Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan is preparing to be hacked by the Spurs

DeAndre Jordan has an idea of how much time he will spend at the free-throw line against the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, which begins Sunday at Staples Center.

“A lot probably,” Jordan said before Thursday’s Clippers practice. “That’s fine. I shot a lot during the season anyway, so I got a lot of practice.”

Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich is well known for telling his players to hack poor free-throw shooters, and Jordan has shot only 39.7% from the charity stripe this season.

In the Clippers’ 119-115 win over the Spurs on Feb. 19, Jordan was sent to the free-throw line 28 times, while the entire Spurs team shot 23 combined free throws. That night, Jordan made 10 of his free throws, and finished two rebounds shy of a 20-20 performance, scoring 26 points and grabbing 18 boards.

“After a while it kind of wears on you, getting hit by someone who is 250 pounds,” Jordan said Feb. 19. “But at the same time we won, and that’s a positive we won, and I was able to get some free-throw practice.”

Jordan said that during the game Tim Duncan even expressed remorse over the fact that he had to keep fouling the Clippers’ center.

“Me and him actually talked about it during the game,” Jordan said of Duncan on Feb. 19. “He said, ‘Man, I hate playing like that.’ I said, ‘I’ve just got to make them. He said, ‘Yeah, once you start making them it’s going to be tough. Teams are going to have a problem.’ Hearing that from him is always great, a Hall of Famer like that. I’ve just got to continue to work and put my reps in.”

Even though Jordan is a poor free-throw shooter, the statistics actually show that when he shoots a lot of free throws, the Clippers tend to win.

In games since 2013, when Jordan shoots 12 or more free throws, the Clippers are 15-2. When he shoots 14 or more free throws, the Clippers are 12-0. When he shoots 15 or more free throws, the Clippers are 9-0.

Popovich said in February that he’s not a fan of how the Hack-A-Jordan strategy slows down the game, but he added that he will do whatever is best for his team.

“I hate doing it,” Popovich said of the strategy in February. “But it’s a rule. Free throws are part of the game. It’s a whole lot better than chasing Chris Paul around all day.”

At Thursday’s practice, Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said he’s not concerned about the Spurs intentionally hacking Jordan.

“It’s reality, so they’re going to do it and we’re going to have to make game-to-game decisions,” Rivers said of whether or not he will leave Jordan in the game when the strategy is used.

Rivers added that next year, he wouldn’t be surprised if the rules are adjusted to prevent teams from intentionally fouling poor free-throw shooters.

“I have a strong feeling next year we won’t have to deal with this, and I don’t even know if that’s the answer, even though I knew it looks better for the fans,” Rivers said.