday

On March 6, 2000, Shaquille O’Neal scores 61 points on his birthday. Turning 28 years old, the Los Angeles Lakers ‘big man’ O’Neal scores a career high 61 against the Los Angeles Clippers ‘on the road’.

Los Angeles Lakers Shaquille O'Neal (left) backing down Detroit Pistons Ben Wallace (right).

A side note of the story was O’Neal had asked the Clippers to give seats for his family on his birthday, the Clippers denied his request and O’Neal was forced to spend money to purchase seats for his family.

In 45 minutes against the Clippers, O’Neal scored 61 points going 24-35 from the field, made 13-22 free throw attempts, pulled down 23 rebounds as the Lakers beat the Clippers 123-103.

O’Neal’s 61 points on his birthday, were the most the NBA had seen any player score on his birthday, and the first 60-20 performance since 1969, when Wilt Chamberlain accomplished the same feat.

O’Neal would end up winning his only MVP award of his career that season.

NBA All-Star Weekend Podcast

Scratch Hit Sports creator Stephen Langsam talk about the NBA All-Star Weekend with former co-host of the Sporting Hangover, Ryan Hilton, and dive in head first to talk about the All-Star Game.

Topics to listen for: Dunk Contest, Three-Point Contest, All-Star Game Memories,

Our predictions of the game and who or what will make a major impact on the game.

We also dive into some other topics revolving around basketball and the Golden State Warriors, the Kevin Durant - Lebron James match up and more.

Scratch Hit Sports PODCAST LINK

Suns Cancel Game With Heat

On Jan. 17, 1989, the Phoenix Suns cancel their game against the Miami Heat just minutes before game time.

The Chicago Tribune reported racial tensions in Miami were intense and parts of the city were rioting that evening. The Suns were scheduled to play the Miami Heat, but the game was canceled 50 minutes before it was scheduled to start due to pressure from the community.

The arena was located on the edge of the Overtown neighborhood. A day before the game, police officers shot and killed a black resident of the neighborhood. Schools were closed and police were out in force as they tried to quell sniper fire and looting in Overtown.

Other games that have been cancelled in the NBA have been during the 1998-1999 season. The lockout in 98-99 lasted more than six months. Which forced the season to be shortened to 50 regular season games by the time the league was back up and running.

During the 2005 season the New Orleans Hornets would play all of their games in Oklahoma City due to damage to their stadium and the city of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In 2007 the Hornets returned to New Orleans.

Last year, during the 2011-2012 season the NBA was in the middle of another lockout. This time the lockout lasted just over five months and forced the NBA regular season schedule to be reduced to 66 regular season games.

This year Hurricane Sandy forced the postponement of several games on the East Coast, but none of the games were completely cancelled.

NBA Christmas Special

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Most fans of basketball do one thing on Christmas, sit down and watch the NBA games being aired that day. With such a special day upon us I wanted to go back and look into the history on the NBA playing on Christmas Day.

HISTORY OF NBA ON CHRISTMAS

The first NBA games played on December 25 came in 1947, a year after the NBA's inception, when the New York Knicks beat the Providence Steamrollers at Madison Square Garden 89–75.

In the early days, regional proximity dictated most of the matchups on Christmas Day. Teams would usually play their geographical rivals to cut down on holiday travel and allow them to have more time with their families.

According to Dr. Jack Ramsay, coach of the Portland Trail Blazers from their only championship season of 1976–77 to 1986: "Christmas meant being at home with the family and having a game we always won. That was a perfect Christmas to me.”

Dr. Jack Ramsay has the most coaching victories on Christmas Day, with 11, a record that Phil Jackson tied in 2008.

In the early 1980s, after three straight years of memorable moments involving the New York Knicks, including Bernard King scoring 60 points in 1984, the most ever scored by a player on Christmas Day, and with the advent of television, the NBA scheduled games over the holiday as a showcase featuring the best teams and players.

The Knicks have played the most games on Christmas Day, with 47, and are 22–25 on the holiday. The Knicks' 22 wins are the most by a team on Christmas Day.

Doc Rivers participated as a player with the Knicks in 1992 and as a coach with the Boston Celtics since 2008. Bryant has played 14 games on Christmas Day, the most of any player and more than he has on any other date on the calendar, playing his first in 1996, and most recently in 2011.

FANCY JERSEYS

Many teams and players that have played on this day have worn special uniforms and sneakers. Since 2009, the Knicks wear their third jersey, the green/orange alternate which they first used exclusively for St. Patrick's Day since the 2005–06 season. During the game between the Heat and the Lakers in 2010, players on both teams wore holiday sneakers, including lime-green Nike kicks on Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. LeBron James and Chris Bosh wore holiday-red shoes with garish green laces.

Since the 2008–09 season, teams playing on Christmas Day wear a patch featuring the NBA logo inside a snowflake. For the 2012–13 season games, special edition monochrome uniforms will be used. The uniforms, colloquially known as "Big Color", was designed by Adidas.

This year the NBA will be wearing the new sleeved jerseys made by Adidas, the Adi-zero jersey's which the Warriors debuted last year.

MEMORABLE GAMES

The NBA playing on Christmas Day has featured some of the most memorable games ever played, including Bernard King scoring 60 points for the New York Knicks in 1984, Patrick Ewing helping the Knicks come back to beat the Boston Celtics after trailing by 25 points in 1985, and again beating Michael Jordan and the Bulls on last second jumper in 1986, Scottie Pippen's last second block in 1994, the first showdown featuring Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal as opponents in 2004, Phil Jackson becoming the fastest coach to win 1,000 games in 2008, showdowns between LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in 2009 and 2010, and the opening of the 2011–12 season as a result of a lockout.

Rivalries have also been showcased during games played on this day. During the 1990s, each Christmas featured a game involving either the New York Knicks or the Chicago Bulls, with both teams playing against each other in both the Bulls championship season of 1992–93 and 1994, and would have played each other in 1998, if there had not been a lockout.

The only year during the 1990s in which neither team played on Christmas Day was during the Bulls first championship season in their second three-peat, in 1995–96.

During the 2000s, the NBA showcased the Shaq–Kobe feud. Since 1999, each Christmas has featured games involving either the Celtics or the Lakers, with the two teams playing on the holiday in 2002 and every year since 2008 and facing off against each other during the first of the Lakers' most recent back-to-back championship seasons of 2008–09, the first meeting between the two teams since that year's finals.

Today the Christmas NBA scene is set with five games this year starting at 9 a.m. with the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets. The second game of the day features the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers. The third game features the two teams returning from last years NBA Finals as the Oklahoma City Thunder face off in Miami against the Heat. The fourth game sees the Houston Rockets take on the Chicago Bulls. With the 2012 NBA Christmas Day finale being set up between the Clippers and Nuggets.

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I hope everyone enjoys their holiday and watches some NBA hoops, which could be historical.