Dwight Howard and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Orlando Magic on Tuesday for the first time since Howard was traded during the offseason. The environment of the game was hostile as fans let Howard know they did not miss him and were unhappy to see him back in the arena that made him the All-Star player he is today. The aggressive nature of the game saw Howard go to the foul line for record 39 times. Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni disapproved of the excessive fouling game plan, believing that is not the best way to entertain fans.
"I'm not criticizing anybody, but it's part of the rules that's just not great. We're an entertainment business. That's not entertaining for anybody," D'Antoni said.
The Lakers eventually won the game 106-97. Howard tied his own all-time NBA record for free throw attempts, completely 25 out of 39 from the line. D'Antoni believes the fouling tactic is an inferior game plan and will not help put fans in seats in future games. He believes if fans want to see players shoot 40 free throws, then they can go to a practice, but it should not be present in a game.
This would not be the first time Magic head coach Jacque Vaughn has implemented the fouling game plan in order to try and win a game. When the Magic beat the Lakers 113-103 at the Staples Center on Dec. 2, Howard was sent to the line 21 times, making nine of the shots. Howard himself is also not a big fan of the strategy. He was showered in a chorus of boos each time he stepped up to take a shot on Tuesday.
"It is boring, it's not a fun way to play and it's not fun for the fans to watch, but for the other team they're trying to win. We can't get upset with it. I don't want to just have to take the ball out as soon as I step inbounds, they foul me. That's not fun, but guys will do what they got to do to win," Howard said.
While D'Antoni would like a rule change regarding excessive fouling, the competition committee would have to review the claim before the league could attempt to change the rules to prevent such thing from happening again.
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