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By Matt Levine
Contributing Sports Writer
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Throughout the entire NBA season, one of the biggest debates among fans has been about the foul-baiting that players do on the court. It has become a pain point for many viewers, and some believe that it takes away from the game being played well.
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This idea allows players to try and trick referees into calling fouls, so they can get more free throws. It's an interesting tactic, and one that can be very effective in helping a team win games.
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Players such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, and James Harden of the Los Angeles Clippers have fallen directly into this. With Gilgeous-Alexander, it has been a consistent theme all year, with social media blowing the idea up completely.
Gilgeous-Alexander even got ridiculed during his team's Game 3 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Minnesota fans chanted "free-throw merchant" toward the league MVP.
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But this has gotten other players around the league to weigh in on the situation. During the Eastern Conference Finals, Philadelphia 76ers star guard Jared McCain offered some strong thoughts on the subject.
"Foul-baiting is just smart. Even when I talk to Joel Embiid about it, he thinks it's just playing the game smart. Just knowing how to manipulate the game in your own way. They have to call it, if it's a foul, it's a foul."
McCain has only been in the NBA for one season, but he does make a good point. It's a skill that some players have mastered, and it's led to their teams being much more successful on the court.
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While some fans may not like it, it's a way to take over a game. And at the end of the day, winning is all that matters for the players and teams.
Pretty much every player does this type of tactic on the court, but some are just better at it than others. With the way that the league plays basketball in today's era, foul-baiting is likely here to stay for the foreseeable future.
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