Here is a nice article breaking down just how dumb Hack-A-Center is:

“…the cumulative effect of intentionally fouling him hurt the Spurs more than that free throw percentage suggests.

Offensive Rebounds
-We got them on 2 of Jordan’s 5 tries at the end of game two

“That isn’t some fluke. FiveThirtyEight found that the Clippers rebound an astounding 21% of Jordan’s free throw misses. Those are possessions the Clippers wouldn’t have gotten if the Spurs had played them straight up.”

Foul Trouble
-Ginobili didn’t even know how many he had, “I really thought I had three at the time. If I knew I had four fouls, I would have told somebody else [to intentionally foul].”
-Also, Duncan played with five fouls for most the 4th and OT, limiting his defense

Getting Set on Defense

“The free throws let the Clippers get back on defense, and the Spurs couldn’t score on them.”
-When the hacking began, we trailed five with five to go. When it ended, we trailed only two with three minutes left.

“Even though Jordan missed a majority of his free throws, the Spurs’ offense struggled against L.A.’s set defense. This isn’t a fluke either. Ezekowitz calculated that the Clippers’ defense gets better by 0.04 points per possession when they’re defending after a free throw.”

*Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/hack-a-jordan-spurs-2015-4#ixzz3YDZA7lMY

We glorify the Spurs for being so smart, but aren’t they just cheap? They’re the New England Patriots of the NBA, employing all these really dirty tactics to manipulate a normal game.