We know empirically that Mark Jackson's strategy to foul Dwight Howard incessantly during the Golden State Warriors' hosting of the Orlando Magic on Thursday didn't work: the center scored 43 points, and Orlando won. We know that by the numbers, fouling Dwight made Howard more efficient than he'd been from the floor, and that if the effort intended to discourage the Magic from feeding Howard, it would have meant more possessions for the more efficient Orlando supporting cast.
Jackson doesn't care. From the San Francisco Chronicle:
"I can understand people thinking, 'Why?' But don't get caught up in the free throws. Think about the times we didn't foul him. It was dunks, hooks, plays at the rim. He's a great player and a bad free-throw shooter. We were giving ourselves the best possible chance by messing up their rhythm."
The Warriors were leading by eight when the team began hacking Howard in the second quarter. Orlando almost immediately caught up.
Golden State employed the strategy for basically the full second half; Dwight was 5-12 from the floor in the first half, and 7-10 in the second half.
Mess up the Magic's rhythm? In the fourth quarter, when Golden State fouled Dwight the most, Orlando scored 37 points in 24 possessions, or 1.54 points per possession, which is like Max Roach-level rhythm.
It failed, Coach. There's no need to defend it; there's only one Dwight in the league, and it's unlikely we'll see Golden State trot out the strategy again. Just walk away and leave that steaming mess on Thursday night.
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