game with a 56% free throw rate. He shot free throws even worse in this game, making 15/29 (52%). However, the 76ers held on to win the game, 118-113. Simmons' 31 points were a career high for him at the time. On May 31, 2021, the Washington Wizards again used the same strategy in game four of the 2021 NBA playoffs, intentionally fouling Simmons three times late in the fourth quarter and sending Simmons to the foul line where he made only three-of-six attempts in the 114-122 loss to the Washington Wizards, and Simmons finished with five-of-eleven attempts made at the end of the game. On June 16, 2021, the Atlanta Hawks adopted the "hack-a-Ben strategy" in game five of the 2021 NBA playoffs, intentionally fouling Simmons in second and fourth quarters and sending Simmons to the foul line in the 106-109 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Simmons finished with four-of-fourteen attempts made at the end of the game. Criticism and rule changes Detractors argue that deliberate fouling makes the game unpleasant to watch, violates the spirit or disrupts the rhythm of the game, puts the fouling team too quickly into the penalty situation, and disparages the team's defensive abilities. All that did was allow us to set our defense. I think that's disrespectful to their players. Basically, they were telling their players that they couldn't guard us. — Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince, after Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy used the Hack-a-Shaq strategy against Pistons center Ben Wallace in a game in December 2005 Many coaches have heeded these criticisms and doubted the effectiveness of the strategy in minimizing scoring. One imponderable is the effect on the psychology of the player fouled deliberately on the belief that he will not make his free throws. Some believe that frequently sending O'Neal to the foul line risked putting him "into a rhythm" and temporarily making him a better shooter. These factors, and the fact that there are only handful of players who satisfy the criteria for Hack-a-Shaq, mean that the strategy is uncommon in the NBA. A rule change starting in the 2016–17 NBA season put an additional constraint on deliberate fouling: Away-from-the-ball fouls now award the fouled team a free throw and possession of the ball in the final 2 minutes of each quarter, extended from the prior rule affecting only the final 2 minutes of the 4th quarter.