Hassan Whiteside's first season with the Miami Heat featured struggles in the free throw department and he plans to fix that.
While Whiteside did improve on his tries from the charity stripe as the season went on, his percentage was still only 50%. In total, Whiteside had 156 free throw attempts and sank only 78 of them. Nobody expects Whiteside to drain his attempts at a Ray Allen-esque rate, but his percentage has room to improve.
Several teams have forced sub par free throw shooters to head to the foul line at an increased rate this postseason. This plan is known as "Hack-a-Shaq" which at one time involved its namesake, Shaquille O'Neal. Teams would intentionally foul the former Heat star towards the end of games due to his poor free throw shooting.
The NBA instituted a rule that penalizes teams if they foul a player who is not in possession of the ball within the last two minutes of a game. While this rule is still in effect, teams are simply utilizing the strategy up until the two minute mark. The damage inflicted by this move can be game-changing.
If Whiteside continues to hover around the 50% mark on free throws, teams will likely begin to use this method against him and the Heat. Its something the team can't afford especially in the playoffs. Games are often decided by one or two points, and Whiteside's troubles could mean a postseason series loss.
Its possible the NBA could look into expanding the rule to curtail the growing use of the plan. At this time however, its allowed and it will continue to be exploited.
