Yahoo Sports 
Chris Paul threw himself in front of an intentional fouler (Video)
Even in the middle of a fantastic, profitable, and possibly record-breaking season, NBA commissioner Adam Silver probably can’t wait for next October because of plays like this. He probably cannot wait to change the rules, and we wish he didn’t have to wait to change the rules.
[Follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, a career 42 percent free throw shooter that has sustained that percentage in 2015-16, was about to be intentionally fouled by Boston forward Jonas Jerebko midway through the two teams’ overtime contest on Wednesday evening. Chris Paul, mindful of this, decided to throw himself in Jerebko’s way in order to not only grab two free throws of his own, but prevent the Celtics from sending Jordan to the line. Watch:
The gambit, while brilliant, did not work in a way. Jordan hit 9-17 free throws prior to this (he wouldn’t take another free throw in the game), which is a great percentage for the big man. Paul (shooting 88 percent on the season) went on to hit just one of two free throws after the foul, though, technically a worse percentage than DeAndre’s work at the line on the night. Though the freebie would put the Clips up 132-130 at the time, Boston went on to win by a 139-134 score.
[ STACK: Why the Golden State Warriors spend hours floating in salt water ]
Too clever, literally, by half.
While we’re on the cheeky side of things, before we get into sportswriter-isms, let’s take a listen (via Pro Basketball Talk) to Celtic analyst Tom Heinsohn’s call on things:
That’s Tommy, angry at a move that he would give elventy trillion Tommy Points to had Paul been wearing green and white.
Still, this is not ideal.
In this instance you have one of the NBA’s best players, its best point guard in the years bridging Steve Nash and Stephen Curry, throwing himself in front of a charging 6-9 defender during a game in the middle of February in order to prevent yet another intentional foul to DeAndre Jordan. Not only is Chris Paul an All-Star – an endorsement favorite who hopes to play on national TV until late June – but he’s hardly indestructible: CP3 has dealt with knee and hamstring issues throughout his career.
All to save the Boston Celtics, hardly a Los Angeles Clippers rival, from potentially getting the ball back down one point in an overtime game on Feb. 10.
What was once a small sample size has turned into a larger trend. Teams employing the Hack-a-Whomever with greater frequency are watching as the strategy works out, as greater use allows the percentages to return to the mean. This may not have been the case on Wednesday – again, DeAndre made over half of his free throws – but one can’t argue with the results just prior to Chris Paul’s canny move: Boston fouled Jordan, who missed one of two, and Jared Sullinger responded with a three-pointer that put the C’s within a point.
Those of us that didn’t argue for a rule change – citing the “count the clangers on one hand”-paucity of Hack-a-Victims – have to re-evaluate their position now that the practice has become more commonplace, while targeting more and more players. It’s time for a change, change that the league unfortunately cannot put in until next October, after the rules committee meets this summer.
Tough guy talk from those who can hit 80 percent at the line – be they your uncle Mark or Kobe Bryant – should be sloughed off. The act of defending the paint, garnering rebounds and blocking shots is an entirely different sport than the one that sees people hitting set shots from 15 feet. It’s akin to, I don’t know, asking pitchers to hit for the league average or demanding Alex Ovechkin throw a perfect spiral to a receiver dashing over the middle.
This isn’t to say we should banish all terrible free throw shooters from taking the shot – as the National League might do eventually with its pitchers and as the NHL, sadly, banned years ago. As coaches and players adapt, something Adam Silver has pointed out already, the chances for unintended injury become greater and greater. For the fouler, and the foul-ee.
For now, we have NBA superstar Chris Paul running in front of someone to prevent his teammate from having to shoot free throws. Par for the course for possibly the NBA’s most intelligent sportsman in CP3, but something that shouldn’t be par for the NBA’s particular course as it figures out how to adapt to this trend.
- - - - - - -
is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
