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Cuban joins LeBron in support for keeping hack-a-player rule

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

LeBron James argued Friday that the infamous hack-a-player strategy shouldn't be prohibited by the league, citing the need to exploit any competitive edge. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban joined James' camp Saturday, saying the inability of some players to hit foul shots is their own fault.

"Will a seven-foot man try to run and escape a foul so he doesn't have to do what so many 12-year-olds do in games every day?" Cuban told ESPN's Tom Haberstroh.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently admitted the hack-a-player strategy has reached a point the league is no longer comfortable with, and he's leaning toward changing intentional foul rules as a result. According to ESPN, there have been 266 instances of hack-a-player situations this season, already far exceeding last season's total of 164.

Cuban, known for his outside-the-box thinking, suggests that fans can be intrigued by the strategy. "Does he make the free throws?" Cuban said. "If he makes one or two, will they do it again? Did the strategy work?"

Through January, teams hacking away from the ball had won only 17 percent of the time when trailing this season, according to the NBA.

As with any intentional fouling, the act slows games down and disrupts flow. The idea of fans tuning out is the paramount concern for Silver and the league, and publicly stating the issue needs to be examined indicates how seriously they are taking it.

Still, Cuban believes concern over the tactic comes from a handful of purists overreacting.

"We have to realize that the number of basketball purists that aren't in the media is probably under 1,000 people globally," Cuban said. "There is no special basketball beauty in walking the ball up the court and dribbling around the perimeter. Will we change that too?"

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