Rowan Kavner
PLAYA VISTA, Calif. – One of the following numbers isn’t like the others: 0, 3, 2, 28.
Those digits represent, in chronological order, the number of times DeAndre Jordan went to the free-throw line in each of his four games against the Spurs this season. He made 10-of-28 free throws in the final matchup, as the Spurs decided to constantly send him to the line to try to crawl back into the game.
Jordan said he expects the Spurs will probably try the hack-a-DJ strategy “a lot” once again in the playoffs.
“That’s fine, I shot a lot during the season anyway so I got a lot of practice,” Jordan joked.
The Spurs’ approach in the final matchup against the Clippers didn’t work for San Antonio, as the Clippers still won. That’s been a common theme for the handful of teams who go to the hack-a-DJ strategy.
Most teams don’t resort to purposely fouling Jordan unless they’re down in the game. Jordan’s shot 39.7 percent from the line this year, but the hack-a-DJ strategy hasn’t worked often for opponents.
Since 2013, including the regular season and playoffs, the Clippers are now 12-0 when Jordan shoots at least 14 free throws. The Clippers are also 9-0 when Jordan has shot at least 15 free throws and 15-2 when he shoots at least 13 free throws in that span.
“It’s happened all season and a lot of the games they’ve done it, we’ve won,” Jordan said. “I’m not really worried about it. When it does happen, and I know it will, I’ll go to the line and shoot the basketball. It’s not something I’m dreading. I’m ready for it.”
Head coach Doc Rivers said it’s not something he's worried about, either.
“I’m never concerned by it, because it’s a fact,” Rivers said. “It’s reality, so they’re going to do it and we’re going to have to make game to game decisions. I have a strong feeling next year we won’t have to deal with this, and I don’t even know if that’s the answer even though I know it looks better for the fans. So we’ll just deal with it game by game. I think that’s what we’ve done all year. Some nights we take him out, some nights we keep him in, and you just get through it.”
The line’s the only area that’s troubled Jordan, who’s in the midst of a career year. He led the league shooting a career-high 71 percent from the field and pulling down a career-high 15 rebounds per game.
He also led the league in defensive win shares, and the Defensive Player of the Year candidate wants to guard Tim Duncan in the series and has an immense amount of respect for the Spurs’ big man.
“He’s one of greatest players to play this game on both ends of the floor,” Jordan said. “He’s someone I idolized as a kid.”
Blake Griffin said Jordan takes ownership defensively, and it’s fine with him if Jordan guards Duncan again.
“We ask him to do a lot of things,” Griffin said. “Most of the time when we play them anyway, it kind of doesn’t matter who they start, whether it’s (Boris) Diaw or (Tiago) Splitter, I normally do take the other guy. It’s great to step up like that, but at the same time, we need good team defense.”