I would foul when up 3. Every. Single. Time. I am not putting the game in the opponent's hands. If my team can't win it by hitting free throws when they count, that's on us and we deserve to lose.
The Nets got burnt last season and lost the game in that situation, because their players could't make the free throws. It is a tough decision.
I think the NBA should make a rule against it, yea its strategy, btu given they are trying to speed up the game, and can dictate the rules to make it more appealing i think itd be more fun to watch those play out
Its a time thing with me. You want to shorten the game and make it quick as possible. If there is 10 secs left, you foul and play the ft game. If its under 2, you dont because you risk a foul plus the basket. The magic shouldve fouled in th finals without a doubt and it cost them the series.
Whatever the stats say about this strategy, I would give the foul every single time. If you foul quickly and efficiently, before the shot attempt, you keep the lead and force the other team to foul you. Even if your team misses the front end of a one and one, the opponent has five seconds or less to get off a decent shot, assuming they have a timeout left to get the ball across halfcourt. You sit back and stay passive, you get what the Magic got in Game 4, where Fisher walks right into a 3 and ties the game. I've seen teams get a good look in that situation many times because the team in the lead was passive and backed away from the three point line, afraid to foul. I'll never understand why even the league's best coaches refuse to foul. Any team that executes will not lose with that strategy.
I always commit the foul in that situation when playing my mate on Playstation - he gets pissed and calls me a cheat. I tell him its smart. And it is.
Logic says to foul. Statistics really don't matter much yet, as basically what they apparently say is that when the foul took place, the leading team won all but 3 times...which could very well include 1,2 or 3 outliers. Out of the next 27 times, the winning team might be 27/27...the real comparison would be 260 times to 260 times. That aside, it still doesn't seem like coaches teach this enough in pre-season and practice. See Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic. Considering the basic strategy of defense is to play tough, sound d without fouling if possible, you have to really teach your players to understand the situation in the last 10 seconds of a game to feel comfortable fouling. Add more coaching, throw in an opposing team with 0 or maybe only 1 timeout left, know your team's rebounding capabilities (to rebound a likely missed FT), and those rebounders FT shooting skills, and fouling makes sense, to me.
When the Rockets or another team I follow are down 3, I personally don't want the other team to foul, because it makes me feel like the chances of my team winning are lower. More things have to happen if a team is down three and they are fouled in order to win, than if they just shoot a three
